Hana at mile 34. The highway then turns to the west and continues as Route 31. Tourism The Hana Highway is a popular tourist attraction in Maui. Guidebooks often devote large sections to traveling the highway leading to the eastern side of Maui, documenting the many waterfalls and attractions that can be found along the way. Some of these attractions lie within or through private property and will often have "no trespassing" signs posted or even signs claiming that the attraction does not exist. All beaches in Hawaii are public. Some guidebooks document the "keep out" areas and ways past barbed wire fences and locked gates to reach attractions. Beyond the town of Hana, the Hana Highway becomes Hawaii State Road 330 and leads to the Oheo Gulch where the Seven Sacred Pools are located within the Kipahulu Area of the Haleakala National Park. Occasionally the dirt road past Route 31 is closed to traffic due to landslides. However, although it is somewhat rough in places, it is by no means a daunting or particularly dangerous road if taken slowly. Scenic turnouts abound, including one for Wailua Falls near the Seven Sacred Pools in Oheo. History In the sixteenth century, Maui's King Pi'ilani conquered East Maui and drew Hana into his political sphere. Pi'ilani built the Alaloa, the "long road," from West Maui, a road on which travelers reportedly swung themselves over East Maui's rushing streams with ropes made of vines. Later, Piilani's son, Kihapiilani, extended the Alaloa into the Hana District. When completed, the road was wide, , and paved with hand-fitted basalt (lava) rocks. Modern road construction to Hana began in the 1870s, with an unpaved road built to facilitate the construction of the Hämäkua Ditch. Part of The East Maui Irrigation System, the Hämäkua Ditch brought water from the rainforests of Haleakalā to semi-arid central Maui to support the sugarcane industry. Road construction continued in the early 1900s and was extended piecemeal until the full road to Hana was officially opened on December 18, 1926. Construction of bridges continued through the 1930s and the road was not completely paved until the 1960s. Major intersections Gallery See also List of bridges documented by the Historic American Engineering Record in Hawaii References External links Historic American Engineering Record in Hawaii Historic trails and roads in Hawaii Roads in Hawaii Historic districts on the National Register of Historic Places in