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Hōlua 5 Campsite: Backcountry Camping in Haleakalā Crater

Hōlua 5 is a group wilderness site inside Haleakalā National Park’s crater, reached by a 3.7-mile hike down the Halemauʻu Trail. This isn’t drive-up camping. There’s no vehicle access at all, no cell service, and no water you can drink without treating it first. It’s built for groups of 5 to 10 people who want a real backcountry trip on Maui.

If you’re picturing beach camping or parking a campervan for the night, this isn’t that guide. For vehicle-accessible camping, see our Camp Olowalu or Hosmer Grove guides instead.

Hōlua 5 sits at 6,940 feet in a field filled with shrubs near Koʻolau Gap, right at the edge of Hōlua campground in a grassy field next to individual tent sites 3 and 4. The ground is uneven cinder, so watch your footing when you’re moving around camp, especially at night.

Group size runs 5 to 10 people, with a 4-tent maximum. There’s no campfire allowed anywhere in the wilderness area, and there are no vehicles of any kind (not even bikes) permitted at the site.

Sites throughout Hōlua are marked with brown stakes and arrows, and your tent just needs to be near your reserved stake, not pitched directly on top of it. If a spot already looks used, set up there instead of disturbing new ground. Your permit is only valid for the site you reserved, so print it and keep it as proof if a ranger asks. Reserving a wilderness tent site doesn’t give you access to the ranger shelter or the visitor cabin nearby. Those require a separate cabin permit.

The park entrance fee runs $15 to $30 depending on how you arrive. Most visitors driving to the trailhead pay the $30 private vehicle rate, valid for 3 days. This is separate from your camping permit. Camping fees are set and charged directly through recreation.gov at the time of booking, so check the current rate there rather than relying on a number here, since fee structures for NPS backcountry sites can change. Note that Haleakalā doesn’t accept cash, so bring a credit or debit card.

Book Hōlua 5 through recreation.gov, under Haleakalā National Park’s Wilderness Tent Permit listing. You’ll need to:

1. Watch the park’s required Leave No Trace video before your trip linked on the NPS site.
2. Reserve online and print your permit. Once printed, the reservation can’t be canceled or modified, so don’t print until you’re sure you’re going.
3. Carry the printed permit with you at all times in the field.
4. If you’re arriving in a rental car, enter “Rental” as your license plate when booking, then log back in once you’re on island to update it with your actual plate.

Cancellations made before your arrival day cost a $10 fee. Cancel the day before or day of arrival, and you’ll also lose the first night’s fee.

What to Bring to the Campsite

There’s a non-potable water spigot near the campsites, but water isn’t guaranteed, especially during drought, so plan to carry enough with you and treat anything you collect on site. Temperatures swing from 40 to 70°F during the day to 30 to 50°F at night, and storms can push winds past 80 mph with freezing temperatures, so pack real layers, not just a light jacket.

NPS recommends packing a first aid kit, a trail map and compass, extra food, 3–4 liters of water per person per day, a headlamp with backup batteries, a tent with rain fly, sun protection like a hat and sunscreen, a sleeping bag rated for cold weather, and an emergency blanket.

Quiet hours run 8 PM to 8 AM. Pack out everything you bring in, including all trash.

Location

You have two trailhead options:

- - Halemauʻu Trailhead: 3.7 miles one way to Hōlua. This is the shorter route and the one most people use.
  - Keoneheʻeheʻe (Sliding Sands) Trailhead: 7.4 miles one way to Hōlua. Longer, but starts from the main visitor center parking lot.

You can reach both trailheads by driving up Haleakalā Highway from Kahului. The Halemauʻu Trailhead is about a 10-minute drive past the park entrance station; the Sliding Sands trailhead is closer to the summit, about 30 minutes past the entrance.

Because of soft, sandy trail surface, plan to spend roughly twice as long hiking out as you did hiking in.

Once you’re set up, Hōlua also works as a base for day hikes further into the crater’s Wilderness Area, since you’re not locked to the campsite once you’ve made the trip in.

Maui Campervans

Hōlua 5 is hike-in only, so a campervan won’t get you to the site itself. It’s still useful for the rest of the trip: getting to the trailhead, sleeping the nights before and after your hike, and getting around the island in between.

If you’re renting a campervan for your Maui trip, book with us and grab the discount code to save more on Outdoorsy discount page and enter it at checkout to confirm it.