Haleakalā National Park (Wilderness Tent Permit)

We hiked from the summit to the fartherest campsite and tented overnight. It was a long hike, start early in the day.
We came prepared with some rain protection which was good as once the sun went down all the moisture in the air dropped on top of us. It did rain a bit in the morning and overnight and our shoes got wet on the way out. We packed 3 pairs of socks each and we used them all. We tried to dry off a bit at the next cabin's picnic table but it was so worn down that the fiberglass shards ended up rubbing off right into my fancy compression fitness leggings and into my hind quarters. I changed my pants but it was an itchy and prickly hike the rest of the way out and for days after.
If I were to do it again I would pack less food and more water. We packed 3.5 litres each for 2 days (including overnight). Save a litre each for the beautiful yet grueling hike up to the summit at the end.
It was fairly warm for a couple of Canadians despite all the warnings of it being cold up there. Our sleeping bag, insulated mat, a hoodie and pants for the overnight was enough. Layers were quickly stripped off once we started hiking again.
If there is a next time we might try a different route in and out and perhaps do some hiking at night with head lamps as the night sky is fabulously clear and free of light pollution. The cool air at night would also be nice for hiking.
I did get some nasty blisters on my foot but was prepared with many bandaids.
Watch out for the Hawaiian version of Canadian "murder" geese, the Nene. They hiss and charge if you get too close. If they are in your path, just wait and give them some space. We shared our campsite with a cute little family of Nene.
All in all a great experience, or perhaps experience points LOL, which I will never forget. One off the bucket list.

Fantastic hike and beautiful campground!

I have been to Haleakalā many times and this was one of the most amazing. The full moon, together with the Ua’u in the cliffs, made it magical. There was one occasion on the night of 3/18 when a nearby large group of campers with kids shone their lights and were noisy in ways that disturbed us and the unique setting, but it was quickly sorted out when they realized how disruptive it was. An extra word to camping groups about minimizing light and sound pollution at night may help. Overall, another fantastic experience in Haleakalā. Mahalo.

Loved it! Water was plentiful at Holua and Paliku. Door of privy at Holua camping area needs replacement. Hinge hook at Paliku privy needs a new one ! Mahalo Haleakala volunteers

The park is beautiful and overall we had a very nice experience. Our negative experiences were related to the wilderness camping permits and the camping itself. The information we received about the permits was confusing, incorrect and caused us a lot of stress. For instance, we were told to print our permits, but only after entering information about our rental car. We didn't get a rental car until the day we went camping, so we had to go to an Office Max to print out the permits, only to find out we can no longer enter information about the rental car into the online system anyway.
Also, when we got to our campsite that night, our spot was taken and no one was overseeing that people without permits wouldn't just steal other people's camping sites. We ended up having to camp on some very uncomfortable grass near our allocated tent site with almost no privacy. The signs in the campground are also very confusing and badly designed. I would highly recommend marking each camping spot clearly with a number and putting a map of the camp sites right at the entrance to the area to help everyone.

Hōlua Campground is an awesome little campground approximately 4 mi by way of Halemau'u Trail. Be prepared for quickly changing weather conditions bringing rain gear and certainly a rain fly for the tent. Hike down was nice and provides for some incredible views of the crater and the Ko'olau Gap. The hike back up is more challenging ascending about 1,500 ft I believe. Water spigot is running at Hōlua cabin so we refilled and treated prior to using. Stargazing was awesome and many sounds at night from the birds nearby wasn't sure if they were nene or the ʻuaʻu, or Hawaiian petrel, which nest in the cliffs near the cabin. Overall wonderful experience, having stayed at Kapalaoa cabin and now Hōlua, I only have Paliku to complete my discovery of this magnificent crater.

All was great!!!! Even the weather was good.

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.

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,

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.