Haleakalā National Park

Haleakalā National Park is on the island of Maui, about two hours from Kahului. Its centerpiece is a dormant volcano whose summit rises 10,023 feet above the Pacific, where people gather before dawn to watch the sunrise above a sea of clouds. Inside the vast crater, rust red cinder cones dot a Mars like landscape with silversword plants that grow nowhere else. Best season is winter and spring: November through April brings comfortable temperatures and thinner crowds.

Discovery Pick, HannahOutThere

Why this one matters

It feels like walking on Mars instead of Earth. A crater floor of red and black stretching for miles, cinder cones rising out of the emptiness, not a living thing in sight. From December through April you can also watch humpback whales from the Maui shore, no boat needed, as mothers teach their calves at the surface, rolling and breaching in plain view.

Haleakalā National Park

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