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Haleakala National Park
A 10,023-foot volcano with a crater like another planet, a sunrise that books out two months ahead, and the clearest night sky most visitors will ever stand under.
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Explore Maui
A volcano summit above the clouds, a black-sand beach, a bird refuge five minutes from your lanai. Maui's parks are the island's best value — most cost less than lunch.
The parks are where Maui stops being a beach vacation and becomes somewhere you talk about for years. Watch sunrise from 10,023 feet, walk lava that is younger than the United States at La Perouse Bay, or stand on black sand at Waianapanapa.
The catch: the famous ones now require planning. Haleakala sunrise, Iao Valley and Waianapanapa all use advance reservation systems — each page below explains exactly what to book and when, so none of it surprises you at a gate.
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A 10,023-foot volcano with a crater like another planet, a sunrise that books out two months ahead, and the clearest night sky most visitors will ever stand under.
Read the full guide →02
A knife-cut green valley above Wailuku where the 1,200-foot Iao Needle rises out of the rainforest — sacred ground, an easy paved walk, and since 2023 a place you book before you go.
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Maui's famous black sand beach near Hana: jet-black shore against impossibly blue water, sea caves and a lava tube — and a timed-entry reservation you must book before you drive out.
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A drowned volcanic crater three miles off the south shore, protected as a Marine Life Conservation District — reachable only by boat, at its glassy best in the first hours after sunrise.
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South Maui before the resorts: well over half a mile of wide-open sand at Big Beach, a cinder cone at one end, no buildings in sight — and a modest visitor fee at the gate.
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A protected wetland at the top of North Kihei where endangered Hawaiian stilts and coots live year-round — with a long, easy boardwalk, free entry, and no reservation required.
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The famous tiered pools of Kipahulu, 12 miles past Hana in Haleakala National Park. The swimming is closed; the reasons are good; and the place is still worth every one of the 600 curves it takes to get there.
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A half-mile loop at 6,800 feet where Maui’s native forest birds still come down to eye level. If you want to see a wild i’iwi without booking a guide, this little grove is the place.
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The literal end of the road in South Maui: a bay carved into the island’s youngest lava flow, where spinner dolphins rest on calm mornings and the pavement gives way to the old King’s Highway.
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An upcountry hillside garden where proteas the size of dinner plates grow in air twenty degrees cooler than the beach. It is the easiest way to see the other Maui — the green, misty one halfway up the volcano.
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Five quiet acres in Kahului devoted to the plants Hawaiians actually lived on — kalo, ko, wauke, hala — plus rare natives you will not spot anywhere else on your trip. Small garden, big story.
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Four beachside bungalows in North Kihei, hosted by Megan & Bryan since 2012. 4.9 stars across 421 reviews.