The petroglyphs are easily accessible via a dirt road just south west of the Olowalu General Store. It is a short ride, or walk, from the highway. Just past the sign that marks the petroglyphs, a short hike winds around the cliff up to a promontory with spectacular views of Lanai. At the top is a mound of rocks with a pohaku pointing towards the uninhabited island of Kahoolawe, currently under restoration.
In ancient times before Western arrival, Olowalu was an ahupua’a that extended from the shoreline up to the summits in a large, pie-shaped slice. Deep in the valley, amidst forested groves of ohia lehua trees and native sandalwood and hardwoods, Hawaiians farmed kalo (taro), 'uala (sweet potato), and 'ulu (breadfruit) with water from Olowalu stream. Near shore, fish were sustainably harvested from the sea in a calendar based on the moon, and fishponds were built on the rocky shoreline just six miles south of Lahaina.
Although it wasn't the largest community on the island's leeward coast, Olowalu was still moderately sized; a census performed in 1831 counted 831 Hawaiians—a number believed to be close to the amount residing there pre-Western contact.
Those numbers would drastically change, however, with the arrival of Western diseases, although the first infamous encounter with Westerners was with guns, rather than germs.
