If you go for sunset, there really won’t be anything open food-wise on your two-hour journey back down the mountain, which sucks if you’re starving. Oh, and don’t forget to fill up your tank before heading up. It’s all worth it once you get to the top, but boy-oh-boy did it make my heart race. There are MANY sharp turns with no guard rails in certain areas, and it definitely gave me some serious anxiety at certain points. It’s a gorgeous ride but I’d recommend taking anti-nausea meds if you’re prone to motion sickness. Prepare for a long, winding, and steep drive. I used Apple Maps and searched for “Haleakala Summit Parking”, which worked perfectly. We were able to take things nice and easy, and we made it with plenty of time to park and set up for the sunset. We gave ourselves 2.5-hours to get up the mountain out of Lahaina, and it was the perfect amount of time. Once you pass through the park gate, it is an extra 30-ish minutes up to the top. Make sure you set your directions to the Haleakala Summit or Haleakala Observatory, and NOT just Haleakala National Park. You can check the summit forecast here: GPS the correct location It was about 43 degrees when we finally parked, and once the sun went down, it got even colder. above sea level and it gets REAL COLD up there. Our days were in the low 80s while at the beach, but the summit is a little over 10,000 ft. It can get COLD - Pack appropriate clothing If you have a National Parks Annual Pass and go at sunset, you could technically say you made the trip up for ZERO dollars.
National Parks & Federal Recreational Lands Annual Passes are accepted if you have one! It is $30 per car to get into the National Park once you reach the gates, and I don’t believe they accept cash.
No matter what time of day you plan on going, you still need to prepare if you plan to make the trip up to the summit. Scroll towards the End for ALL the Sunrise Details. HST, a very limited number (around 25-ish) of reservations are released. There are more tickets available and you’ll have better chances to score a reservation.Ģ Days in Advance - Limited Release: Two days prior, at exactly 7:00 a.m. If you want to try your hand at it, you have two options:Ħ0 Days in Advance: If you can, aim for this. I tried four days in a row, setting my alarm to check out EXACTLY at 7:00 a.m., and failed each time. We tried, I mean really tried, to get limited release reservations (2-days in advance)…but the moment tickets were released, they sold out in SECONDS. Considering it takes about 90 minutes to simply get to the gate, it is a giant waste of time if you don’t prepare properly. Cars are regularly turned away at the gate if they don’t have a reservation. The limited parking and dangerous roads are why reservations are absolutely REQUIRED for anyone wanting to make the trek before dawn (3:00 a.m. sunset is better, but you have to do some advance preparation if you want to go at sunrise. Since I only went at sunset, I can’t compare whether sunrise vs. Sunrise is the most popular time for tourists to visit the summit, accounting for almost two-thirds of all daily visitors.