Hawaii is noted for its beaches and sun, and we spend most of our time snorkeling and diving at the many beaches trying to identify the myriad of fish, eels, and turtles. But there is a magical lure to the mountains that created these islands and made the beaches. On Maui it is Haleakala. Many of the advertisements say to see the sunrise from the top or ride a bike down to the sea. While the sunrise is spectacular, to me the real magic of Haleakala is to visit within the crater to understand its size and beauty. It is huge, big enough to hold Manhattan Island, NY, not in length, but in total area. Within the crater there are many cinder cones, volcanoes within a volcano, Silverswords, plants native only to here and bloom only once in their approximate 25 year life time, and birds, nene, ring necked pheasant, chukkar.

There are several ways to enjoy visiting the crater, depending on your time and energy. You can go down the Sliding Sands Trail from the top, or the Halemau’u Trail from the highway before reaching the summit. Many years ago I did a loop, starting at the top and coming out the lower trail, a distance of about 12 miles. This saves regaining about a 1000 feet, but requires a second car. When I did this, the Park Service moved my car, but most of the present employees never knew this was done (showing my age).

We’ve also gone down the Sliding Sands to the crater floor and back up the same way, about 4 miles and 2000 feet vertical. There’s a nice lunch spot at the bottom frequented by birds. There are shorter versions of this hike that are also very pretty. The last time we were there a large stand of Silverswords were in bloom about a mile into the crater. Of course the ones we saw in bloom will be gone, but there were many plants in the area. You’ll also see the cinder cones closer. Look as you descend for a black one with a trail going to it from the right. We took our grandson (8) down 2 miles to this side trail, and another half-mile to Ka Lu’u o ka O’o where we could look into the crater cone, a crater within the crater. Part way hiking out he said, “poppop, maybe we shouldn’t have gone so far”, but we made it our before dark.

On the hike out, look back for the cone; you can see it from the top. We also saw chukkar during this hike. The trail is very smooth and easy walking, but remember the way out is uphill at high elevation, 10,000 feet at the crater rim. There are also horse trips to the crater floor, but you should walk to get the full flavor of this place.

Another way to enjoy the crater is to go down and up the Halemau’u Trail. It is completely different from sliding sands. The terrain is rocky with many switchbacks down the steep crater wall that faces the Koolau Gap toward Hana on the windward side of the island. Rain is more frequent here. After reaching the crater floor, the trail meander through old lava until you reach a cabin. From here the trail continues into the main crater toward sliding sands. Depending on time you could follow it to a Silversword loop trail and possibly blooming plants. A side trail goes to a campground area, from which you can meander cross-country picking your way over pahoehoe lava (smooth) and find a lunch spot with nice views of a more rugged part of Haleakala. We saw nene and pheasant along this trail. The crater wall along one side keeps you from getting lost on the return to the campground.

A different Hike, but part of Haleakala Park, is the Pipiwai Trail above the 7 Sacred Pools beyond Hana. Go up hill past beautiful pools, through a noisy bamboo forest, to a spectacular waterfall.

Another hike I’d still like to do is down Sliding Sands and out the Kaupo Gap to the Hana road beyond the 7 Sacred Pools. This trip requires over night reservations for a cabin within the crater and transportation from a remote spot on Hana road.

A shorter hike to another crater is in South Maui, visible near the end of the road. This is the vent of the most recent eruption on Maui and produced the lava flows that form La Perouse Bay. This is an unofficial trail through a’a lava (rough), but it is a story for another time.

When you go hiking, take plenty of water, food, sunscreen, hat, rain coat, and good foot wear. Tennis shoes are adequate on Sliding Sands, but light hiking boots are better on Halemau’u. I’ve seen people in flip-flops; don’t do it. A hiking pole can be useful.

Before leaving Maui, enjoy a sunset dinner at an outside table at a restaurant on Ma’alaea Harbor. Once, during an alpen glow on Haleakala across the bay, a small storm simultaneously produced a rainbow arc over the mountain; no camera of course. This image is forever etched into my mind and was a spectacular finish to a trip that had included a visit into the crater. Go explore Haleakala.