Hiking the Hosmer Grove Trail in Haleakalā National Park on Maui
Distance: 0.5 miles / 0.8 km
The Hosmer Grove Trail, also called the Hosmer Grove Loop Trail, is a favorite among both locals and visitors alike because it is one of the few trails in Hawaiʻi that allows visitors the unique opportunity to see various native Hawaiian birds that cannot be seen throughout other parts of the island.
In short, trails like Hosmer Grove, or the Kaulana Manu Nature Trail on the Big Island, share this unique experience because they sit much higher in elevation than the surrounding landscape. Therefore, these upper-elevation habitats have become a place of refuge for Hawaiʻi’s endemic birds because non-native/ invasive mosquitoes that carry avian malaria thrive at lower and warmer elevations, essentially decimating the native bird populations that once lived there.
However, the cool elevations on the slopes of Haleakalā, as well as Mauna Kea and Mauna Loa on Hawaiʻi Island, are places where Hawaiʻi’s endemic birds can thrive like they once did across all the islands, making Hosmer Grove not only one of the best things to do in Haleakalā National Park but on all of Maui!
My Print - ʻIʻiwi - (Drepanis coccinea)
Hosmer Grove Trailhead Parking
Parking for both the Hosmer Grove Trail and campground is located at the very end of Hosmer Grove Access Road—the first road on the left-hand side of Haleakalā Highway following the park entrance station.
The parking area is small, but since the trail is so short, visitors tend not to spend too much time at Hosmer Grove as opposed to other areas, like the summit.
Google Maps Directions: Hosmer Grove Trailhead
Hiking the Hosmer Grove Trail
The Hosmer Grove Trail can begin either here at the north trailhead or at the hidden south trailhead behind the restroom shown at the end of this article.
Immediately after beginning the hike, the Hosmer Grove Trail passes through a large forest filled with non-native conifers, pines, spruces, and eucalyptus trees.
Being the case, this overstory forest is not the best place on the trail to see some of the various native birds that can be found. Rather, the best locations are all near the far end of the trail in the native alpine shrublands.
Hosmer Grove Bird Lookout
This is the first of two lookouts on the Hosmer Grove Loop, and while both can be great places to see the native birds flying above the gulch below, both lookouts, in my experience, are not the best places to see the endemic birds up close, which I talk more about below.
Second Hosmer Grove Bird Lookout
This is the second lookout, but I recommend hiking just a little further to get into the alpine shrublands, where visitors will most likely have the best opportunity to see a handful of endemic Hawaiian birds!
Just past the second lookout, the Hosmer Grove Trail splits for both the shorter and longer sides of the loop.
Go right to take the shortest route back to the trailhead, or go left to take the longer loop, which is also the better route for increasing your chances to see some of the endemic birds in Hosmer Grove.
How to See Native Hawaiian Birds in Hosmer Grove?
There are essentially two main things that will increase the likelihood of the native birds coming in close proximity to you.
First, find a flowering native tree, like ʻŌhiʻa lehua or Māmane, and second, be patient! It doesn’t take long for numerous birds to visit a brightly-colored tree in full bloom, meaning that as long as you are patient and quiet, you will have the best opportunity to see these birds up close as they visit the blooms!
The most common of these birds are the ʻIʻiwi, the ʻAmakihi, and the ʻApapane.
With all that in mind, the native alpine shrublands shown here are generally regarded as the best place to see Hawaiʻi’s endemic birds on the Hosmer Grove Trail because the vegetation isn’t towering overhead, like the initial non-native forest.
This is where both the shorter and longer sides of the loop meet back together.
Go left to continue on the Hosmer Grove Trail back to the trailhead.
Overall, the Hosmer Grove Loop Trail is a very easy day hike, especially if you take it slow while looking for the native birds.
Native Plants on the Hosmer Grove Trail
Even though the Hosmer Grove Trail is filled with non-native introductions, the native alpine shrublands are still dominated by native Hawaiian plants that visitors can enjoy!
Some of these include Māmane, ʻŌhiʻa lehua, ʻIliahi, Nohoanu, ʻAʻaliʻi, Pūkiawe, and Koa—to truly only name a few.
If you would like to learn more about these and many other native Hawaiian plants from across the islands, I encourage you to check out my separate post linked below.
Read My Separate Post: Native Hawaiian Plant Guide
