LahainaTown has now installed the first two phases of its interpretive plan project, Ala Hele Mo'olelo O Lahaina, the Lahaina Historic Trail. This trail will eventually replace the forty-year old Lahaina Walking Tour, and will feature 62 sites.

To provide a "living history" is the focus of this self-guided walking tour through Lahaina, which is considered one of the most historically significant places in Hawai'i. In its two historic districts, running (south to north) from the 500 block of Front Street (near the Moku'ula restoration site) to 1000 Front Street (near the Seamen's Hospital site), there are many notable spots where you can get a glimpse of what really took place there in the past. This first series of 29 interpretive plaque-signs tell the vital stories of LahainaTown and the people who have called it home over the centuries.

The timeline covers Hawaii's history from the great rulers of Maui, the Pi'ilani Family of the late 16th century, through the wars of unification of the islands in the late 18th century, to the beginning of the Hawaiian Kingdom and the era of the Kamehameha kings (I, II and III) through the time when King Kamehameha III moved the capital from Lahaina to Honolulu (1845). The signage also describes the beginning of the missionary era in Lahaina, and talks about whaling, the shipping trade, and the constitutional government (1820's - 1860's), plus the annexation of Hawai'i as a territory of the U.S. in 1898. The beginning of the plantation era and the migration of Asian and European laborers who significantly shaped the town in the first half of the 20th century are also depicted. Each of these defining eras in Hawaii's history come alive in the trail signs.

Site locations for these plaques are: The Baldwin Home; Campbell Park; Lahaina Library & Makai Lawn; Lahaina Harbor; Banyan Tree Park, Kamehameha Iki Park, and various spots along Front Street. Look for plaques made of bronze metal with engravings of photos and text, plus the trail logo of breadfruit and leaves in the top left corner. Although each sign is self-explanatory, a map-brochure of the whole trail is available.

An integral part of this trail are wooden kiosks housing a colorful map of LahainaTown and the historic trail sites. They can be found near the parking lots of Moku'ula at Shaw and Front St. and the County lot at Prison and Front St.; at Lahaina Harbor Park and inside Old Lahaina Courthouse; across from the Luakini St. side of Wharf Cinema Center; in Campbell Park and on Dickenson St. at the Baldwin Home parking lot. More will be installed in other LahainaTown parking lot locations.