Hike Across Maui's Haleakalā "House of the Sun" Crater

The beauty of this 11 mile route is its lack of backtracking as you work your way across the entire crater. While the hike begins near the summit, you'll leave your car much further down the mountain saving you loads of potential climbing. Don't worry, even with this you'll still have plenty of challenging uphill hiking to get back out of the massive crater you find yourself in.

Be sure to arrive early, preferably right around sunrise. This is generally the clearest part of the day and the weather only gets more unpredictable the later it gets. You'll leave your car at the Halemau'u Trailhead parking lot. After you've loaded your day pack with your supplies and food (I recommend the local treat, spam musubi), head over to the designated Hiker Pickup Area. This is across the main road from the parking lot and down a small trail. The hiker pickup is well marked and endorsed by the park. Now don't be shy, stick out your thumb and snag a ride to the summit. If you have two cars, you could also, in theory, leave one and take another to the summit.

From the Visitor Center, head out on the Keonehe'ehe'e Trail or Sliding Sands for the non-native speakers. The route descends along a dark sandy trail into the crater providing for plenty of photo ops and panoramic views. You'll also pass giant dormant cinder cones and the native "cacti-esque" silversword plants, which once covered the mountain like snow. If you're lucky, some will be flowering, sending a bright green and maroon stock straight up, the only bloom in its lifetime. This section of the trail is 3.9 miles and entirely downhill until you reach the floor of the crater.

The first junction cannot be missed and you'll take the left hand direction of the fork. The Sliding Sands Trail continues along the crater's edge, while your new path will take you into the center of the crater. Meander past an endless sea of jagged volcanic rock and up and around a cinder cone for the next 1.6 miles. Stay to the left at the next two junctions and you’ll find yourself on the Halemau’u Trail. Continuing on this path for the next 2 miles, you’ll notice the slow loss in elevation along with an increase in vegetation. Hopefully the weather plays nice and your views of the surrounding crater remain intact. Take a short detour along the Silversword Loop which connects back to your current trail, or just continue until you reach the Holua Cabin. It’s a great spot to eat a meal and refuel. You’ll likely be visited by the resident Nene, Hawaii’s native geese, looking for a snack. Posted signs encourage hikers not to feed the birds, but it’s clear the birds are used to free handouts.

Once you’ve rested up you’re ready to begin the final and most physically challenging portion of your hike. Setting back out, hike through a grassy meadow strewn with volcanic boulders until you hit a gate, marking the crater floor’s edge and the beginning of the switchbacks. These are no joke and will require plenty of breaks to catch your breath. The views will improve the higher you get and if you look closely, you’ll be able to see the furthest extent of a past lava flow. Vegetation will also get more dense with plenty of exciting flora, including the ‘amu’u fern whose new growth is a can’t-miss bright red. Finally, you’ll reach the top of the switchbacks, marking 2.6 miles from the cabin, leaving only a mile of gently inclined hiking left to your waiting car. In total, you’ll have dropped down around 3,000 feet, before working back up 1,000 in return.