Saw this and thought I would share this to everyone else who's visiting soon. I will visit Maui next week and was disappointed to see these articles. Has anyone had any luck getting to the summit recently? Thanks!
http://www.maui.net/~mauinews/alnews0e.htm
http://www.nps.gov/hale/pphtml/newse...etail1870.html

David, I want to thank you for posting this warning. My husband and I will be visiting Maui in September in celebration of our 10th anniversary, and the Haleakala sunrise is definitely part of our plans! I checked the sites you listed and realize they're supposed to be finished with the road work by then, but as we all know, "stuff happens" and such jobs are not always done by the expected date. I'll be checking those sites periodically for updates. I am very sorry this is going to affect your trip, especially since it's your honeymoon! But thanks again for the warning--it was a very useful piece of information and I'm glad you shared it! Have a great time in spite of this one setback!

Was just there a week ago. My daughter and son-in-law went to the summit for sunrise and said it was beautiful. No problems getting up or down.

We were in Maui May 7 - May 13 of this year, and were able to get pretty close to the summit (or, maybe it was the summit; the articles confused me a bit since I didn't see the other top parking lot) on our 3rd day there. We took a bike tour, which started from a parking lot a few miles back down (a little higher up than the first visitor's center though). They dropped off the trailer at the first lot, and took us up to the upper lot (38 mile mark?) in the van. We were right by the Visitor Center and saw a beautiful sunrise, though maybe it wasn't from the highest point. Then they drove us back down to start the bike downhill (from the 30 mile mark?) I would suggest calling both the visitor's center and one or two of the touring companies the day before you go to get a better idea of what to expect.

Hey, don't worry, this is not as disastrous as the thread name leads us to believe. There are 2 parking lots at the summit within about 1/4 mile of each other so YES you can still drive up Haleakala. There are other vantage points to see the sunrise. There are other overlooks signposted on the way up to the summit which give equally amazing views.

Saw this thread and had to put in my 2 cents! We went to Maui on our honeymoon in March 1999. My husband and I did the bike ride down the crater after watching the sunrise. It was very beautiful, but we really were not prepared for the very cold temps on the crater...and the single file manner that we had to ride down the mountain! This is not an "active" activity at all..so beware. Also, we got very ill on our trip, and had to postpone our trip by one morning...the guide who picked us up the next day acted as if we had lied about being ill because we didn't want to get up early to meet the van(3:30 am at our hotel, the Kea Lani) anyway..we would not recommend this expensive, cold, and rainy activity to anyone!!

Cindy, I couldn't agree with you more.

My fiancee and I drove to Haleakala for the Sunrise 2 weeks ago. (By the way, no sign of construction??). The sunrise was spectacular...I have some great pictures. The weather was great on the day we went.

That being said, after watching the sun rise and shivering for 45 minutes, all we wanted to do was get in the warm car. We also wanted to eat, as we were starving after being awake since 3am.

We didn't even pass the bikers on the way down, because they hadn't even rounded up the group from the gift shop yet. We had a delicious breakfast at the Kula Lodge before the bikers were even starting down Haleakala!

I live in Oahu and just got back from a weekend on Maui. Went to Haleakala on Saturday, 16 June. No problems whatsoever. Obviously to view the sunrise, you need to be ascending the road very, VERY early. All of the contruction equipment was neatly off the road and there were no delays. Caution: wear pants and bring a jacket (maybe even light gloves). The view is worth the wait and cold weather.

I highly recommend Charley's in Paia. It was voted "best breakfast" in Maui several times. Try the plate-size blueberry pancake. Paia is a little out of the way, but worth the 15 extra minutes just for breakfast @ Charley's.

...Steve

how long does it take to get up to the crater? Is it worth the drive with elementary age kids?

Question : What time does sunrise set?

Sunrise doesn't set. It rises.

The sunrises at slightly different times each day of the year. We went to Haleakala on June 16th and we observed sunrise about 5:30 am. Recommend you check www.weather.com or some other weather site to get the time for sunrise.

It takes about an hour to get to the summit FROM THE BASE OF HALEAKALA; however, my experience (the two times I've taken my family up there), the kids slept in the car until we arrived at the summit. That y in the morning, you're probably not going to have to worry about bored kids - most likely they'll be out cold.

We stayed at Paia which isn't too far from the base of Haleakala and we left the house at 4 am. We were at the summit by 5:15. You obviously want to be there before the sun comes up; however, you don't want to be standing around for 30 minutes in the near freezing cold either. Bring a thermos of something warm to drink, let the kids sleep until you're ready to introduce them to the sunrise, and then take a bunch of pictures - then go eat breakfast at Charley's in Paia.

...

Just returned today. We went all the way to the summit this past week, no problems whatsoever. Oh my G-d! Is it incredibly fantastically beautiful! do not miss this! We did a tour bus, but it is definetly driveable yourself, and the biking looks less difficult than I thought, but way too cold and way too early to be biking 38 miles.
Be sure to bring hats, gloves, layers of clothes and hotel blankets, it is below freezing up there.

Interesting as we live in Upcountry Maui and I have personally not heard of any problems with traffic up to Haleakala. You can view our local newspaper online and search for any info...the Maui News. An alternative to sunrise is sunset...get up there during the warmer part of the day and enjoy a spectacular sunset. Stargazing at 10,000 feet is great and if you are lucky, you may even see a moonbow. If you are in good shape, hiking is an option during the day (altitude is a factor). Either way, I think it is a must do on Maui. Dress warmly, layer up. Even if it is hot at lower elevations, it will be cool while the sun is down. Today's paper reports 5:46 sunrise, 7:10 sunset, high 62, low 50 (wind can be a factor in making it feel cooler). Enjoy your trip. Aloha!

We were there first wk of April, no problem in fact one of the highlights of our trip, not to be missed even if you miss the sunrise, it is a must do drive. DRESS WARMLY you will freeze, no exaggeration, we are from Detroit, and had our winter coats and FROZE, don't forget a flashlight, (DARKNESS LIKE YOU HAVE NEVER SEEN) we forgot ours after packing it, and had to stay in the parking lot until someone came with one, for fear of walking off a cliff.