Maui Sugar Cane Train -
Sugar Cane Train & Sightseeing Ride

All Aboard for a Trip To Days Gone By
All aboard the Sugar Cane Train for this charming and nostalgic tour to bygone days for a ride like no other on Maui. There are faster ways to travel from historic Lahaina town to Kaanapali on Maui’s west side, but when you’re visiting this special slice of paradise, why rush? Join us for Maui’s most unusual tour and sit back to enjoy the ride.

Hawaii’s railroad history dates back more than a hundred years, as trains hauled sugar cane to the mills and transported plantation workers between their homes and the cane fields. At one time, the Hawaiian Islands were home to 40 railroads that served the thriving sugar cane industry. Steam locomotives became a familiar fixture on Maui’s landscape, blasting their whistles as they rounded a mountain curve or chugging along a narrow- gauge track between cane fields and plantation villages.

The first locomotive used in West Maui for sugarcane production debuted in 1890 and continued until around 1950. The train retired when motorized trucks and mechanical claws became more efficient and cost effective. In 1969, A.W. "Mac" McKelvy and the Makai Corporation joined forces to create the Lahaina, Kaanapali & Pacific Railroad, a.k.a. "The Sugar Cane Train." Since 1970, these replicas of the colorful “iron horses” that once served the sugar cane industry have provided passenger service from Lahaina to Puukolii (just north of Kaanapali), hosting some five million visitors.

The Sugar Cane Train, A Hawaiian Adventure
Officially named the Lahaina-Kaanapali and Pacific Railroad or LK&P, the Sugar Cane Train is an authentic reproduction of a sugar cane train that once ran through the sugar cane fields of West Maui from 1890 until around 1950. The train consists of locomotives which are authentic artifacts of Hawaii's railroad history. The coaches are replicas of the Kalakaua coaches that ran on the Hawaiian Railroad in the 1880's. Even the steel rails are historic, having been removed from the Kahului Railroad when it was abandoned on Maui in 1966.

Hawaii’s railroads have almost entirely disappeared, but the Sugar Cane Train (officially named is The Lahaina, Kaanapali & Pacific Railroad) is still chugging along, treating visitors to a nostalgic journey to the Maui of yesteryear. The Sugar Cane Train locomotive moves along a six-mile stretch of track from the Puukolii Roundhouse Station, past both current cane plantings, rooted in the rich, red Maui volcanic soil and former sugar cane fields, now being planted with other crops, through West Maui’s historic whaling village of Lahaina and over Maui’s historic Hahakea Trestle to the Kaanapali station at a leisurely pace, surrendering speed in favor of terrific coastal sightseeing and panoramic views. The Hahakea trestle is the only railroad trestle ever built on the islands of Hawaii and the added elevation atop the 30 foot high, 415 foot long wooden trestle allows spectacular views of the surrounding West Maui Mountains and the neighboring islands of Lanai and Molokai.

The ride includes Hawaiian-style entertainment by a singing Paniolo (Hawaiian for Cowboy)conductor, who adds a little extra fun and flair as he provides his lively, Maui-style narration and points out significant sites of local and historic interest along the way. Kids of all ages will love the experience of a "blow down" (train talk for the 30-40 foot tower of steam shoots out of the whistle). During the winter months (December through April) be sure to keep a watchful eye on the distant Pacific waters for a glimpse of Maui’s most majestic annual visitors, the Humpback Whales. Often they can be seen reveling in the warm waters off the shores of Lahaina and Kaanapali, their favorite island playground.