Beginning in February, you just might need a reservation to catch the sunrise from the roof of Haleakala National Park/NPS
You have to get up early to catch the sunrise, and at Haleakala National Park in Hawaii, you soon will need a reservation as well! Beginning in February, if you're driving to the top of the park in your own rig or a rental to view the sunrise, you'll need to make a reserve a spot ahead of time.
"The online reservation system is being implemented to ensure visitor and employee safety, protect natural and cultural resources, and provide a quality visitor experience at the summit during sunrise hours (3 a.m. to 7 a.m.)," a park release said. "The reservation system will go live on December 1. The cost is $1.50 per car. Before February 1, 2017, sunrise viewing parking spaces will continue to be available without advanced reservation, on a first-come, first-served basis."
Reservations for sunrise viewing can only be made online at recreation.gov, so don't expect to be able to make a reservation in person at the park. They can be made up to 60 days in advance, but cannot be transferred. To enter the Summit District between 3 and 7 a.m., the reservation holder must be present and show both the sunrise reservation receipt for that day and a photo ID.
Parking problems are huge for sunrise viewing from the top of Haleakala National Park/NPS
Due to limited parking, visitors without a sunrise viewing reservation will have to wait until after 7 a.m. to enter the park. There is no refund or exchange of the reservation due to inclement weather or change of plans. There is no change to the National Park Service’s current policy regarding Kanaka Maoli who wish to conduct traditional practices in the park. There is no change to the park’s current Commercial Use Authorization policy regarding sunrise tours.
The park entrance fee is separate and payable by credit card or park pass on the day of visit. The entrance fee is good for three days, with receipt.
The four summit parking lots serving sunrise viewing hold approximately 150 vehicles, but the count regularly exceeds 300 at dawn. When vehicles outnumber parking spaces, visitors park on road shoulders or in the upbound lane of Crater Road. The cars block emergency vehicle access and damage park infrastructure, vegetation, and critical habitat for endangered species such as the Hawaiian petrel and Haleakalā silversword. Crowds at sunrise viewpoints often number over 1,000, with accidents resulting from visitors moving off trail and climbing cliff sides in the dark.
This past summer, park officials gathered public input on options regarding sunrise visitor management. This interim reservation system was deemed the best short-term option. In 2017, the park will develop a long-term Sunrise Summit Visitor Management Plan (Environmental Assessment) and will again seek public comments. For more information about the new sunrise reservation system, go to the park’s website or call 808-572-4400.
You just might need a reservation to see the sun rise at Haleakala National Park in the not too distant future/NPS
Comments
I know there will be people grousing about this, but I totally get the reasons behind this. I've been to an autumn sunrise photo shoot of Maroon Bells outside of Aspen, CO, and the crowds were so large that they had staff out there directing cars to parking spots. Those cars that couldn't find a spot ended up parking on either side of the narrow road leading to the parking lot. On that particular day, there must have been over 100 photographers lining the lakeshore (not counting the non-photographers out there as well), some of them getting a little pissy with other photographers asking to share their precious space. Yeah, I get why the national park is doing this. WIth more people visiting the national parks and straining the parks' limited resources, that's just the way it's probably going to be. I'm surprised this hasn't happened sooner.
It's either this or expanded development and risk to the resource in many of our parks. Unfortunately, this is not unique to Haleakala.
I'm coming to the conclusion the quickest way to destroy a place is to make it a National Park.
Hence peoples opposition to North Woods.
A buck and a half to watch the sunrise is a real deal. Here at Mount Rainier, watching the winter sunset from Paradise can cost a person $135 if they get to Longmire after the daily 5 PM gate closure (and are not a famous climber or friend of the ranger).