In the 1800s Makena was the busiest landing on the southeastern coast of Maui. During the California Gold Rush, many San Francisco-bound ships coming up from Cape Horn stopped for supplies at Makena. Fresh fruits and vegetables needed by the miners were loaded onto the ships.

Even after the gold frenzy died down, cattle from Ulupalakua and other ranches were shipped to market in Honolulu from the old Makena Landing. The ranchers tethered the animals to longboats and swam them out to steamers waiting just offshore.

By the 1920's, however, interisland boat traffic had shifted to other ports on the island and the Landing was pretty much abandoned and Makena slumbered.

About a mile south of the landing, just beyond Puu Olai, a 360 foot red cinder hill which is a prominent shoreline feature, is Makena Beach. The beach is actually two beaches: Big Beach, a gorgeous sweep of glistening golden sand that is well over a half-mile long with straight-on views of Molokini and Kahoolawe and turquoise waters, and Puu Olai Beach or Little Beach, which is a secluded cove protected by rocky outcroppings from the cinder cone.

In the late 1960s, Makena Beach became the site of a free camping ground that developed into a semi-permanent tent city. Makena Beach took on the nickname "Hippie Beach." Finally, in 1972, the police evicted everybody on health-code violations.

In the 1980s, the Seibu Corporation bought up 1800 acres of Makena above the landing and an exclusive development similar to Wailea grows.

The Ahihi-Kinau Natural Area Reserve and the historical La Perouse Bay can be reached by following the Makena Road past this resort area. The King's Highway Coastal Trail, which follows the coastline across jagged barren lava flows that date from the last eruption of Haleakala in 1790, continues past the end of the road.