At Leleiwi Overlook, you can witness the Brocken Spectre, a rare natural phenomenon for those with patience. It's located 6.3 miles from Park Headquarters at 8,000 feet in elevation. The event is when you can watch your shadow cast on top of the clouds. At which point, a rainbow will form around your shadow. Conditions must be perfect: 1) there should be no clouds blocking the sun above you, 2) there must be clouds below as you look out into the valley, and 3) the sun must be at the correct angle (which I think is between 2pm and 4pm. I heard about it, and waited and waited for it to happen. It was incredible! I took several photos. You may not have the patience for this, but do you think you will ever get another chance to witness something this unique? The clouds are constantly moving above and below you, so you just have to sit and wait. I encouraged a family to wait for the next one, which they did. Their excitement was just like mine; an awesome experience!

We skipped the sunrise, but still had a wonderful time. Felt very safe the entire time, thanks to the hilariously entertaining guide, R.C. All of our cheeks hurt from laughing (he thinks he's Bill Murray, and we did, too, after the trip). I can't wait to take my kids!

Haleakala Crater is definitely worth a trip. My husband and I drove up on our own. We thought about doing one of those tours where you go up there to see the sunrise, but we were trying to have a laid-back vacation and the thought of having to wake up at 2 or 3am just didn't appeal to us. We drove up there sometime around mid-morning. The views were amazing - you are literally above the clouds. The silver swords are plants native to Hawaii and interesting to look at. It's quite chilly up there, but we expected this and dressed in long pants, covered shoes, and jackets (layered with a t-shirt and sweatshirt). The drive up is easy during the day but I wouldn't try to drive it when it's dark. On the way down, we saw bicyclists - these are the people who had gone up with one of those tours to watch the sunrise and were riding back down on bicycles. I personally would never do this. They were literally riding down the side of the mountain, on this small road shared with vehicles! Granted, everyone was moving slow; it's not like the cars were speeding down, but I just can't imagine riding down the side of a mountain with no guard rails, on a bike and having to watch out for cars! Maybe that's just me; I don't go bike riding often. Anyway, we enjoyed visiting Haleakala Crater and I think you can have a great time and see lovely views even if you don't go up there for the sunrise.

Sunrise at the Haleakala Crater was aboslutely stunning!

It was about 1.5 - 1.75 hours from our condo parking lot in Kihea to the parking lot at the Crater (we left at 4:15 a.m.). Our timing was perfect....the lead up to the actual sunrise was as breathtaking as the actual sunrise itself.

I actually had tears in my eyes, it was so beautiful!

Now the logistics: it's a $10 entry fee. The road is curvy, but very safe. It is COLD at the top --> 42 degrees, which in itself isn't terrible but the wind makes that temperature much less "fun." My suggestion: get yourself in to the open foyer to the visitors center in advance of when it opens (usually about 15-20 minutes or so before sunrise). Then, when the center opens, find yourself a prime spot at the panoramic viewing windows and don't move....eventually, it will be about 5 people deep, so if you lose your spot, that's it!

Being in the center allowed me to really enjoy the experience. And if you don't turn your flash on, you can still take amazing pictures (see attached).

Also, we had a breakfast and the Kula Lodge on the way down. Wonderful views and good food!