ʻŌmaʻopio Road runs downhill from Kula Highway through old cane land. Most of the year it's a quiet connector. Two addresses on it, 3651 and 4051, draw most of the cars that turn off the highway. The first is Surfing Goat Dairy. The second is Ocean Organic Farm & Distillery, run by Hawaii Sea Spirits LLC.
This fall the road carried more than its usual traffic, and the county has bigger plans for it. In September, Maui County's Department of Agriculture published a draft environmental assessment for a 262-acre farm park on the makai side of the distillery. The plan's water would run along ʻŌmaʻopio Road itself. The road where Upcountry goes for goat cheese and a farm-to-glass tasting is the one the county has picked to become lower Kula's farm spine.
A season of detours
From August 10, Goodfellow Bros. worked on a waterline on Pūlehu Road, scheduled to finish October 23, 2026. During the work, through traffic between ʻŌmaʻopio Road and Holopuni Road was detoured via ʻŌmaʻopio Road, Kula Highway and Holopuni Road, as Maui Now reported in August. Nearby homes also got a scheduled water shutoff. Homes near Holopuni Road, Pūlehu Road and Pea Place were without service from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. on October 9.
At the top of the road, the Kula Highway and ʻŌmaʻopio Road intersection has been under construction all year. In March, The Maui News reported that the work would continue through October 2026. It listed a round-the-clock northbound shoulder closure and weekday alternating traffic from 8:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. The state highways roadwork page for the week of October 17 to 23 still listed the shoulder closure at that intersection "until further notice." The same notice listed lane work near Keokea Park. Check the week's notice before you go, because that is the turn you take to reach both farms.
3651 Omaopio: an afternoon at Surfing Goat Dairy
Surfing Goat Dairy is open Tuesday through Saturday, 9:30 a.m. to 5 p.m., and closed Sunday and Monday. The farm shop and café sell cheese flights, light meals and baked goods. Tours are what fill the calendar. Here is the dairy's current lineup:
- Daily Casual Tour: 10 a.m., 11 a.m., noon, 2 p.m. and 3 p.m., Tuesday through Saturday. $33 for ages 12 and up, $24 for children 3 to 11.
- Golden Girl: 1:30 p.m. on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday, $41.50 per person.
- Evening chores and milking: Tuesday through Saturday, $33 or $41.50 depending on the ticket. The dairy's printed schedule says 3:30 p.m., but every open slot on the late-October booking calendar shows 3 p.m. Confirm the time when you book.
- Cheese flight: $27.
Booking online saves 10 percent. Timing matters more for the season ahead. The dairy's Baby Goat Interaction Experience runs from early December into spring, so it isn't on the fall menu yet. If you're hosting family over the holidays, the first weeks of December are when that option opens.
4051 Omaopio: the distillery keeps the longer day
Ocean Organic Farm & Distillery runs on a different clock. Its official site lists the store as open daily from 10:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. Guided tastings run from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. The farm café serves from 11:30 a.m. to 7 p.m. and recommends reservations. Tastings and food pairings are booked through the distillery's site. The café page lists its 2026 holiday closures, so check it before planning a holiday-week visit.
The two farms are a few minutes apart on the same road, but their hours only partly overlap:
| Day | Surfing Goat Dairy | Ocean Organic Farm & Distillery |
|---|---|---|
| Tuesday to Saturday | 9:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. | Store 10:30 a.m. to 6 p.m., café to 7 p.m. |
| Sunday and Monday | Closed | Store 10:30 a.m. to 6 p.m., café to 7 p.m. |
| Last scheduled start | Evening chores, 3 p.m. on the October calendar | Tastings run until 5 p.m. |
On a weekday, the table suggests an easy order. Start at the dairy in the early afternoon and finish at the distillery café, which serves two hours past the dairy's closing. On a Sunday or Monday, the distillery is the only one of the two that's open.
The 262 acres on the makai side
The distillery matters for another reason. In its September 24 report, Maui Now said the site of the proposed Upcountry Maui Agricultural Park sits on the makai side of the Maui Ocean Vodka Farm. The site is near the intersection of ʻŌmaʻopio and Pūlehu roads. According to the state's September 23 Environmental Notice, the 262-acre parcel is about 0.7 miles, or 2,000 feet, makai of the existing Kula Agricultural Park. Hawaiian Commercial & Sugar Company used to grow cane on it.
The county proposes splitting the parcel into 28 improved farm sites. The Department of Agriculture would lease them to local farmers and businesses for diversified agriculture. Each lot would have roads, non-potable irrigation and electricity. Drivers would see the change on Pūlehu Road, where the plan adds two new intersections for access to the park.
That's what turns two farm stops into a farm district. Today the stretch of ʻŌmaʻopio Road below Kula Highway has a handful of places you can visit. The plan would put 28 working farm sites on the land just downhill from them.
Why ʻŌmaʻopio Road carries the water
The new park wouldn't stand alone. Maui Now described it as a standalone project whose water system is "tied directly into the Kula Ag Park's existing infrastructure." The Environmental Notice lists three water pieces:
- A new 2.4-million-gallon reservoir expansion inside the existing Kula Agricultural Park.
- An additional booster pump at an existing pump station.
- An extension of the 12-inch water distribution main along ʻŌmaʻopio Road, to serve the farm sites.
Maui Now's article gave the reservoir as 2.5 million gallons. The state notice gives the proposed figure as 2.4 million. The full draft environmental assessment, Volume I, is posted for anyone who wants the engineering detail. The irrigation water is non-potable, meaning it's meant for crops, not household use.
The geography follows from the water. The existing ag park sits upslope with the storage, the new parcel sits downslope with the open land, and ʻŌmaʻopio Road runs between them. The road where you stop for a cheese flight is the route the county has picked to carry irrigation water to Kula's next farms.
Where the process stands after October 23
The 30-day public comment period ended with the October 23, 2026, deadline. The notice labels the filing a "Draft EA (AFNSI)," meaning the county expects a finding of no significant impact. That finding hasn't been issued. Under the review process described in the notice's glossary, a final environmental assessment comes after the draft comments. A finding of no significant impact follows only if the final assessment concludes the impacts aren't significant. Maui Now's coverage didn't give a construction start or completion date.
The review is required because the project uses county land and county funds. The proposing agency is the Maui County Department of Agriculture. Questions go to Director Rogerene Arce at 808-270-8276, and the consultant, Munekiyo Hiraga, is preparing the assessment. When the final assessment comes out, look for it in the state's Environmental Notice, the same publication that carried the draft.
Meanwhile, the nearest farm stop on the highway side is about to change seasons. Kula Country Farms, at 6240 Kula Highway, runs its pumpkin patch through October 31. Hours are 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., with gates closing at 3:45, and admission is $5. Its strawberry U-pick is closed until February 2027. Once the patch closes, the goat dairy and the distillery on ʻŌmaʻopio Road are the two farms in this stretch still running visitor hours through December. That holds until the dairy's baby goat season opens in early December.
I'm interested in Kula's farmland as working land, not just scenery. If you'd like to talk through how the plans for ʻŌmaʻopio and Pūlehu could change this part of Upcountry, Kela Fernandez is glad to talk story about it. Schedule a personal consultation, and let's meet somewhere along the road.
