Supply Trail

The Supply Trail is Haleakala's quiet backdoor — a connector route that most visitors never hear about, which is exactly its appeal. You'll start in subalpine shrubland where silvery ahinahina (silversword) plants dot the volcanic landscape like something from another planet. The trail drops and climbs through scrubby ohelo berry bushes and native grasses, with the massive crater rim looming ahead. At nearly 7,000 feet, the air is thin enough to notice on the uphills, and the nearly thousand feet of elevation change spread across the out-and-back keeps your legs honest. The payoff is the junction with the Halemau'u Trail, where the crater suddenly reveals itself in full — a gut-punch vista of cinder cones and painted earth. This trail rewards hikers who prefer earning their views over sharing them with a crowd.