On the northwest coast of the island of Maui, it encompasses Lahaina town and the Kaanapali and Kapalua beach resorts.

The CDP spans the coast along Hawaii Route 30 from a tunnel at the south end, through Olowalu, and to the CDPs of Kaanapali and Napili-Honokowai to the north.

[2] Protestant missionaries sent by the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions (ABCFM) began organizing a way to write the Hawaiian language with English letters between 1820–1826 after they reached Hawaii.

Albert Pierce Taylor explains its relationship to the area as the "flying piece of kuleana, that which sticks out from the sea".

A bald-headed chief who lived at Kauaula Valley, while going to and fro without a hat, felt annoyed at the effects of the scorching rays of the burning sun.

He looked up and gazed into the heavens and cursed at the sun thus: He keu hoi keia o ka la haina!"

[9] The first mōʻī or aliʻi nui (supreme ruler) of western Maui was Haho, the son of Paumakua a huanuikalalailai.

[21][22] The base of the Kamehameha statue in Honolulu depicts the warrior meeting Cook off the coast of Lahaina.

[23] British explorer George Vancouver visited in 1793 and unsuccessfully attempted to mediate a peace between Kahekili and Kalaniʻōpuʻu's successor Kamehameha I.

These circumstances strongly indicated their poverty, and proved what had been frequently asserted at Owhyhee, that Mowee and its neighbouring islands were reduced to great indigence by the wars in which for many years they had been engaged.

[27][28] American Protestant missionaries from the ABCFM arrived in the Hawaiian Islands in 1820, setting up stations on Hawaiʻi, Oʻahu and Kauaʻi.

The two men and their family accompanied Queen Keōpūolani, the wife of Kamehameha I, and her daughter Princess Nāhiʻenaʻena from Oʻahu to Lahaina.

[33] Lahaina was an important destination for 19th-century whalers who came to reprovision their ships with fresh water, fruit, potatoes and other vegetables.

The town provided ample rest and recreation for their crew whose presence frequently led to conflicts with the local missionaries.

In response, Governor Hoapili built the Old Lahaina Fort in 1831 to protect the town from disorderly conduct of sailors.

[35][36] Kamehameha III resided in a traditional royal compound on the sacred island of Mokuʻula located on Mokuhinia lake in the middle of Lahaina from 1837 to 1845.

[31][39] A banyan tree (Ficus benghalensis) was planted near the site of Kamehameha I's first palace by William Owen Smith on April 24, 1873, to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the arrival of Christian missionaries.

[45] Over August 8–9, 2023, much of Lahaina was destroyed by a wildfire amid dry and windy conditions exacerbated by Hurricane Dora, with 102 fatalities occurring in the town.

[46] In 2024, Maui County released plans for rebuilding the commercial district, infrastructure and affordable housing with a completion estimate of six years.

[49] Lahaina town is one of the driest places in Hawaii, because it is in the rain shadow of Mauna Kahālāwai (West Maui Mountains).

Lahaina has a hot semi-arid climate (Köppen BShs) with warm temperatures year-round, fairly wet winters, and dry summers.

[53] Before the fire, Front Street stores and restaurants attracted many visitors and was the focal point of the Lahaina Historic District.

[54] Each November, the Lahaina Civic Center hosts the Maui Invitational, a top early-season college basketball tournament.