When planning your activities and adventures on Maui, try to reserve a couple of days to explore the Upcountry areas. Upcountry Maui consists of Hali’imaile, Makawao, Pukalani, Lower Kula, Upper Kula, Keokea, and Ulupalakua. 

All of these distinct areas and towns are nestled on the slopes of 10,023 ft high Mt. Haleakala. All visitors will surely marvel in the glory of the huge island views and panoramic vistas found in Upcountry, Maui. 

When planning an Upcountry day trip, you might want to choose one of your first days on island. The area is full of hiking trails, historic sites, and farms to explore. Visiting Maui has many benefits, and shopping for locally grown foods at Maui’s farms is indeed an awesome travel experience in its own. Taste new flavors, meet local farmers, and shop for freshly sourced by you groceries for your Maui Resort Rental. 

Here is a list of some of the most mazing farms and distilleries in Upcountry, Maui.

Ali’i Kula Lavender Farm

The Ali’i Kula Lavender Farm was created by Ali’i Chang, a horticulture master and agricultural artist from Maui. The Maui lavender farm is settled on the sloped of Mt. Haleakala, situated at approximately 4000 ft. elevation. The property in itself is stunning, and almost out-of-this-world. On 13.5 acres, the farm has approximately 55,000 lavender plants, and over 45 different varieties. Here, you’ll find landscape architecture at its very best, with huge island views surrounding. 

When visiting the Ali’i Kula Lavender Farm, consider booking a tour ahead of time. Guests can enjoy daily guided walking tours, golf cart tours, kids treasure hunts, gourmet picnic lunches, and a variety of seasonal events. 

If you’re looking for some extra special Maui souvenirs, the Ali’i Kula Lavender Farm is a great place to find gifts for friends and family at home. Their gift shop is as sweet as can be with locally produced lavender products: aromatherapy items, bath products, culinary items and spices, apparel, and more specialty items.

 

 

MauiWine- Ulupalakua Vineyards

MauiWine is located in Ulupalakua. It’s Maui’s only winery, and it’s located on a historic Maui property. They’ve been in business for over 45 years, and are famous for wines like their sparkling Lokelani, pineapple wines, and estate wines. 

The property that MauiWine is located on has a historical past that reaches to 1841. During the plantation era, King Kamehameha III leashed a sugar mill and approximately 2,087 acres to L.L. Torbert. Torbert raised livestock, grew sugarcane, produced firewood, and the “best quality of Irish potatoes in any quantity at the lower prices, on the shortest notice.” 

In 1856, Captain James Makee (whaler) purchased the property from Torbert, and moved his family to the land. He reopened the sugar mill in 1861, and Rose Ranch was born. At the time, the Rose Ranch sugar plantation was one of the largest in Hawaii. Makee would throw lavish parties on the property, and high profile guests in attendance even included Hawaiian monarchy. 

Now, visitors can visit MauiWine to learn about the history, taste the wines, attend walking tours, wine tasting and wine production tours. One of their most exclusive tours is the Old Jail Tasting, which allows guests an opportunity to relax while learning about wines in one of the oldest structures on the property. 

When visiting MauiWine, make sure to check out their gift shop! Guests can join their wine club, purchase bottles of wine to take home, find unique Maui made gifts and wine accessories.

 

 

Surfing Goat Dairy

Located in Lower Kula, Maui’s Surfing Goat Dairy offers some of the most unique and enjoyable farm tours in Maui. The farm is perfect for all ages, and especially fun if you’re traveling with kids. Guests can book the Grand Dairy Tour, Daily Casual Tour, or the Evening Chore & Goat Milking Tour. Depending on the season, you may even be able to see some baby goats!

Surfing Goat Dairy is a nationally recognized, and award-winning goat cheese farm. Some of their most popular cheeses include French Dream, Rolling Green, Shark-Bite Perigord, Garden Fantasia, and Lilikoi Quark. When dining at popular Maui restaurants, you’ll notice that many menus incorporate Surfing Goat Dairy cheeses; Flatbread Company, Gerard’s, Kula Lodge, Leilani’s, Mala Ocean Tavern, Mama’s Fish House, Maui Brewing Company, and many more.

When visiting Maui’s Surfing Goat Dairy, guests can visit the goats, taste cheeses, order cheese tasting flights, and enjoy lunch and refreshment in their outdoor dining patio. Here’s a great Maui farm to visit with the whole family!

 

 

Evonuk Farms

Evonuk Farms is a culinary herb farm located in Lower Kula. They grow a huge assortment of fresh Maui grown herbs including Basil varieties, Bay Leaf, Chives, Cilantro, Dill, Fennel, Lemongrass, Parsley, Rosemary, Sage, Spearmint, and Tarragon. In addition, they also grown vegetables and fruits like Collard Greens, Golden Beets, Kale, Chard, Avocado, Mango, Pomegranate, and Sapote.

Their farming practices are a combination of both organic and conventional practices, utilizing drip migration, mulching, crop rotation, and cover cropping to grow the best quality Maui herbs and produce. Their farm is solar powered, and their use of ‘green’ manure allows them to fertilize soil with dead and dying plants to restore nutrients in the land. 

Evonuk Farms products are featured on a bulk of Maui’s best restaurant menus, and sold throughout large chain, organic, and co-op groceries stores in the Hawaiian Islands. 

If you’d like to visit Evonuk Farms, they do not have an organized daily or weekly tour, but they will accommodate private tours for those that plan ahead of time. It’s a unique way to learn more about agricultural practices on Maui, and all guests will have an opportunity to smell, touch, and taste the plants grown at Evonuk. 

Here’s a great Maui farm to visit for foodies, culinary enthusiasts, chefs, and restauranteurs visiting the Valley Isle.

 

 

Ocean Vodka Farm & Hawaii Sea Spirits Organic Farm

Hawaii Sea Spirits was the brain child of Shay Smith and his family. Inspired by the spirit of aloha, ohana, and the ocean that surrounds Maui, the Smith’s set out to create a Maui distillery that uses deep ocean mineral water and organic sugarcane (non-GMO, USDA organic, and gluten-free) in the production of their spirits. 

What started as a small family business, has now evolved into a growing empire known as Hawaii Sea Spirits. At their distillery in Lower Kula, Hawaii Sea Spirits produces Ocean Vodka (amazing in a martini or a Bloody Mary!), Kula Rum, Coconut Toasted Kula Rum, and Brum.

When visiting the Hawaii Sea Spirits Organic Farm, guests can participate in a Distillery and Tasting Tour 7 days a week. Farm visitors are greeted by a knowledgable guide, walk the grounds, see the farm, and learn how they cultivate syrups of 30 Polynesian sugarcane varieties into their famous sea spirits. Through sustainable farming practices, all will surely learn a lot about agriculture and ecological responsibility on Maui. 

In addition, tour guests over 21 years old may sample their products. After enjoying the Ocean Vodka farm tour, make sure to pop into their gift shop to find a variety of Maui souvenirs like spirits, apparel, and more Maui made gifts.

 

 

Maui Nui Farm

Maui Nui Farm is located in the upper area of Lower Kula. Owned and operated by two master chefs, Maui Nui is a great farm to visit for purchasing locally grown vegetables, fruits, and flowers in Maui. If you love Thai food, you’re in for a real treat at Maui Nui Farm because the Thai chef owners have an amazing food truck on the property!

Maui Nui’s 40 acre farm grows a variety of edible crops pending the season: lettuce, zucchini, squash, tomato, herbs, Maui onions, gold potatoes, papaya, bananas, strawberry, and more. On their flower farm, they grow beautiful protea, fragrant tuberose and gardenia, orchids, haliconia, and lotus.

Guests can visit the Maui Nui Farmers Market on their property every Thursday, Saturday, and Sunday from 9am-5pm. Every first Saturday and Sunday of the month, they offer Family Days at their farm from 8am-5pm. This is an awesome opportunity for visitors and residents to enjoy a farm tour, live music, community, and delicious Thai food.

 

 

Kula Country Farms

Kula Country Farms is located off of the Haleakala Highway in Kula, Maui. It’s a family owned farm with four generations of farming history in Maui.

The Kula Country Farms property is super inviting, and a great place to visit if your traveling with kids in Maui. The property features gardens, miniature pony’s, goats, and seasonal events like strawberry picking in the Summer, and a pumpkin patch in the Fall.

On their property, they grow seasonal produce that’s straight from the farm; zucchini, greens, tomato, cabbage variety, greens, and all sorts of veggies and fruits that are in season at the time.

The Farm Stand at Kula Country Farms is full of fresh seasonal produce, and they even make some pretty cool products of their own: Kula Strawberry Jam, Kula Strawberry Syrup, Strawberry-Banana Jam, Strawberry Hawaiian Chili Pepper Jam, Kula Onion BBQ Sauce, a selection of salad dressings, marinades, salts, sauces, honey, and more.

 

 

Kula Beans Coffee Farm

The folks at the Kula Beans Coffee Farm have been growing a variety of Typica coffee trees since 2009. Their goal is to create the highest grade Maui coffee possible by utilizing sustainable farming practices: no use of synthetic pesticides, herbicides, chemicals, or fertilizers. 

Kula Beans’ coffee is 100% Maui estate grown, and a combination of 70% Typica, and 30% Red Catuai beans. They have two premium roasts available including Full City Roast- Estate Reserve, French Roast- Estate Reserve, Upcountry Blend- Full City Whole Bean, and Upcountry Blend- French Roast Whole Bean. They also sell a super delicious Coffee Rub that can be used in a homestyle culinary fashion for meat and vegetable dishes.

Farm Tours at Kula Beans are available by appointment only. Guests can visit this award-winning farm, walk the grounds, learn about coffee cultivation in Maui, taste Red Catuai- Typica varieties, and enjoy freshly baked banana macadamia nut bread. Tours are available on Tuesdays and Thursdays, and reservations are required.

 

 

Maui Gold Pineapple Tours

Maui Gold Pineapple Tours are the only of its kind in the State of Hawaii. Different than other pineapple varieties grown in Hawaii, Maui Gold pineapples are a low acid fruit that’s much sweeter than the average store bought pineapple.

When visiting Maui Gold, guests have many options for their visit. Guests can book a Pineapple Tour, Pineapple Distillery Tour, Pineapple Tour with Lunch, and Private Tours. All guests even receive a complimentary pineapple with every tour!

On a Maui Gold Pineapple Tour, visitors meet at the facility in Hali’imaile to learn about pineapple agriculture, then travel by bus to their Upcountry pineapple fields to see how Maui Gold is grown. During the tour, guests also have an opportunity to taste the different stages of pineapple production at the packing facility.  Tours are available daily, and must be pre-booked online.

 

 

Hali’imaile Distilling Company Tour & Tasting Room

The Hali’imaile Distilling Company Tour & Tasting Room is located adjacent to Maui Gold Pineapples in Hali’imaile. If you’ll be in the area, it’s a great idea to maximize on your vacation time and book simultaneous tours.

The Hali’imaile Distilling Company is the creator of Hana Bay Rum, Whaler Rum, Mahina Premium Rum, Paniolo Blended Whiskey, Fid Street Hawaiian Gin, and PAU Maui Vodka; a sprit that is distilled using Maui Gold Pineapples. 

When visiting their Hali’imaile distillery, guests can pre-book a Distillery Tour. During the tour, visitors can tour the distillery, learn about the process of distilling pineapple into spirits, and guests 21+ can taste the products. Here’s a great tour for everyone, and especially interested for those that work in the bar industry, and those that consider themselves a mixologist at heart.

 

 

Surely, all will enjoy visiting Upcountry Maui! With so many things to do and places to explore, you may want to return to Maui just to continue your Upcountry Maui adventure. 

If you’re looking for places to eat while Upcountry, check out these Maui restaurant suggestions below…

Hali’imaile:

Hali’imaile General Store

Wooden Crate at Lumeria

Makawao:

Casanova Makawao

Habibi

Sip Me

Pukalani:

Serpicos Pizza

Farmacy Health Bar

Kojimas Sushi

Kula:

La Provence

Kula Bistro

Kula Lodge & Restaurant

Keokea

Grandma’s Coffee Shop

Ulupalakua:

Ulupalakua Ranch Store & Grill