Haleakalā National Park (Wilderness Tent Permit)

Paliku is one of my favorite places to camp.

Wonderful experience. You might want to pack extra toilet paper, the outhouse at Holua campsites ran out while we were there.

Enjoyed our time at camp. No problems encountered.

Great experiences

Great base camp for exploring the crater. We did the silversword loop around the halali’i cinder cone which was perfect to see the varying landscapes. If it’s sunny out, make sure to hike early or late to avoid a lot of sun explosive.

This hike/camp exceeded all of our expectations. Beautiful from beginning to end. Suggest doing the whole ~10.6 mi loop if you have the chance.

The views are spectacular! You just have to get a clear day. Unfortunately I went during a rainstorm. But, when the clouds clear periodically, you get an incredible view. The trail is rocky and slippery so west good hiking shoes/boots.
Try and stay up late to get the view of the stars. It’s like nothing else!!
Also, a huge thank you to the helpful park ranger for giving me a boost after I left my lights on in my car for the whole night. 🤙
Mahalo!!!

We had a lovely three-night trip in the park. The campsites are in beautiful locations and the hikes are varied and interesting. The campsites have no tent platforms, no picnic tables, no covered cooking area, or any other amenities other than an outhouse and access to a water tap (bring a filter). There is toilet paper at the outhouses. I wish the toilets were composting and I wish the campsites had a few picnic tables and/or a small covered area for cooking. The ranger's mules have a covered shelter next to their cabin at Palikū but campers do not! It's a bit odd camping next to the cabins which have running water, wood stoves, cooking gas and stoves, mattresses, picnic tables, and other stuff and then have nothing at all (not even a picnic table for communal cooking with other campers). I understand that the cabins are $75/night and camping is $8 for up to three nights but I'd rather pay more and have a tent platform and/or a covered cooking shack than have to rely on the kindness of the cabin users to invite us in during a storm. If there were no cabins or the cabins and campsites were separated by a few miles, the discrepancy wouldn't be so stark! The tent sites at Hōlua are mostly on volcanic ash and rock which is harsh on tents (bring a groundsheet). This all turns to black mud in the rain so try to grab one of the two grassy spots at the back if you can. There's also no water up at this campsite so you have to walk back down the hill to outside the Hōlua cabin to get your water which was not ideal (bring camel packs or another large capacity water bag). We hiked from the visitor centre at the top to Palikū for two nights, did some of the Kapua Gap on day two, then hiked to Hōlua on day three, and back out to our car up the Sliding Sands Trail) on day four. This latter hike was long and hard in the sun but it wasn't soul-destroying. We picked a steady pace and powered up in about 2 hours taking about 3 short breaks. The hikes across the crater were easy.

Aloha to you,
What a great adventure, a difficult 2 days but every second was wonderfull. Only one recommendation: get ready for all climates.
Mahalo,

Loved the setting, and the fact that it was not crowded, loud, or littered. Ring-necked pheasants were the most obnoxious inhabitants. A lot of that is down to campers adhering to the ethos of being good neighbors, something that tends to distinguish National Parks and Monuments from BLM/state/county campgrounds. Experience was well worth the trouble of packing a huge suitcase full of camping gear for the flight from the mainland.