Haleakalā National Park (Cabin Permits)

Please bring the park rangers and service team back. There needs to be more education so hikers take care of the trails, cabins and campsites.

The historic cabins are very special. Each cabin has a unique hike to get to it. Watching the Ne-Ne birds is fun.

The overall experience was great. I only have a couple of comments:

(1) 3 fire logs per night may be too few. We did run out of firewood on the second night and it got a tad cold.
(2) Consider restoring the dining and cookware, which was taken out during the pandemic. Having to carry our own cookware and dining ware really added weight to our backpacks.

Thanks

The kapalaoa cabin is amazing for location from watching the light fade across the crater to day hiking through the central crater and down to Paliku to watching sunrise in the quiet of the morning! Everything as expected in the cabin.

Attn: Natalie Gates, Haleakala National Park Superintendant -
While I greatly appreciate that the rustic backcountry cabins in Haleakala Crater are still available, their condition is deplorable. I have stayed in all three of the cabins many times over many years and have never seen them look so bad. Having personally volunteered on maintenance and repair crews in the past, I know what the acceptable standard is. I have personally reupholstered all 12 bunks and painted their supporting framework in Holua Cabin. If you are encouraging visitors to treat Haleakala Crater with the respect and reverence it needs and deserves, then you should also provide an accommodation experience that fosters that respect and reverence. Please begin the planning process to remediate the kitchen and restore it to serviceable condition. Please replace the missing eight bunks and lift the outdated Covid occupancy restrictions ASAP. The location of the wood lockers is thoughtless and should not block the view from the windows. Please restore the kitchen utensils and dishware. If the cabin was remediated properly, I am certain that those utilizing it would happily comply with the expectation to clean it and leave it in good condition upon departure. These rustic backcountry cabins are essentially heritage buildings that should be protected and preserved for the use and enjoyment of future generations of visitors to Haleakala Crater. Lastly please restore the ability to book directly with Haleakala Park headquarters, or at the very least to book last minute cancellations, so that local Maui Islanders don't have to compete with anyone in the world that has a smartphone to book this long-standing traditional resource. Thank you for your timely and considerate attention to this matter. Signed, Matthew Beck.

:) mahalo was lovely lovely.
Glad for the firewood in a rainy Paikū night

Once in a lifetime experience to stay at the Paliku cabin. Definitely bring fire starters-- the logs are as hard to light as the reviews say. Highly recommend for anyone wanting to see a less traveled side of Maui.

They state that there are no pots, pans, plates, cups or utensils in the cabins so we lugged our own in. We stayed at Kapalaoa and Holua and both had pots and pans and a few utensils and cups.

We stayed 2 nights at the middle cabin. The crater is always fantastic but the cabins all need upgrades. It was pretty disgusting.
I’ve been coming to these cabins for 40 years and it’s waaay beyond time to put some work into them.

Cabins were in impeccable condition. Well-kept. Communication between myself and national parks services was prompt.