Often called "the granddaddy of ecotourism" in Maui, Hike Maui has been hiking visitors into the Maui of their dreams since 1983. It is the oldest hiking company in the state and it has a reputation of excellence. Owner Ken Schmitt lived in a remote rain forest for three years in the early ‘80s studying nature until he felt a call to show people the "real" Maui-- a place of exquisite Hawaiian beauty with waterfalls, rain forests, volcanoes, canyons and sea cliffs. His calling is to teach what he learned--the geology, botany, ethnobotany, culture and history of Hawaii, an island chain as unique and as magical as the Galapagos. 

"Back at the Hike Maui van, one man said: ‘This has been a great day. In fact, it has been the best day of my entire life."
 --Travel + Leisure Magazine

For more information, please visit their website.

Owner Ken Schmitt put a backpack on his back in 1980 and left a successful city life to “live off the land” in the jungles of Maui. He stayed there-living outside-for the next three years. At universities, he had studied classical Greek and Latin, Oriental philosophies and religions. In the jungle, he studied Mother Earth. He became an expert on the birds, plants, ocean, insects, and the geology of these incredible islands. 

Soon, travel writers discovered this “eccentric naturalist” and expert. Guidebook after guidebook called Ken "a walking encyclopedia," and his reputation stuck. Still today, this reputation exists and people expect Hike Maui to deliver the best.

 MJ Harden, Ken’s wife, was one of these early travel writers. She met Ken on assignment for the San Francisco Examiner in 1984, and joined Hike Maui full-time a decade later. She still writes— a Maui guidebook which won the state’s Best Guidebook in Hawai‘i award, and a book of interviews, “Voices of Wisdom Hawaiian Elders Speak,” which won a national cultural award. In 2004 she wrote a documentary on Hawaiian culture and history which was Hawaii’s cultural presentation at the opening of the Smithsonian’s new American Indian Museum. Together they have built one of the foremost land tour companies in Hawaii. Ken’s once one-man show now has 20 guides plus a variety of day tours.

"The hike will be challenging, the views astounding, the occurrence unique. Long after you've forgotten what you bought while shopping on Maui, or where you ate, the feelings you experienced on a Hike Maui trek will live on and on."
--Driving and Discovering Hawaii Guidebook  

For more information, please visit the website.

Hike Maui’s guides are the best-trained guides in Maui.

They receive six weeks of schooling from owners MJ and Ken; then they take Hawaii’s state certification courses, and most are lifeguard certified. In addition, the canyoning guides have Wilderness First Aid and Wilderness First Responder, and two guides are EMTs (emergency medical technicians). 

Each guide has a fascinating personal story. They include a physics teacher, several botanists, working biologists, a yoga instructor, an anthropologist, teachers and wilderness junkies. All have lived years in Hawaii. They know it is their job to give clients the best, most profound experience of their Hawaiian vacation, and they know it has to be fun!

"All their guides seem to be encyclopedias in hiking boots, as familiar with the geography, legends, history, botany and archaeology of Maui as they are with the trails of the island."

"For all the knowledge you're picking up, it sure doesn't feel like school. The guides are engaging and conversational."

"By the end of the day I felt as if I had finally gotten to know Maui, in a way that countless other trips to the island had never allowed."
--Kam Napier, managing editor, Honolulu Magazine

            “What really sets Hike Maui apart is its hike leaders. Versed in the area’s natural history and lore, they provide a narrative for each adventure that makes the landscape come to life.”
--Town & Country Travel

For more information, please visit their website.

Maui is 75% wilderness and rural. Hike Maui takes visitors out of their resorts to explore this tropical paradise. They offer day hikes from three to twelves hours, all structured to be both fun and educational. Waterfall & rain forest hikes are their most popular; they offer four of these hikes plus a combination kayak-snorkel trip followed by a short rain forest hike. The full-day rain forest hike includes 200- and 400-foot waterfalls. There are two half-day rain forest hikes (in different valleys) that include waterfalls from 8 to 40-feet high.

Hike Maui's Haleakala ("House of the Sun") volcano hikes are personal favorites of their guides. These hikes range from four to twelve miles round trip. The scenery is stark, expansive and rugged, much like a desert, with panoramic views stretching for hundreds of miles in all directions. 

Anyone wanting custom trips around the island with unusual stops or more private hikes, Hike Maui can fulfill whatever adventurous dreams a visitor wants. They only need ask. Hike Maui knows all the valleys and mountains of magical Maui. 

For more information, please visit their website.

The newest adventure on Maui is rappelling down waterfalls in remote wilderness canyons. Canyoning, it’s called, and there’s nothing like it in all of Hawaii. Hike Maui is the first to offer it. (Both "canyoning" and "canyoneering" include the act of exploring canyons, but the difference is that "canyoning" is done over, in, and through waterfalls). Of all the things to do in Maui, canyoning may be the most thrilling activity. It combines hiking, rappelling down waterfalls, jumping into pools,  and swimming and climbing in the Maui wilderness.

Maui Canyon Adventures, a subsidiary arm of Hike Maui, offers beginners' tours that safely rappell down small waterfalls  from 40 to 65 feet. Experienced canyoneers rappell 150 to 230-foot waterfalls into dramatic canyons. 

 Maui has long been known as a playground for extreme sports enthusiasts. Activities such as big-wave surfing, wind surfing, and kite surfing, have lured adventure travelers here for years. Canyoning now offers travelers of all abilities the chance to experience beauty, excitement, and mystery in a safe yet adventurous environment. It is one the most spectacular extreme sports events in Hawaii.

For more information, please visit the website.

Canyoning guides have to be professionals, so Hike Maui has hired the best.  Expert Dave Black from Utah came to Maui specifically to operate this program. He is one of the founders of the American Canyoneering Association and he continues to instruct and certify guides throughout the world. He has decades of experience with a perfect safety record. All lead guides must be certified by Dave with stringent exams and canyon training. All equipment is top quality, rated at high weight capacity.  

Safety is the primary concern, so all anchors, ropes, harnesses, hardware, helmets and shoes are specially-designed for the rigors of this extreme sport. All of the equipment is the best available. Ropes are checked thoroughly on a daily basis, and all gear is maintained in top condition for regular use. In addition to this,
Maui Canyon Adventures offers technical courses and tours as well as certification courses in wilderness first responder training.

For more information, please visit the website.