Baldwin Avenue Climb

Baldwin Avenue Climb

Baldwin Avenue is a major thoroughfare on Maui’s North Shore, stretching seven miles between the coastal town of Paia and the Upcountry community of Makawao. Originally established as a transit corridor for the island’s booming sugar industry, the road bears the name of Henry Perrine Baldwin, co-founder of the Alexander & Baldwin sugar conglomerate. Historically, the route served as the structural backbone for agricultural transport, linking sugarcane fields, fieldworker housing, and processing facilities like the historic Paia Sugar Mill. Over time, the area evolved from a quiet plantation district into a cultural crossroads, with historic sites along the corridor including the 1906 Mantokuji Buddhist Temple, Makawao Union Church, and the Maui Dharma Center.

Geographically, Baldwin Avenue rises steadily along the northwestern slopes of Haleakala, ascending from sea level at Paia up to approximately 1,600 feet in Makawao. The terrain features a continuous, rolling grade through agricultural land, residential estates, and lush tropical foliage, offering beautiful views of Haleakala’s massive volcano profile above and sweeping panoramas of the Pacific coastline below. In addition to serving local transit, the road is internationally known as the opening leg of the legendary "Cycle to the Sun" route—a 36-mile climb that ascends from Paia to the 10,023-foot summit of Haleakala, widely considered one of the longest continuous paved climbs in the world.