Haleakala

A small first-come campground at 6,800 feet in Haleakala National Park, in an experimental forest planted with pine, cedar and eucalyptus that smells nothing like the rest of Maui. The practical reason families camp here is sunrise: you are already above 6,800 feet, so the 3am drive up from sea level in the dark becomes a fifteen-minute one. The nature trail behind the campground is one of the better spots on Maui to see native honeycreepers. Nights are near freezing, which catches most visitors off guard.

An oceanfront campground in the Kipahulu district of Haleakala National Park, on a grassy bluff above the surf at the end of the Road to Hana. Camping here turns the notorious Hana drive from a rushed day trip into two relaxed days, and it puts the Pipiwai Trail and the Oheo Gulch pools a short walk from your tent, hours before the tour vans arrive. Facilities are minimal: pit toilets, picnic tables, grills, and no potable water at all. Bring every drop you plan to drink.