Scenic pullout · Haleakalā National Park
A roadcut lets you read ʻāʻā lava from rough edges inward.
Overview
Map
Plan your stop
The highest, rockiest slopes around here are a summer buffet for grizzly bears.
Haleakalā Tour Guide
Parkwolf is a GPS audio tour guide for Haleakalā National Park. As you drive, it chimes in with what’s ahead: hidden gems, upcoming stops, history, geology, and wildlife, right through your car’s speakers.
Recorded for this place
Headquarters Visitor Center and Lava Pull-Off“Headquarters Visitor Center is coming up, the smaller information stop in the lower Summit District.”
Plays as you drive up to Headquarters Pull-Off in the Parkwolf Haleakalā Tour Guide.
More stories near here in the app
“Fantastic app with many points of information… It’s great to just turn on while you’re driving and it gives you an audio tour of the national Park. We love it!!!!”
Guide
Headquarters Pull-Off is a roadside geology stop in Haleakalā’s Summit District, where a cut exposes dark volcanic layers. It’s Stop 2 on the Geology Road Tour, across the road from the separate Headquarters Visitor Center. I’d stop if you like reading the landscape; the payoff is rock detail, not a broad crater view.
The layers here are ʻāʻā basalt. In an ʻāʻā flow, lava moves downhill through open channels, with a dense core between rubbly outer layers called clinker. See if you can spot the firmer center sandwiched by rough, broken rock above and below it. That texture is the reason to pull over.
View the cut from the designated pull-off shoulder. Stay clear of the travel lane and keep to the established pull-off rather than walking off trail toward the rocks.
Wildlife
442 sightingsHawaiian GooseMost seen around 7 AMSighting map
28 sightingsHawaiian Short-eared OwlMost seen around 6 AMSighting map
22 sightingsGreen Sea TurtleMost seen around 11 AMSighting map
645 sightingsʻIʻiwiMost seen around 8 AMSighting map
360 sightingsʻApapaneMost seen around 9 AMSighting map
207 sightingsHawaiʻi ʻAmakihiMost seen around 7 AMSighting mapSighting maps show where each species has been reported across Haleakalā. Wildlife moves, so no sighting is guaranteed.
Keep exploring
ModerateSupply Trail4.6 mi · 2.8 hr · 0.7 mi awayA steady shrubland climb to the Halemauʻu Trail junction
EasyHosmer Grove Nature Trail0.5 mi · 30 min · 0.9 mi awayA quick birding loop with a forestry story from 1909.
ModerateHalemauʻu Trail2.7 mi · 2.5 hr · 1.3 mi awayA short trail to a natural bridge at the crater rim.
ChallengingSilversword Loop via Halemauʻu Trail10 mi · 8 hr · 1.3 mi awayA long crater descent to the silversword loop.
EasyLeleiwi Overlook Trail0.3 mi · 30 min · 1.5 mi awayA short uphill walk to one of Haleakalā’s crater views.
EasyKalahaku Overlook Trail0.1 mi · 30 min · 1.8 mi awayA short crater-rim walk to a historic shelter and huge views.
EasyPā Kaʻoao Trail0.4 mi · 36 min · 3.1 mi awayShort climb, crater views, and a hillside of old stone enclosures.
ChallengingKeoneheʻeheʻe (Sliding Sands) Trail7.8 mi · 8 hr · 3.1 mi awayDescend into the crater; save some strength for the climb out.
Visitor center · At the trailheadHeadquarters Visitor CenterA useful first stop for trail advice and East Maui’s geology.
Entrance station · 0.7 mi awaySummit District Entrance StationGet your pass and map before the half-hour drive to the summit.
Picnic area · 0.8 mi awayHosmer Grove Picnic ShelterA covered picnic stop with a short birding trail behind it.
Campground · 0.8 mi awayHosmer Grove CampgroundSix tent sites, a short forest loop, and native birds at dawn.Sight · 0.9 mi awayHosmer Grove Birdwatching ViewpointA quiet pause for native birds, with a fixed viewfinder.Sight · 1.5 mi awayLeleiwi OverlookA short, rocky climb to the crater’s north-shore gaps.
Sight · 1.8 mi awayKalahaku OverlookA short walk to another angle on the crater and its cones.
Sight · 1.9 mi awayRainbow BridgeA natural bridge between Koʻolau Gap and the crater floorParkwolf’s Haleakalā ranking
The audio tour guide for the drive, plus offline maps, trails, and wildlife heatmaps for when the signal drops.
