Haleakala Crater Sliding Sands

About this spectacle

Descending into Haleakalā Crater via the Sliding Sands Trail — formally known as Keoneheʻeheʻe — is an otherworldly experience. The trail drops steeply from the summit rim at roughly 10,000 feet into a vast volcanic basin filled with cinder cones, ash fields, and the silence of high altitude. The colors are startling: rust reds, charcoal blacks, ochre yellows, and patches of pale silversword plants clinging to volcanic soil. The air is thin and cold, the sky an intense blue, and the scale of the crater walls dwarfs every visitor. Wind sweeps across exposed ridges while the crater floor stretches toward distant cinder cones that appear close but require hours of walking to reach. Clouds sometimes roll over the rim and dissolve on the dry crater floor. The sensory experience is one of austere, Mars-like desolation punctuated by extraordinary geological color and the rare sight of the endemic Haleakalā silversword.

When to go

Jan — Dec, peak Apr — Oct

Getting there

Nearest airport: OGG. Nearest city: Kahului.

Booking options

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