Haleakalā stargazing tonight

Live cloud forecast for the 10,000 ft summit district, park alerts, and the moon. The one Hawaiʻi summit you can drive to after dark.

Decent, with a catch

NWS puts the summit district at 30% cloud cover through the dark hours. The moon is 81% lit and up for much of the night, which flattens the Milky Way even under a clear sky. Forecast 50°F over the dark hours.

As of Aug 31, 2026, 11:38 PM HST · NWS gridpoint forecast · NPS alerts · computed astronomy

✉️ Sky-event email alerts

Next up: The Geminids peak, December 13. We send one email about three days before it, with the sky forecast from up on the mountain, and the same for the handful of other showers a year worth the drive. Nothing else, and one click to stop.

The moon tonight

81% lit. Rises 9:03 PM HST.

The week ahead

TonightAug 31
70% clear sky · 50°F
81%
Fair
TueSep 1
71% clear sky · 49°F, feels 44°
71%
Fair
WedSep 2
66% clear sky · 53°F
60%
Fair
ThuSep 3
59% clear sky · 53°F
49%
Fair
FriSep 4
51% clear sky · 51°F
37%
Fair
SatSep 5
50% clear sky · 50°F
27%
Fair
SunSep 6
42% clear sky · 49°F, feels 44°
17%
Fair

Going up at night, the parts people get wrong

You do not need a reservation to stargaze. The summit reservation system covers SUNRISE only, 3 AM to 7 AM entry. Arrive for the evening and the gate is just the entrance fee.
The park is open around the clock. That is the real difference from Mauna Kea, whose summit closes to visitors 30 minutes after sunset.
It is 10,000 ft and the wind does not stop. Below-freezing wind chills happen in every month; bring more layers than sounds reasonable.
The drive down is the hard half: 6,500 ft of continuous descent. Low gear, headlights on the road, and let the brakes rest at the pullouts.
Summit district facilities close in the evening. Fuel up and use the restrooms in Pukalani or Makawao on the way.

Haleakalā or Mauna Kea?

Mauna Kea is higher, drier, and darker, and its Visitor Station sits above more of the atmosphere than Haleakalā's summit does. For pure sky quality it wins.

Haleakalā wins on access. You can be at the summit at midnight in a rental sedan, legally and comfortably, which is not true of Mauna Kea's summit at any hour of the night. If your trip is on Maui, this is your mountain, and the sky is still better than almost anywhere else in the country.

What this page can't tell you

Mauna Kea has a dedicated weather center publishing cloud-base heights, measured summit temperatures and a forecaster's discussion; nothing equivalent exists for Haleakalā. What's here is the NWS grid forecast and the astronomy, which is enough to pick a night, not enough to promise one. The crater rim often sits above the cloud layer the forecast counts, so a mediocre cover number can still be a clear summit.

Tours & booking

Chasing sunrise instead?

Stargazing needs no reservation. Sunrise does, and it sells out 60 days ahead. A sunrise tour brings its own entry, plus somebody else driving at 3 a.m.

Browse Haleakalā sunrise and summit tours on Viator

Tour links are affiliate links to Viator; we may earn a commission at no cost to you.

Cloud, temperature and wind: NWS gridpoint forecast for the Haleakalā summit district (HFO 221,118). Alerts: National Park Service API. Moon and dark hours computed with astronomy-engine at the summit's coordinates. Independent project, affiliated with no park or agency.