Day Tripping to Haleakala Crater

All roads in Maui lead to Haleakala Crater, a trip that Maui visitors should include on their itinerary. Its naturally sculpted features and vast dimensions rank right up there with the Grand Canyon and Painted Desert in Arizona.

Although some 22,000 feet of the mountain sits below sea level, it is the world’s largest dormant volcano. It last erupted in 1790, and scientists, while reluctant to label it extinct, don’t believe it’s going to blow again within the next few hundred years.

Not only is Haleakala Crater remarkably beautiful, it’s also home to two native Hawaiian species that exist only here and on the Big Island: the brilliant-when-blooming silversword plant and Hawaii’s state bird, the nene goose. (Recently, nene populations have been bred successfully in captivity on the Big Island at Volcanoes National Park.) The silversword plant is very rare. It can take up to twenty years to bloom, and when the flowers do open up, they shine gloriously for a short while, from June through October; then the plant dies. Please appreciate the silversword plants from a distance.

The 30,183 acres of Haleakala were designated a national park in 1961 to help preserve the unique plants and animals here and to provide a safe, educational environment for visitors.

The drive up the mountain is almost as breathtaking as the views from the final destination at the top. Ever-changing vistas await at each curve in the road, and each new view is like opening another window. You’ll see forests of introduced and indigenous trees, including flowering jacaranda, eucalyptus, and cactus, and you’ll pass through virtually untouched tropical rain forests, dry forests, and desertlike environments.

Don’t feel pressured to explore the entire park in one visit—that’s impossible. The park encompasses more than 30 miles of hiking trails, but the most exquisite feature is the crater. It’s 71⁄2 miles long, 21⁄2 miles wide, and an unbelievable 3,000 feet deep. At the crater floor what looks like a small mountain range is really a series of cinder cones, ranging in height from 600 to 1,000 feet.

Hosmer Grove is the first stopping point along the curvaceous Route 378. It’s actually a forestry project that’s left over from the 1800s. In the hope of finding a marketable wood for the region, certain trees, such as pine, cedar, sugi, and juniper, were planted here. It’s a scenic place to stop and stretch your legs, but don’t think you’ve gotten anywhere close to seeing the best the park has to offer.

The Park Headquarters is just a few minutes past Hosmer Grove on Route 378, at the 7,000-foot elevation level. The facility is open daily, 8:00 A.M. to 4:00 P.M., and is the place where visitors must pay the $4.00 admission price to get into the park. There is a free map available at headquarters that will explain the degree of difficulty for each trail, so you can pick the route best suited to your family’s abilities.

You may notice a few white dome structures at the very top of the mountain. This area is off-limits to visitors. It’s known as Science City and encompasses solar tracking stations, U.S. Air Force solar observatories, and laserranging tracking stations.

If you have a four-wheel-drive vehicle, by all means venture to Polipoli Springs State Recreation Area. A variety of short hiking trails here lead through remote wilderness and offer some of the best views in all of Maui. To get there take Highway 377 (Kekaulike Avenue) to Waipoli Road. You’ll reach the Kula Forest Reserve about 10 miles outside of Kula, and from there Polipoli Springs will be easy to find.

Related Articles:

• Sunrise atop Haleakala Crater
  
• Maui and the Mighty Humpback Whale

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Licensed from GPP’s Fun with the Family – Hawaii 2007 edition. Authored by: Julie Applebaum-DeMello.