Best Dog-Friendly Camping near Haleakala National Park

This campground is located in the Kipahulu district of Haleakala National Park. It offers very basic amenities, including cooking grills and vault toilets, with drinking water available only at the visitor center.  I can join activities such as playing slope game. Campsites operate on a first-come, first-served basis, featuring grassy areas that are unmarked except for the presence of grills and picnic tables. The atmosphere is peaceful, with the soothing sound of waves crashing against the rocky coastline below. At night, the stargazing is spectacular! We camped at Kipahulu National State Park in a camper van.

Holua is one of two dispersed backcountry camping sites within the crater district of Haleakala National Park. A backcountry camping permit must be obtained from the visitor center to stay at Holua. Depending on where you start, it is a 4-6 mile hike into the site. Dispersed campsites are a 3 minute hike up the trail to the left as you arrive to the Holua cabin and located throughout the flat land next to the horse stables. The scenery here is absolutely stunning! Abutted next to the west-facing side of the crater wall, the magnificent color contrasts in the crater are on display at this campsite. We were lucky to be the only ones camping here. It was amazing to experience the ruggedness and purity of this beautiful part of Maui, untouched by society.

Things to note: as with all of the backcountry campsites and cabins of Haleakala, a water filter is necessary to filter the non-potable water. Bring layers and warm rated sleeping bags as it will easily get down to sub 40’s at night. And of course sun protection during the day.

Camping at Hosmer is like camping in a neighbor's nice grassy yard with everyone from the HOA's kids and conversations. The campground is just a square patch of soft green grass with some grills and potable water spouts. There is a nice enclosed pit toilet and a covered grill area for bad weather.

There would be no appeal here except...

• The campground is at the entrance to the Haleakalā National Park, allowing you to wake up and explore as opposed to make an early drive a couple miles up a windy road if you were doing a longer hike.
• The campground is home to a nature trail through a Frankenstein'd woods where they planted numerous different trees after logging the area in the old days searching for a fast growing tree they could then log again. It's a little bit of the Pacific Northwest in Hawaii, but with all the Hawaiian plantlife as well.
• The bird watching is wild. The confluence of water and mixed plants makes this a perfect spot for bird watching, including some rare and endangered birds.
• Did I mention the location?

They offer reservations of up to 3 days per month, which offers ample opportunity to explore the park and the volcano crater fully, but it is not wilderness camping or amenable to any sort of RV. Know that at camp, if there is an a-hole (or group of a-holes), they are going to be part of your stay. Similarly, if there is an expert on local birds, they become part of the group too!

Any true national park “bucket list” should include a trip to the Haleakala volcano, in Haleakala National Park on the beautiful island of Maui.

And in visiting this beautiful place, you can enhance your experience even greater by camping overnight in the park. Hosmer Grove, located around the 7,000 ft. elevation mark along the road up to Haleakala, is the perfect campground to serve as your base for exploring the area.

Benefits of this campground include the fact that it’s free and offers quick access to the summit of Haleakala (especially for watching the sunrise!), its scenery and birding trail, and the experience of camping so close to a giant volcano in a national park.

The only real downside is that since it requires no reservations or permits, all sites are available on a first-come, first-served basis. This means that early arrival is important for acquiring a site, especially during the peak season.

Haleakala was a great highlight of our trip visiting all 59 national parks. We especially enjoyed watching the sunrise from an empty overlook (instead of the crowded summit), backpacking into the crater for a night, and visiting the lush side of the park at Kipahulu.

You can read much more about our two days in the park on our blog: Switchback Kids (Haleakala)

This was the first place that we camped at on our Hawaii trip and it was by far our favorite. Paliku is one of two backcountry campsites in the Haleakala National Park summit district. Paliku lies along the eastern side of the crater and will take your breath away. The beauty of this campground is even more apparent after hiking through the barren landscape of the lava fields to get here.

After trekking nearly 10 miles from the visitor center to get here, you’ll be welcomed to take your boots off and step on the lush grass that grows all over the campsite, quite the contrast from all of the ‘a’a lava you’ve just been walking through. This rainy side of the crater features rich, thick, and best of all - almost completely native Hawaiian plants and animals. I can’t say that I’ve ever heard more interesting and diverse bird calls in my life that come from vividly colored native Hawaiian birds that live in this unique habitat. Be sure to collect a bird brochure at the visitor center when you pick up your permit to identify some of these unique birds you may never get the chance to see again in your life.

Campsites are tucked away and hidden along braided paths and tall grass of the dispersed camping area. Not one of them has a bad view.

Being so secluded, this backcountry campground takes preparation and work to get to. Campers must be fit enough to hike to and carry gear necessary to stay at this site. Water filters are a necessity as the water here is non-potable. Cold weather clothes and gear are also needed as temperatures often drop to sub-40.

Ok, you twisted my arm...

Hosmer Grove Campground is a small set of primitive sites located in the Kīpahulu region of Haleakalā National Park, at the cloud line. This means it will get cold, especially at night, and even in the summer. Come prepared for this nice break from the Maui beach heat. The spaces are first come first serve, summer will likely be busier so come early. No permit needed. Fairly easy to pack in as well.

There are grills and nice picnic tables available at each site, but no campfires are allowed, so you must use the grills for your cooking. All the better to see the stars at night, right? Portable water is available and there are also put toilets only. Please be respectful of other campers since the area is so small.

Be prepared to be woken early to the sound of an array of birds, and even a clearly lost rooster up before dawn. The best thing about Maui, is that it’s an island formed out of nothing from a volcano, meaning it did not break off from a land mass carrying with it all the variety of animals and insects campers often find troubling. In fact, typical tropical concerns like venomous snakes and large cats are nonexistent here. A very safe place, animal wise, to camp, but do be warned of flash floods when hiking the area and come aware of the conditions and also prepared with a first aid kit, as outside help is far and difficult to reach. Towers were recently put in to assist with calls out, but in the valleys and at high elevations you will often find it hard to get reception. And help us an hour or more away. So hike with caution.

Sites are fairly level, close to each other, and on soft grass. The route to this area via the Hāna Hwy is almost worth the trip in and of itself, it’s truly a gorgeous area at all elevations.

Be sure to take advantage of the many guided hikes (also for safety reasons) offered by the national park and local private companies. We took a GREAT waterfall rappelling trip with Rappel Maui and enjoyed all their info about the area and expertise in rappelling. Be prepared for mosquitos, however we really didn’t encounter too many in June.

Check out the Pools at ‘Ohe’o and the many many waterfalls around the Nat Park as well as the state park while there. And the rocky, rough-waved cost on that side of the island (not great for swimming but so so beautiful).