Last updated on November 20th, 2017 at 03:15 am
You may have noticed that I was a day late in delivering my weekly recap. It usually goes out on Saturday mornings, but actually went live Sunday evening.
What were you doing Jeffsetter?
Well, we got up at 2:30 in the morning to make our trek to Haleakala National park to catch the sunrise.
I was told by many people that this is a must-see attraction for Maui, and they were definitely not wrong! Our correspondent Kyle even wrote about it in his Maui guide last month.
From our location in Kihei, it took us about 1 hour and 45 minutes to the Summit of the mountain, which is just over 10,000 feet and just above the clouds. After paying our $15 per car park entry fee at the national park, we drove up to the summit.
We reached the Summit at around 4:30 AM. It was freezing – probably 40 degrees and windy – but we braved the cold and lack of light to get some awesome photos. If we would have arrived at 4:45 AM, we wouldn’t be able to find a parking spot at the Summit. That is how popular this place is on a daily basis!
From there it was a waiting game. I started by trying to photograph the stars, but most photos didn’t turn out. My favorite photos of stars included tail lights from cars driving away from the Summit, turned away due to a lack of parking spots. You can see it in the beginning of this post.
When the sun poked through the clouds, I expected everyone to start cheering. But apparently we were all too cold. The poking of the sun was almost uneventful.
But we continued to snap away until the colors started to leave the sky. Then we went back to the car and turned the heater on full blast. Morning photography is cold, even in Maui.
Would we recommend watching sunrise on Mount Haleakala in Maui? Absolutely! Dress warm and set your alarm for earlier than you can imagine and you will be just fine. Frozen, but just fine.
And the best part is that it’s all over before 9 AM, so you have the rest of the day to sleep do whatever you want.
Awesome photos :)
Or, if you don’t freeze while you wait, you can do sunset too! BUT, it’ll be just as crowded!
Amazing photos as always Jeff! You really make me want to do it again, even though I swore I never would… ?
Just do sunset then :).
My wife and I are not morning people. That said we have been to Maui twice and done the mountaintop experience both times – at sunset.
Having not done sunrise I can’t make comparisons, but if any of your readers absolutely loathes mornings and is wondering if it’s worth going for sunset – YES. One of the most spectacular things I have ever seen. It’s difficult to even put into words.
I tell people if they’re going to Maui and they miss Mt. Haleakala they missed the best part.
Just a note – we went in October both times (apparently the “off-season”). I don’t remember paying anything to get to the top and we didn’t have parking issues either time.
Thanks for posting – makes me want to go back!!
That’s great. Now I’m tempted to go back for the sunset too!
Hi, we are here in Kaanapili too. We went to the Haleakala today too. We didn’t go that early since we have our kids with us. We were there this afternoon and the view was amazing. Have to done the Road to Hana yet? We are planning to do that soon. Any advice for us?
Awesome. Sounds like we are doing many of the same things! We did the Road to Hana on Friday and thought it was great. We chose to leave at 9 AM and pack a lunch for ourselves. We decided not to stop at Twin Falls right away, and that helped us make good time to Hana. We got there by noon, even after a hike in the Bamboo forest (60 minutes) and a few photo stops. It was raining on the way there, so views weren’t great.
We ate at Hana bay beach and it was when the sun came out (not sure if this is normal, but seems to be what happens). The way back from 1 to 4 PM or so we stopped for more views and sights. Overall a good time. You can spend much longer each step of the way, or you can be back home for dinner.
Check out the Rainbow trees just past the Bamboo forest too. I believe they are at mile marker 8 or so. It’s really easy to miss them, but totally worth the stop.