Haleakalā National Park (Wilderness Tent Permit)

Unreal location. Quietest, clearest night sky I've ever seen. Can't recommend enough. Previous campers have kept Holua spotless, please do your part as well!

Sites can be a bit hard to identify; there's a map posted on the second outhouse along the trail branch (the one near the camp sites) as well as on a stake on the side of said trail. As of Nov 2022 the water spigot is inop but a sign directs you to the water tank behind the cabin.

If you can't update your pass with rental car info (our reservation was locked out as we arrived on island that morning), go to the visitors center and register with the staff there.

Be sure to book well in advance - or check the day before! Of the five tent spots in Palikū, we were the only group who showed up - despite the permits being completely booked for all five sites at least a month beforehand. The terrain is incredible, and changes significantly every couple miles. Make sure you’re in good hiking shape, especially if you’re carrying big packs. Bring something to filter water. Poles were helpful. Watch out for the nene with the “Ari” tag…not thrilled with visitors to the Palikū campsites…😂

Enjoy the amazing views!

Beautiful weather on the hike (Halemau'u Trail) down as well as when we sat and chatted at Holua Backcountry Tent Campsite. At night, the stars lit the sky until the clouds rolled in and it started to rain. Cloudy morning as we hiked out the same way. Enjoyable experience no matter what nature brings you.

Simply magnificent!

Other than showing up and finding someone in our reserved spot and they did not have a reservation, this experience was AMAZING! It has to be one of the top experiences of my life. It's so magical, beautiful and peaceful out there. Every turn on the hike brought new views into the crater that we had to stop to take photos. Seeing into the massiveness of Halekala is something like none other. I highly recommend bringing alot of water. The water source is open season to whatever will fall into it, including the local nene around.

My rating has nothing to do with Haleakala itself, which is a beautiful park. Hiking the trail was amazing. But the campground (Paliku) could be better. There has been no effort made by the park service to mark the tent sites with numbers or to at least level the sites out a bit (as others have noted). You have to look at the location numbers on a board and then try to discern where in the field you're supposed to set up your tent. It's very confusing. The sites themselves are uneven and not great to sleep on even with a camping pad (I am an experienced backpacker and not a newbie, just FYI). But what's worse is the whole process with recreation.gov. It is just appallingly awful. They tell you that you must print your permit and have it on you, but that you can't print before you put in your rental car plate info. Once you print, you're restricted from any further modification. Well, WTF, I'M CAMPING!! I don't have access to a printer in my car! But I tried my best and went into town after leaving the airport to see if I could add the plate info and print from an office max. Surprise, as it turns out, you cannot add your plate info on the first day that you're scheduled to use your permit. So, if you're planning on camping on your first day in town (when, DUH!, you pick up your rental) you'll be prevented from modifying the permit to enter the rental info. So I decided, well, I'll just see if I can print even without the plate info so that I can have the permit on me. Nope. No way to turn the permit into a doc/data file that would allow me to print. You would have to print directly from your own device/laptop and to do that you have to be able to connect it to the office max printer. Again, no way to do that. I called recreation.gov customer service and they were absolutely no help. Over an hour of hassle and headache to no end. The NPS requirements can't be met and the whole process is a joke.

The hike to Holua along Sliding Sands was spectacular! Camping in the crater with Nene birds as your hosts, seeing all the stars and the sun rise made my first backing overnight trip a memorable one! Going through the switchbacks to Halemau'u Trail and standing on the land bridge, where you see the coast on one side and the crater on the other, makes you appreciate what mother nature has given us!

The views were amazing, the trail was very defined and easy to travel. We had one issue with a group of younger hikers that had rented the cabin at Paliku and were being very loud and disrespectful of the tent campers, not to mention the disrespect for the that very spiritual valley. We did finally get them to go into the cabin and keep quiet but not until about 9 pm. If you plan on backpacking through the park, please take special note of the quiet times 8PM to 8AM. I would highly suggest doing the loop, catching a ride between trailheads took about 5 mins (3 cars passed before being picked up). Also be prepared for wet and cold conditions. This was a wonderful hike and experience, had to stop all the time just to take it all in and appreciate the geologic history that surrounded me.

We had a wonderdul stay! We hiked into Palikū in the dark and had a hard time finding our specific campsite (#4), so we set up in an empty site since it was so late when we arrived. (We planned for hiking this last portion in the dark, so everything was fine.) I'm not sure if the individual sites are actually marked, as we couldn't locate it in the morning. However, we had a lovely hike in/out and I would highly recommend this trip, if you are able! I look forward to my next experience in this very special place. And remember, keep our parks beautiful and natural, please stay on trail and you pack it in, you pack it out!! Thank you to all the Haleakalā park staff!!

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