Haleakala National Park is a United States National Park on the Hawaiian island of Maui.
The park is open year-round, 24 hours a day, except for severe weather closures. The park preserves a stunning volcanic crater and surrounding mountain.
Visitor Centers Three visitor centers are open daily and year round subject to staff availability (with the exception of Haleakala Visitor Center on 25 December and 1 January).
- Park Headquarters Visitor Center, +1 808 572-4400. 8AM-4PM. 7,000 ft/2,134 m
- Haleakala Visitor Center (9,740 ft/2,969 m), 6:30AM–3:30PM.
- Kipahulu Visitor Center (sea level), 9AM-5PM.
Haleakala National Park was established in 1916. It now protects 30,183 (12,214 ha) acres of land on Maui. Within the park 24,719 acres (10,003 ha) are designated as a Wilderness Area and this land is managed under the Wilderness Act of 1964.
Extensive lava flows, ash, and cinder cones cover the floor of the crater at the summit. Many compare it to a moonscape. The Park extends all the way down to sea level and so has varied landscapes.
Haleakala National Park has more endangered species than any other park in the NPS, even including species that are listed as endangered by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service but not native to the park. Isolation of the Hawaiian Islands from any mainland resulted in unique evolution here. There are only two native Hawaiian land mammals, the monk seal and the hoary bat. There are no native land amphibians or reptiles.
Whales, turtles, dolphins and seabirds can sometimes be seen off-shore, while an afternoon spent looking for a glimpse of the freshwater inhabitants (shrimp, rock-climbing goby, other fish) can be a cool and rewarding way to spend your time.
Haleakala is famous for its endangered silversword plant. Growing where it seems that almost nothing grows, it is a stunning contrast to the stark landscape.
In any given day the temperatures in the park can range from a high of 80°F (27°C) in Kipahulu to a low of 30°F (-1°C) at the summit. In either area clouds and rain can quickly replace warm sunshine.
Summit and Wilderness
Weather in the high-elevation areas of the park is highly unpredictable and changes often. Cool temperatures, intense solar radiation, and rapidly moving clouds are characteristic. On average, the temperature drops about 3°F for every 1,000-foot rise in elevation (or approximately 5°C for every 1,000-meter elevation rise), making the 10,023 foot (3,055 m) summit of Haleakala about 30°F (or 17°C) cooler than the coast. Year-round summit temperatures range between below freezing to highs of 50-65°F (10-18°C). The outside temperatures can feel much colder because of wind chill and damp, overcast conditions.
Kipahulu
In contrast to the summit, the weather in the Kipahulu area of the park is milder and wetter. Expect the tropical weather to be humid, warm to hot depending on the season, and prone to sudden heavy rains and winds. Located on the windward (eastern) coast of the island, Kipahulu receives an average of 187 inches (475 cm) of rain each year. The proximity of the ocean and the trade winds moderate the temperature and keep it at a daytime average of 70-80°F (21-27°C) year round. Nighttime lows average 65-75°F (18-24°C). Flash floods are a serious hazard in Kipahulu, so make sure to check at the Visitor Center before entering the streams or pools.
Park Headquarters Visitor Center, +1 808 572-4400. 8AM-4PM. 7,000 ft/2,134 m
All park visitors are required to purchase a recreational use pass upon entering Haleakala National Park. The funds collected from the pass have helped the park to refurbish restrooms, upgrade roads, create park exhibits, and enhance your experience as a park visitor.
General Car Pass: $25. Valid for 3 days. Admits private, non-commercial vehicle and all occupants to Haleakala National Park.
Tri-Parks Annual Pass: $30. Valid for 12 months from issue. Admits private, non-commercial vehicle and all occupants to Haleakala NP and two National Parks on the Big Island, Hawaii Volcanoes NP and Pu`uhonua o Honaunau NHP.
Individual Entry: $12. Valid for 3 days. Admits one individual with no car - usually used for bicyclists, hikers, and motorcycles.
No place you have ever been can prepare you for the experiences and feelings you will have on the summit of Haleakala volcano. The landscape - deeply sculpted, richly colored, and intensely evocative will be unlike any landscape you have known. Visually expansive, the summit area continually eludes any attempt to understand its scale or dimensions. It is strongly recommended that you get up early one clear morning to watch the sunrise over the edge of the rim. To regulate the number of people at the summit during the sunrise, a reservation of $1.5 is now mandatory. It can be made on-line.
You may spend a few hours hiking in the cinder desert landscape, or a few minutes looking for native birds in the shrubland - whatever you choose to do, you will do it surrounded by native Hawaiian plants and animals. The mountain summit is one of the only easily-accessible areas of Hawaii where our rare and endemic species survive and thrive.
An unexpected and dramatic landscape at the top of the world, the Wilderness Area encompasses 24,719 acres (10,003 ha) and countless microclimates. Elevation change from rim to the floor can be 3,000 feet (914 m). You can day hike, spend the night in a tent at one of the two Wilderness Campgrounds, or reserve one of the three historic cabins along the trail. Your steps will take you from brown and red cinder cones, towering hundreds of feet tall in dry, cold desert air to cloudforests dripping with red and green native ferns. Nene and endemic honeycreepers can be seen in the lower, wetter parts of the Wilderness area during the day. Seabirds can be heard (in season) at night, and stars saturate the sky. Photographers will quickly run out of superlatives.
The Wilderness Area of Haleakala can be accessed by two mountaintop trailheads: Halemauu Trailhead at 8000 feet (2,438 m), and Keoneheehee (or Sliding Sands) near the summit at 9740 feet (2,969 m). Both trails merge eventually and lead down the southeast side of the volcano to the relatively barren and unpopulated coast in the Kaupo district.
The Kipahulu area of Haleakala National Park can be accessed by driving 10 mi(16 km) past the town of Hana, on the famous Hana road that circumscribes the northeast coast of the island of Maui. The Kipahulu area encompasses both the easily-accessed coastal section and the highly restricted, biologically precious and pristine upper slope reserve that is closed to all by limited research access.
Hiking here is self-guided and quite rewarding. There are also scheduled orientations and cultural demonstrations - ask at the Visitor Center. This area of the coast has been inhabited by native people for hundreds, if not thousands, of years. Learn more about these people, their lives and their culture by attending and participating in park programs.
Most visitors hike the two-mile trail leading uphill along the Pipiwai Trail, following the stream which courses through the Oheo Gulch. Some swim in the cool lower pools adjacent to the ocean. However, the stream can be very unpredictable and flash floods are common - and have caused injury and death. You are responsible for your own safety in this natural area. Do not underestimate the risk, and always obey all caution signs and warnings from Rangers.
Due to rough conditions, there is no safe ocean entry in Kipahulu.
There is no food, coffee, fuel, or clothing available for sale in the park. The closest services, restaurants, lodging and shops to the summit area are in Pukalani, Makawao and Kula. The closest to the Kipahulu Area are in Hana.
- The Hawaii Natural History Association bookshops stock books, CDs, DVDs, photos, posters and various educational materials.
No food or drink concessions are available. All food must be brought in yourself, and all garbage taken out of the park with you.
- Crater coffee, kula lodge parking lot (on the right, +1-808-757-1342. 3AM-7AM. Coffee, teas, hot cocoa & other drinks. Snacks include bagels and muffins. This business is a mobile coffee trailer with restrooms and staff that can provide information about road conditions, sunrise times, and other matters of local interest. $1-15.
Crater coffee, kula lodge parking lot (on the right, +1-808-757-1342. 3AM-7AM. Coffee, teas, hot cocoa & other drinks. Snacks include bagels and muffins. This business is a mobile coffee trailer with restrooms and staff that can provide information about road conditions, sunrise times, and other matters of local interest. $1-15.
The high altitude at the summit area may complicate health conditions and cause breathing difficulties. Pregnant women, young children, and those with respiratory or heart conditions should consult their doctors prior to traveling to high elevations. To help avoid major safety concerns, be sure to walk slowly at high elevation, drink lots of water to avoid dehydration, and check in often with elderly friends or relatives to make sure they're doing okay. Turn back and seek medical aid if you have health concerns.
In the Kipahulu Area there is no drinking water available. Visitors should bring mosquito repellent. Dangerous flash floods do occur; check at the visitor center before entering the water and heed all posted warnings.