Haleakala...in the middle of the day?

Don%26#39;t want to get up at the crack of dawn (tried that once, was so icy and cloudy at the top they wouldn%26#39;t let us up there)...and I don%26#39;t want to drive down the mountain after sunset.

If you can ';see'; from a distance that it%26#39;s not clouded in, we%26#39;re thinking of just hopping in the car and going.

And if we wanted to make it a SHORTER drive, how is Waipoli Road? Can you get any good views from there, or do you need to drive the Haleakala Hwy all the way to the top?

Haleakala...in the middle of the day?

OK, I%26#39;ll bite since no one else did.

You don%26#39;t have to drive all the way to the top, there are some nice views along the way as you go, I guess it just depends on what you want to see. Clouds will just depend on the day you go. But why not drive to the top? Time? It%26#39;s a nice drive that can be done relatively quickly or as slow as you like. Why not just go up the main road and see how it goes? If you make it to the top, fine, if you decide to turn around because of time or whatever, then that%26#39;s fine too.

Haleakala...in the middle of the day?

Actually, this is our favorite way to see Haleakala. We%26#39;ve tried waking up in the middle of the night and driving up in the dark. It was too cold, crowded and we%26#39;re just not ';morning people.';

Now we prefer to drive up in the afternoon. That way we can check out the cloud situation. Last time we were able to hike on the Sliding Sands trail and it was beautiful. We usually take a picnic lunch and eat at the picnic tables at Sunrise Protea Farm.

Have fun!

we are on vacation and im not getting up in the middle of the nite for man or beast --- a drive up in the afternoon worked just fine for us --- dont forget to stop at kula lodge

We drove up mid-morning. It was great!

We drove up in the afternoon and enjoyed great views. Take a coat along as that June day we were there it was clear but very windy and freezing cold! Others up there at the same time said they ahd been there a few days before and it was actually warm! Guess it pays to be prepared. We might have considered a small hike if it ahdn%26#39;t been do very cold. The part we thought was the neatest was beign up on the top and looking down into the crater area. That would be my suggestion. If you are going -- just go all the way up. We are not morning people so I never even considered the sunrise thing. Oh, remember to check your gas tank too before heading out. From experience we know there are no places to buy gas. It is a long way up and back on fumes!

We also drove up mid-morning and enoyed great views and nice temperature!

We also drove up in the afternoon. It was a vacation and there was just no way my family was going to get up that early. It was definitely still worth it, and an enjoyable experience, even it was a bit cloudy. It also wasn%26#39;t as cold as it would have been at sunrise. We were fine with good quality windbreaker jackets.

Just back from Maui. I drove up around 2:00pm a few days ago. It was cloudy and wet on the way up. It had snowed there last week but the rain had melted it. When I got to top I was above the clouds in the sunshine. I could see the tops of Mauna Loa and Mauna Kea on the Hawaii covered in snow. I thought it well worth the trip. On the way down I cut over to the Tedeshi Winery and capped off my day with a little tasting before heading downhill. Remember there are few places in the tropics that you can get this experience. I hope this helps

gmc

we%26#39;ve done the trip up haleakala 3 times. never at sunrise OR sunset, always in the middle of the day.

i like it that way. ok, maybe we miss some spectacular sunrise on the crater...maybe.

but we get the most amazing scenery BOTH ways.

we%26#39;ve seen nenes %26amp; silverswords %26amp; remarkable views from every turn in the road. and the crater%26#39;s still spectacular.

it%26#39;s worth doing any time you do it.

Hi

How much time do you need to go up and maybe do a short hike, look around, and then come back? Were staying in Kihei.

We have been to Maui but not here. Should we bring a lunch or stop somewhere on the way?

Thanks,

Bellini