Haleakalā National Park (Wilderness Tent Permit)

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!!

Nice

Excellent camping spot! Hiked in from Sliding Sands near the summit and exited via Halemau'u. Wear a hat and apply plenty of sunscreen as the sun can be strong, and we all got a little burned. There is catchment water at Holua so bring something to filter the water. Long underwear, sweatpants, a light down jacket, and a beanie worked well for the cold evening.

Hike was amazing, tent space was perfect, next time we will just pack in a filter instead of all of our water…outhouse was absolutely horrifying- scarred for life lol

Amazing trip into the crater. The micro-climates, views and colors are spectacular. Weather changes drastically, come prepared for rain and cold followed by hot searing sun. The night skies are incomparable.

Mind blowing trail, very well maintained. Easy to get around and get the directions. It was easy to find the campground although quite difficult to find the holua 2 site. Otherwise the location and experience is incredible. 200% recommend. When we looked at the reservations everything seemed booked but at the end we were the only one to camp that night! Bring warm clothes, night gets humid cold.

Amazing experience, especially for my first through-hike (parked at the trailhead and hitchhiked to the top of Sliding Sands). The campground was so peaceful. Only one campsite was marked, but like campers and adventurers do, we all just set up camp individually in the spots. I started hiking out with a headlamp at sunrise and had to turn around many times to take in the beauty. So many temperature changes... so many diverse ecosystems... so many challenges... so worth it!