Picturesque and colorful Paia, located on Maui's North Shore, is a very small, quaint and charming community with wonderful old buildings. Pa'ia town's two main blocks, one that runs up Baldwin Avenue toward Makawao and the other that runs west on the Hana Highway beginning at its intersection with Baldwin, comprises boutiques, coffee shops, colorful shops, excellent restaurants and coffee houses, yoga and dance studios, a tattoo parlor, alternative medicine and religions, exquisite local arts and crafts dot this small town giving it an international flare. This town's rural atmosphere is made up of homes, cottages and apartments. You won't find high-rise condos or hotels here.

The people are as colorful and interesting as the boutiques. You'll find surfers and wind-surfers, hippies, locals, transplants, small business owners and shop-keepers, tourists, and even some "normal" folks in this melting pot.

Windsurfing is king in this town. Nearby is Ho'okipa Beach Park where surfing sailors harness wind to ride waves. On any given day visitors will witness some of the world's best windsurfers performing their stunning aerobatics. The constant ocean swells on the eastern side of the beach near the cliff makes this a perfect spot for surfers as well. The beach itself is a small strip of white sand which tends to whip through the air due to the constant wind. The mixture of rock, reef, and sand makes the shoreline uninviting for those not heading out into the waves. Amenities here include grills, covered tables, and bathrooms.

Baldwin Beach is perfect for a day in the waves, a barbecue lunch, or a complete family outing. For the active type, the body boarding here is usually perfect with numerous shore breaks, and the hard packed sand is excellent for walking or running. The shore bottom is almost pure sand, and the crystal blue water is seemingly endless with no offshore islands to break up the horizon. Public facilities here are unparalleled with restrooms, numerous picnic tables and grills, a basketball court, and a soccer field.