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Maui - Haleakala Crater: Bike ride down

riverdees05

riverdees05

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Has anyone done this recently? I had heard that you can't do the entire ride down, is that correct? Any recommendation on places to rent, tours, etc.?
 
Because of the number of serious accidents, the park no longer allows the tour companies to start in the park. I would not do this activity unless you feel very comfortable on a bike.
 
Our son and grandson did this about 3 years ago. Both are experienced bike riders, but said that the road is narrow, you DO share it with cars commuting to work. The tour starts VERY early (0300) if you leave from Kaanapali. It was a highlight of their trip to Maui, and DS still uses his picture of sunrise over Haleakala as his computer wallpaper. I don't know that I would do it myself though.

Jim
 
DeniseM said:
Because of the number of serious accidents, the park no longer allows the tour companies to start in the park.
Click to expand...

Correct. The bike tour operators take everyone to the summit for the sunrise, then they take everyone outside the part entrance, where the bike riding starts.
 
I would never do the Haleakala bike ride, but I really enjoyed riding down Waimea Canyon on Kauai. The guide take the lead and the van follows, so there aren't any cars passing riders. They pull over occasionally so cars can pass, and the stops include short lectures on the geology and vegetation. It was very relaxing, scenic and informative.

There's also a bike ride down Tantalus on Oahu, but I think that's also one to be avoided.
 
Haleakala Bike Ride

In 2003 Patti and I visited Maui the 1st time in we did this ride. That was when you could still do a Bike Tour from the very top. We loved it. The various sounds and various scents as you went from 10000 feet to sea level were stunning. The National Park now prohibits launching of commericial rides from the top. Not because of the danger but because the Federal Government got tired of being joined to a law suit everytime some idiot got hurt - usually through there own fault. The companies indemified the Federal Government and the tourist/riders released the Federal Government from liability in the release forms. So the Federal Government always got dismissed. But they got tired of the hassle. You can still do personal non-commercials rides from the top but it is a pain because you need 2 vehicles. Everytime we are on Maui we get up at 3am (usually awake 1st morning anyway) and drive to the top of Haleakala for sunrise
 
I didn't do this as an organized tour and not at sunrise.
However, a few years ago I did this with my son with my wife as our driver. We rented bikes and a rack at a bike ship near the bottom then drove up and did a little hiking in the park and then my wife followed us down the mountain.
 
Let me just say that your enjoyment of this can be skewed greatly based on the weather. The first year my husband did it, it rained the entire time and he couldn't see anything other then 10 feet in front of him. When we did it together, the day was clear and bright and the views were phenomenal.

I'm not a tremendous bicyclist, but I never felt in danger. Just go at the pace you're comfortable with and be aware of what's around you, including car drivers and upcoming hairpin turns.
 
That's too bad...

My wife and I did this 10 years ago. I was hoping to do it with my girls once they got a little older (maybe into their teens). I don't really think you need to be a great rider? It's all downhill (mostly). Gravity does most of the work. I probably spent more time on the brakes than actually pedaling?
 
Just came down from Haleakala today. Terrible weather. There were a few bikers coming down. It was hard to see them from 25 yards behind.

I've seen some pretty tight peloton a coming down, and all it takes is for one inexperienced rider to brake too hard, to have someone behind cause a pileup. I consider the ride down more dangerous that the helicopter rides and SCUBA activities others view as also pretty dangerous. There have been many deaths of bikers and there was a moratorium on the activity for a few years.
 
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