Grandeur, majesty, vastness. Haleakala's energy is intense and ethereal, and it's absolutely silent. We'd never visit Maui without experiencing the Crater. It's where our guides go for inspiration. A great amphitheater of silence and expansiveness. A place of beauty that always evokes awe. The four-mile trip is a good Crater sampler -- we hike through three very different environments with views stretching for more than a hundred miles in all directions. We hike two miles at the 8,000-foot level through native alpine scrub forest on a lava rock trail where most of the plants are rare, endemic species. We then hike another two miles at 10,000 feet along a sandy cinder path called Sliding Sands Trail, a route famous for its panorama of giant cinder cones, each one colored in the rose-orange-tan hues of the desert. An extra for those interested in endemic birds: we can do a half-mile loop trail at 7,000 feet through Hosmer Grove, a temperate dry-land cloud forest.

>>> SUMMARY <<<
- Haleakala means House of the Sun
- It is Maui's most famous volcano (dormant)
- hike two miles at the 8,000-ft. level
- hike two miles at the 10,000-ft. summit
- experience three different environments
- an aerobic hike with about 1000 feet of elevation change round-trip
- experience a high alpine desert
- for birders: rare endemic birds at 7,000 feet

>>> DETAILS <<<
Meet in Central Maui at 9:30. Return at 4:30 p.m. Price $145 plus tax.

Complimentary resort transfer is available with pickups from 8:00 to 9:00 a.m. Return at 5:00 to 5:30 p.m., depending upon your distance from Kahului.

Minimum age: 8

>>> CREDENTIALS <<<

Hike Maui is the oldest, most experienced hiking company in the state - celebrating 28 years (since 1983) of award-winning adventures. In the annual Maui News business competition, we were awarded Maui's Best Eco-Friendly Company designation for 2009. For 2010 the Hawaii Eco-Tourism Association chose us as the EcoTourism Operator of the Year.

We are renowned to have the most thorough training on Maui, and our guides are considered the best. They are naturalists who weave geology, botany, ethnobotany, Hawaiian culture and history into the fun of hiking and swimming. Our guides are certified in water safety, Wilderness First Aid and professional CPR.