Maui Surfing – the sport of kings

Photo:Darrell Wong

Whether you like rippin’ up the big winter swells or cruisin’ on your longboard in the summer sun, you’ll find some of the best waves in the world on Maui.

Maui – the sleeping giant

Overshadowed by Oahu’s North Shore, Maui’s surf sites are one of Hawaii’s best-kept secrets. When true north or south swells hit Maui, spots like Honolua Bay, Ma’alaea (”Freight Trains”), “Dumps” and Ho’okipa go off!

Surfing Maui’s West Side

The upper West Side stays sheltered from Maui’s infamous trade winds, so breaks stay clean most days.  Summertime in Maui means south swells!

Maui has some of the easiest learning spots around with south shore breaks like The Cove park in Kihei and on the way to Lahiana there’s the mile long stretch of Ukumehame beach park, otherwise known as ”Thousand Peaks” and Launiupoko beach park.

Men riding mountains

At the other extreme, big wave surfers flock to Maui to tow-surf at Jaws on the really big winter swells. Locals like Laird Hamilton and Dave Kalama have been a big part of drawing global attention to Maui’s outer reefs with their “tow-in” surf sessions.

You can check out these 40 foot bone-crunching sets from coastal cliffs that run along the North Shore, where you can get a good look at the monster sites like “Jaws” as the ground thunders underneath you. These guys are truly men who ride mountains!