Haleakalā National Park (Wilderness Tent Permit)

Beautiful location, excellent experience at Haleakala.

Such a magical and sacred spot.

The staff at the park do not provide adequate directions and guidance to the trails to camp in the crater. The effect of the guidance was to park at the top and you'll see the trailhead.

The trailhead for the camping/cabin is not clearly marked. There were no staff at the parking lot/upper viewing point. The trailhead should be clearly marked with a distance to the crater and cabin. It's a very long hike and the signs are few and far between.

Excellently maintained trail, extremely scenic campsite. My favourite experience throughout Hawaii hands down

Absolutely amazing two nights. I hiked from the summit to Paliku the first night and saw the most stars I've ever seen in my life. Both Paliku and Holua sites are in prime locations where clouds from the sea wash over the land and create a surprisingly lush location (refreshing after hiking over mounds of cinder for hours). Trails are mostly well maintained and had good signage. Approaching Paliku, the trail can be less clear and widens out, but as long as you stick to the mountains you'll be fine. Hiking out of Holua and up the Halemau'u switchbacks gives you a beautiful view of what you thought was barren volcanic rock. It's also less of a climb.

No one ever asked me for my permit, but I did arrive on island with enough time the day before to pop into a public library and add my rental car info and print out a couple copies. At least I had peace of mind that my car would be there waiting for me and not towed.

Dress very warmly for the summit. Winds can be brutal. My wife was blown over on to her back.while talking to another couple and she was wearing a backpack with over 55 lb. in it

Great campsite. Slept good despite the heavy rains.
I wish the campsites numbers were better indicated. If each campsite had its own sign, it would take away potential confusion among the campers.

Excellent backcountry tent sites. Holua1 is obvious however take time to locate the cleared spots for 2,3, & 4. Out house is just that and not maintained. The sea birds are nocturnal and were on spring break too. We brought a tarp as well as tents to get some extra sun & wind protection. Uber and lyft are not allowed past the entrance. We got dropped off and used the supply trail to access Halemau'u Trail. It was just about 6.2 mi from the entrance to Holua1 via this route.

Haleakala National Park is awesome. Paliku and Holua are great campsites.