How to Visit Haleakalā National Park at Sunrise: Everything to know!

Last updated on June 16th, 2026

In this guide we’re sharing everything to know before visiting Haleakalā National Park at sunrise. Including how to get a reservation, what to bring, and more!

It took us three attempts in 12 years to see the sunrise at Haleakalā National Park. On our first two trips to the island we woke up bright and early and made the dark drive to the summit, only for it to be completely covered in fog.

5 Days on Maui Itinerary | Maui Travel Guide | Maui Itinerary | Maui Hawaii | Things to do on Maui | Where to stay on Maui | When to visit Maui | Where to eat on Maui | Best food on Maui | Road to Hana tips | Maui Shave Ice | Maui food | Maui beaches | Best beaches on Maui | Best hikes on Maui | What to do on Maui | Maui travel — *Us in 2018 during a foggy sunrise & us in 2026 with a beautiful sunrise!*

*Us in 2018 during a foggy sunrise & us in 2026 with a beautiful sunrise!*

But thankfully the third time was the charm and on our most recent trip, we finally got to witness it. And it was definitely worth the wait! Watching the sky turn to shades of pink, purple, and orange, before the sun pops over the horizon and illuminates the Haleakalā crater is truly a magical experience.

While seeing the sunrise at Haleakalā National Park is extremely popular, it’s not something that you can just show up and experience. It requires a reservation, proper gear, and some good weather luck. And in this guide we’re sharing everything to know before you go!

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About sunrise at Haleakalā National Park

Haleakalā means “House of the Sun” in Hawaiian and is the tallest peak on the island of Maui, at 10,023 feet tall. According to a Hawaiian legend, the mother of Maui, a Polynesian demigod, expressed that the sun traveled too fast across the sky, not leaving enough daylight to dry a bark cloth she was making. So Maui climbed up Haleakalā and lassoed the sun, capturing it until it agreed to slow down.

Today, instead of climbing up Haleakalā like Maui did, you can drive all the way from sea level to the summit to see the sunrise. Despite the early wake up call required and how cold it can be at the top (you are at over 10,000 feet!), it’s one of the most popular things to do on Maui!

However, as of 2017, a permit is required to enter the park from 3 AM-7 AM.

🌡️ The Haleakalā summit is about 30ºF colder than the Maui beaches. Which means it is often around freezing at sunrise, especially if it’s windy. Make sure to bring warm clothes!

How to get a Haleakalā National Park sunrise reservation

So how does one get a Haleakalā sunrise reservation? There are two main ways!

Reservations are available on recreation.gov 60 days and 2 days before your visit at 7 AM HST. They release 100 tickets per day, with 50 of them being available 60 days in advance and the final 50 releasing 2 days in advance. You only need 1 reservation for your whole vehicle and each permit costs $1.

During our most recent visit, we got our reservation 60 days in advance without any issues. We logged into recreation.gov a few minutes before 7 AM HST and then refreshed right as the clock turned. And we had no problem getting a reservation! However, we do hear that the reservations 2 days in advance get snatched up within seconds. So we highly recommend getting yours 60 days in advance if you can!

The downside of doing it this far in advance is that you don’t know what the weather will be like, so it’s a bit of a gamble. But even on a day that says it will be clear, it could still be foggy at the top!

Can’t get a reservation? Go at sunset instead! Unlike sunrise, you do not need a reservation. Plus, you can sleep in and try to plan it for a day that is clear. While this may seem like a better option in general, sunrise has its perks, which we will share later on!

A+K Tip: We suggest going to Haleakalā for sunrise on your first full morning on Maui. That way, you’re still on mainland time and the early wake up call won’t be as difficult.

Driving to the Haleakalā National Park for sunrise

What time should you start the drive?

Before making the drive up to Haleakalā National Park, you will need to do a bit of research to figure out what time to leave.

Step #1: First, check what time sunrise is. Depending on the time of year, it can be anywhere from 5:45 AM-7 AM. We use this website to see sunrise and sunset times.

Step #2: See how far you’re staying from the summit. Here are the estimated drive times from the popular tourist lodging area around the island:

Paia: 1 hour, 15 minutes
Kihei and Wailea: 1.5 hours
Kaanapali and Kapalua: 2 hours

Step #3: It’s recommended to get to the summit around 60-90 minutes before sunrise, so you can get parking, find your spot to watch it, and see the full process of the sky illuminating. So to determine what time you need to leave, subtract 60-90 minutes from the sunrise time, and then subtract your drive time from that.

On our most recent trip, we stayed in Paia the night before and the sunrise was around 6 AM. So we left at around 3 AM to get to the top by 4:15 AM, leaving us 1 hour and 45 minutes until sunrise. This worked out perfectly!

A+K Tip: If you don’t mind tent camping, you could stay at the park’s Hosmer Grove Campground the night before. This is located at about 7,000 feet in elevation, which means you don’t have to get up as early for sunrise. And your reservation includes a sunrise permit!

The road to the summit

The drive into the park will be completely dark. And because you’re driving up to 10,023 feet, along the mountainside, the road can be steep and curvy, with many areas lacking guardrails. Since the speed limit is so low, we have never found this drive to be scary, but you do need to be alert.

About 11 miles from the summit you’ll reach the entrance station. This is where you’ll need to pay your entrance fee (or show your America the Beautiful pass), plus verify your reservation.

Once you get half a mile from the summit, you will reach the Haleakalā National Park visitor center. If you need to use the restroom, this is your last chance! There are no toilets at the summit. You could also watch the sunrise from here, which is an underrated hack to see the sunrise with less crowds.

Parking

Both the visitor center and the summit have decent sized parking lots. But the summit parking lot especially fills up fast! If it’s full, you will need to go back down to the visitor center.

Since you’ll arrive so early, you can either head to the viewing area to look at the stars (we saw the Milky Way!) or you can stay warm in your car for a bit. But don’t wait too long, the sky really starts to get color about 40 minutes before sunrise.

Where to watch the sunrise at Haleakalā National Park

Once you get to the summit area, you have a couple options as to where you can watch the sunset.

At the summit

The most popular choice is the summit, which has an octagonal building that you can stand inside, plus a viewing area outside of it. Both spots have a view of the Haleakalā crater, plus the road that winds down from the top.

With how windy and cold the summit can be, many people opt to watch it inside to be more protected from the elements. However, you will have a wall of people standing in the outside area in front of you, which may obstruct your view.

So in our opinion, if you’re watching the sunrise at the summit, stand outside! Yes, it can be brutally cold, but you’ll have the most unobstructed view.

For either option, just make sure to get here well before the sunrise time. It fills up fast! And expect to be shoulder to shoulder with people. Unlike many places where sunrise brings less crowds, this is actually the busiest time to be in the park.

🎵 At the summit, a park ranger did a Hawaiian sunrise chant called E ala Ē, which was really cool to experience!

At the visitor center

If we were to come up for sunrise again, we would go watch the sunrise by the visitor center. While it’s a tad lower than the summit, it is a lot less busy and there are more areas to spread out. You can go up the White Hill Trail to watch the sunrise or go down part of the Sliding Sands Trail. Both have fantastic (and even closer) views of the Haleakalā crater, without the road in front of it. And you won’t be shoulder to shoulder with people like at the summit.

Plus, there are bathrooms here if you need to use one while waiting!

Is sunrise at Haleakalā National Park worth it?

There are mixed opinions if sunrise at Haleakalā National Park is actually worth it, or if sunset is better. And as two people who tried three times to see it, we think sunrise is 100% worth it! But there are some pros and cons and things to consider when deciding between the two.

First, we are morning people and love seeing the sunrise. So for us, getting up early isn’t that big of a deal. But if the thought of getting up at 2 AM on vacation makes you want to cry, sunset may be a better choice.

You also may not get good weather, which truthfully, makes the experience a bit lackluster. So consider the risk of getting socked in by clouds as you make your decision. By going at sunset, you can choose a clear day. The downside of this method is that you will have to be pretty flexible in your schedule and plan your day around sunset. With sunrise, you have the entire day left, which is so nice!

Another thing to think about when deciding between sunrise and sunset is that at sunrise, the sun rises directly over the crater, while at sunset it will set in the opposite direction. You’ll still have cool lighting on the crater, but there was just something extra special about seeing the crater illuminate.

While it’s very crowded and very cold, we overall loved the experience, once we finally got lucky. We will say, having two failed attempts definitely made us appreciate our successful visit even more. But now that we have experienced it, we will likely sleep in next time!

Things to do after sunrise at Haleakalā National Park

Sliding Sands Trail | Haleakala National Park Hikes

As soon as the sun comes up, most people immediately leave the park to go back to sleep or grab breakfast at one of Maui’s delicious breakfast spots. And we don’t blame them!

But in our opinion, they are missing out on something even better than sunrise: hiking in the crater! The Haleakalā crater (which is technically a valley) is hands down one of the most otherworldly and mindblowing places we have been.

We highly suggest combining the Sliding Sands Trail and Halemau’u Trail into one long day hike. Along the way you’ll go through colorful volcanic terrain, see cinder cones, and hike up a rocky, lush cliffside. It’s absolutely epic! However, there are some important things to know about this hike, which we cover in this Haleakalā hiking guide.

Looking for even more things to do in Haleakalā National Park? In this guide we share 9 fun hikes, viewpoints, and activities to check out across the park’s two districts.

What to bring for sunrise at Haleakalā National Park

Out of all the things we suggest packing for Maui, the items you need for sunrise at Haleakalā are things you may not expect to bring to a tropical location.

First, make sure to bring an America the Beautiful pass if you have one. This will save you from paying the entrance fee! We also suggest bringing a screenshot of your sunrise reservation, just in case they have any issues finding your reservation in the system.

You will also want to pack:

We cannot stress this enough…it is COLD at the top! So make sure to bring lots of warm layers, including a puffy jacket (Adam’s, Kathryn’s). We were also glad to have our rain jackets (Adam’s, Kathryn’s) for extra warmth and wind protection.
Gloves, a buff or scarf, and a hat.
A blanket, sleeping bag, or sleeping quilt.
Headlamp, preferably one with a red light. It is really dark at the summit!