Haleakalā National Park (Wilderness Tent Permit)

The stars couldn’t get any better. It was an amazing experience. We should have started earlier to have more daylight hours but it was awesome.

Backpacked Haleakala in December. I was expecting cold nights and rain but was suppressed by the sunny days and 45F (7C) nights.
I should have taken sun screen.
Paliku had nice grass patches but no sight numbers so it's 1st come 1st serve.
Holua had site numbers but the sites were very dusty dirt patches.
There are water at both sites and it was easy to drive in tent stakes.
I thought Paliku was the prettiest.

The hiking was great. The trails were in great shape and easy to navigate. The best section for me was the climb up to Halemau'u trailhead.

Getting a hitch back to the top was very easy.

Camped here in January. It was chilly and we had to work around some rain and wind to figure out the best night for camping. Keep an eye out on the zone forecast for the summit. There was water in the storage tank during this time of year.

Excellent sites at Holua, with care taken to generate a sense of solitude even though spaces are not far apart (strategic placement among bushes makes each spot feel isolated). Some difficulty in determining which site is which - #1 contains a sign indicating 1 is here and 2 is that way (with an arrow), but 2 is rather far away and has no sign. 3/4 are similar. BUT, we figured it out.

Nice, but expensive tent camping. 30$ to get in the Park and $20 a night to pitch a tent = $50, plus $20 in gas. Backcountry camping soothes the soul and is good for people, but who sets these fees? The rates should be the lowest possible, not the highest, soaking people for money to enjoy nature - shameful ! These fees make it hard for families and regular people to enjoy the wilderness. John Muir would not be pleased !

Amazing stars!

We loved staying at Hōlua campsite. We enjoyed hiking into the crater and tent camping in site #1. My seven year old son did great on this hike. We enjoyed seeing native birds (including Nene and Honey Creepers) and star gazing on an evening with a anew moon. Make sure to bring warm clothes, rain layers, and enough water.

If you are camping at Holua campsite, you will have a hard time finding the tent sites unless you wander around a lot on little trails just east of the upper outhouse and ranger hut. The signage is poor or missing so it is hard to know if you’ve found the campsite that you booked. There seem to be more than 6 sites so if you hold a permit, you’ll for sure find a spot even if your site is occupied: everyone is just guessing if they’re in the right spot or not!

It was a beautiful experience, great site in a rugged wilderness area. Definitely would strongly recommend using a charcoal or ceramic water filter for the water from the camp site. I definitely got giardia after filtering the cistern water using a steripen. Other than that it was a great experience.

Holua is a straight 6/5 - clever designed campspots, amazing views of the crater, stargazing (weather permitting). Just can't recommend camping at Paliku. If you must stay there, use the cabin! Lush grasslands is an euphemism for pitching your tent in a puddle, where - according to other hikers I spoke to - horizontal rain is the rule rather than the exception.