The Overland Directory

Training in Hawaii

Driver training, recovery courses, field repair and wilderness first aid, taught by people who do it for a living.

Denali Park Road, Alaska

We’re working on adding the latest training courses in Hawaii here.

Teach driving, recovery, field repair or wilderness first aid? Tell us about your courses.

List your business Recovery equipment

Hawaii by the numbers

of Hawaii is federal land 1: 21%; 861,254 of 4,105,600 acres, and the Park Service holds more of it than any other agency
acres of BLM or Forest Service land 1: 0; The two agencies that carry most of the West manage nothing in this state. There is no national forest here
acres in 57 state forest reserves 41: 700,645; The division’s by-island table. Its forest reserve page gives over 683,964 acres for the same system
acres at Hawaiʻi Volcanoes 7: 354,461; 106 miles of roads, 155 miles of marked trails and 123,100 acres of legislated wilderness
Puʻu Wēkiu on Mauna Kea, the state high point 2: 13,796 ft; USGS published. Our own reading of the elevation surface at its map point gives 13,797
miles of state trails, roads and access routes 46: 432; 154 features in the Nā Ala Hele system. Its own executive summary says over 400 miles
climbed by the eight-mile Maunakea summit road 25: 5,000 ft; Two-wheel drive vehicles are not permitted above the visitor station at 9,200 feet
federal campgrounds a vehicle can reach 4: 2; Hosmer Grove and Kīpahulu, both at Haleakalā, both reserved ahead; our build of the federal recreation database

What is worth learning here

Descending a long steep grade without cooking the brakes, which is the one skill this state names in writing: engage low range, downshift, tap rather than ride the brakes. Eight miles and five thousand feet is a real test of technique and of fluid.

After that, single-lane etiquette and sand driving. The Waipiʻo rule writes the first into law with downhill yielding to uphill; the second is what the Polihale road asks of anyone who gets that far.

The full guide to overlanding Hawaii

What training covers

Training is the cheapest upgrade there is. It costs less than a bumper, weighs nothing, and works on every vehicle you will ever own.

Common courses

01Driving: line choice, throttle and brake control, airing down, spotting
02Recovery: safe rigging, winching and kinetic recovery
03Field repair: tires, fluids, electrical faults and improvised fixes
04Navigation and communication
05Wilderness first aid

How to choose a course

Small classes and real terrain.

01Ask about class size and how much time you spend driving rather than watching.
02Ask whether you train in your own vehicle. You should.
03Ask about the instructors' certification and how long they have been teaching.
04Ask what terrain the course uses, and what to bring.

Why it is worth it

A trained driver breaks less, gets stuck less and recovers more safely. Most vehicle damage on the trail comes from speed and poor line choice, and most recovery injuries come from rigging that someone guessed at.

Questions people ask

I have driven dirt roads for years. Is a course worth it?

Most experienced drivers say the recovery day alone was worth it. Rigging a winch pull safely is not something to work out for the first time when you are stuck.

Do I need a built vehicle to attend?

No. Most introductory courses are designed for stock four-wheel-drive vehicles, and learning what a stock vehicle can do is the point.

How high is Hawaii?

From Kaunakakai at 12 feet to Puʻu Wēkiu, Mauna Kea at 13,796. Altitude decides what your engine, your brakes and your lungs have to work with, and how late in the year the passes open.

Towns

Volcano At the Hawaiʻi Volcanoes entrance, where the park sells no fuel 3,743 ft
Waimea Upcountry Hawaiʻi Island, between the Kohala coast and Saddle Road 2,666 ft
Lānaʻi City Lānaʻi’s only town, at 1,635 feet in the middle of the island 1,635 ft
Pukalani Last fuel on the way up to the Haleakalā summit 1,427 ft
Honokaʻa Top of Route 240 and the last town before the Waipiʻo lookout 1,084 ft
Nāʻālehu Kaʻū district services on the belt road near the Kahuku Unit 659 ft
Pāhoa Lower Puna, where the 2018 flows rewrote the road map 649 ft
Pāʻia Last fuel before Hāna on the north shore road 254 ft
Līhuʻe Kauaʻi’s harbour and airport, and the island’s service centre 207 ft
Kapaʻa East Kauaʻi services on the way to the end of the north shore road 130 ft
Hāna East Maui services, 12 miles short of the Kīpahulu district 129 ft
Kailua-Kona Dry-side services and the long way round to the volcano 54 ft
Kahului Maui’s harbour and airport, where a shipped vehicle lands 34 ft
Waimea The turn for the canyon road and the west-side approach to Polihale 30 ft
Hilo The wet-side port and the fullest services on Hawaiʻi Island 19 ft
Kaunakakai Molokaʻi’s one town, and the county campgrounds west of it 12 ft

Passes, high roads and summits

Puʻu Wēkiu, Mauna Kea The state high point, published by USGS. Our own reading of the elevation surface at its map point gives 13,797 13,796 ft
Mauna Loa The largest active volcano on the planet, covering half of Hawaiʻi Island. Our own reading at its map point gives 13,674 13,679 ft
Haleakalā summit The Park Service figure for the summit of the Maui volcano, reached by 11 miles of paved road above the entrance station 10,023 ft
Haleakalā summit Haleakalā Crater Road to the summit 10,023 ft
Maunakea Visitor Information Station Maunakea Access Road and the summit road 9,200 ft
Hualālai Our own reading of the elevation surface at its map point, above Kailua-Kona 8,269 ft
Puʻu Lāʻau Puʻu Lāʻau Road 7,000 ft
Mauna Loa Lookout The end of the narrow one-lane Mauna Loa Road inside Hawaiʻi Volcanoes, and the highest point a road reaches in the park 6,662 ft
Mauna Loa Lookout Mauna Loa Road 6,662 ft
Polipoli Spring Polipoli Spring State Recreation Area road 6,200 ft
Puʻu Kukui Our own reading of the elevation surface at its map point, the West Maui high point 5,788 ft
Kawaikini Our own reading of the elevation surface at its map point, the Kauaʻi high point 5,212 ft
Waiʻaleʻale Our own reading of the elevation surface at its map point, on the Kauaʻi summit plateau 5,123 ft
Kamakou Our own reading of the elevation surface at its map point, the Molokaʻi high point 4,984 ft
Kaʻala Our own reading of the elevation surface at its map point, the Oʻahu high point 4,038 ft
Kalalau Lookout Kōkeʻe Road and the canyon rim, Kauaʻi 4,000 ft
Lānaʻihale Our own reading of the elevation surface at its map point, the Lānaʻi high point 3,379 ft

Pass, road and summit elevations are the figures published by the agency that manages them. Town elevations are the town’s or county’s own figure where it publishes an exact one; the rest are from the U.S. Geological Survey (3D Elevation Program at the place’s official coordinates), retrieved September 18, 2026. Every source is listed at the foot of the page.

Sources for this page

Congressional Research Service. Federal Land Ownership: Overview and Data (R42346), Tables 1 and 2, data as of September 30, 2024. Retrieved September 25, 2026.
U.S. Geological Survey. Elevations and Distances in the United States, online edition. Retrieved September 25, 2026.
U.S. Geological Survey. Geographic Names Information System and 3D Elevation Program point query. Elevation of the 3DEP surface at the GNIS coordinates of the named place, rounded to the nearest foot. Retrieved September 25, 2026.
Recreation.gov. Recreation Information Database (RIDB) full export, the site’s own build of it. Retrieved September 25, 2026.
U.S. Geological Survey. Mauna Loa. Retrieved September 25, 2026.
U.S. Geological Survey. Kīlauea. Retrieved September 25, 2026.
National Park Service. Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park fact sheet, 2023. Retrieved September 25, 2026.
National Park Service. Drive Chain of Craters Road. Retrieved September 25, 2026.
National Park Service. See Crater Rim Drive and Chain of Craters Road. Retrieved September 25, 2026.
National Park Service. Drive Hilina Pali Road. Retrieved September 25, 2026.
National Park Service. Campgrounds, Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park. Retrieved September 25, 2026.
National Park Service. Backcountry hiking, Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park. Retrieved September 25, 2026.
National Park Service. Fees and passes, Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park. Retrieved September 25, 2026.
National Park Service. Directions and transportation, Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park. Retrieved September 25, 2026.
National Park Service. Mauna Loa Lookout. Retrieved September 25, 2026.
National Park Service. The Kahuku Unit. Retrieved September 25, 2026.
National Park Service. Frequently asked questions, Haleakalā National Park. Retrieved September 25, 2026.
National Park Service. Fees and passes, Haleakalā National Park. Retrieved September 25, 2026.
National Park Service. Camping, Haleakalā National Park. Retrieved September 25, 2026.
National Park Service. Hosmer Grove Campground. Retrieved September 25, 2026.
National Park Service. Wilderness, Haleakalā National Park. Retrieved September 25, 2026.
National Park Service. Directions, Haleakalā National Park. Retrieved September 25, 2026.
National Park Service. Kīpahulu District, Haleakalā National Park. Retrieved September 25, 2026.
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Hakalau Forest National Wildlife Refuge, Visit Us. Retrieved September 25, 2026.
Center for Maunakea Stewardship, University of Hawaiʻi at Hilo. Visiting Maunakea safely and responsibly. Retrieved September 25, 2026.
Center for Maunakea Stewardship, University of Hawaiʻi at Hilo. Maunakea Visitor Information Station. Retrieved September 25, 2026.
Center for Maunakea Stewardship, University of Hawaiʻi at Hilo. Activities and permits on Maunakea, under Hawaii Administrative Rules Chapter 20-26. Retrieved September 25, 2026.
Hawaii Department of Land and Natural Resources. Camping, Division of State Parks. Retrieved September 25, 2026.
Hawaii Department of Land and Natural Resources. Polihale State Park. Retrieved September 25, 2026.
Hawaii Department of Land and Natural Resources. Polipoli Spring State Recreation Area. Retrieved September 25, 2026.
Hawaii Department of Land and Natural Resources. Waiʻānapanapa State Park, with the campervan permit. Retrieved September 25, 2026.
Hawaii Department of Land and Natural Resources. Kōkeʻe State Park. Retrieved September 25, 2026.
Hawaii Department of Land and Natural Resources. Kaʻena Point State Park and the Vehicle Access Special Use Permit. Retrieved September 25, 2026.
Hawaii Department of Land and Natural Resources. Nāpali Coast State Wilderness Park, park information. Retrieved September 25, 2026.
Hawaii Department of Land and Natural Resources. Hāʻena and Nāpali Coast access information. Retrieved September 25, 2026.
Hawaii Department of Land and Natural Resources. DLNR working towards reopening Polihale State Park, news release nr20-139. Retrieved September 25, 2026.
Hawaii Department of Land and Natural Resources. Hawaii Administrative Rules, Title 13 Chapter 146, State Parks. Retrieved September 25, 2026.
Hawaii Department of Land and Natural Resources. Hawaii Administrative Rules, Chapter 13-104, Rules Regulating Activities Within Forest Reserves, amendment and compilation. Retrieved September 25, 2026.
Hawaii Department of Land and Natural Resources. Permit guidelines, Division of Forestry and Wildlife. Retrieved September 25, 2026.
Hawaii Department of Land and Natural Resources. Camping, Division of Forestry and Wildlife outdoor recreation. Retrieved September 25, 2026.
Hawaii Department of Land and Natural Resources. Forest Reserves by island, with counts and acreages. Retrieved September 25, 2026.
Hawaii Department of Land and Natural Resources. Forest Reserve System. Retrieved September 25, 2026.
Hawaii Department of Land and Natural Resources. Lands and management classifications, Division of Forestry and Wildlife. Retrieved September 25, 2026.
Hawaii Department of Land and Natural Resources. Nā Ala Hele Trail and Access Program. Retrieved September 25, 2026.
Hawaii Department of Land and Natural Resources. Off-highway vehicles, Nā Ala Hele. Retrieved September 25, 2026.
Hawaii Department of Land and Natural Resources. Report to the Thirty-First Legislature, 2022 Regular Session: Nā Ala Hele, fiscal year 2021. Retrieved September 25, 2026.
Hawaii Invasive Species Council, Department of Land and Natural Resources. Rapid ʻŌhiʻa Death. Retrieved September 25, 2026.
Hawaiʻi Birding Trails, Department of Land and Natural Resources. Palila Forest Discovery Trail and Puʻu Lāʻau Road. Retrieved September 25, 2026.
County of Hawaiʻi, Office of the Mayor. Twenty-fourth Mayor’s Waipiʻo Valley Road continued Emergency Rule No. 2 and Emergency Rule No. 1, effective July 4, 2026. Retrieved September 25, 2026.
County of Hawaiʻi. Out of state permit, Vehicle Registration and Licensing Division. Retrieved September 25, 2026.
County of Hawaiʻi. Camping reservations, Department of Parks and Recreation. Retrieved September 25, 2026.
County of Kauaʻi Department of Parks and Recreation. Campground guidelines, rules and fees. Retrieved September 25, 2026.
County of Maui Department of Parks and Recreation. Campground guide and rules, and camping information and fees. Retrieved September 25, 2026.
National Weather Service, Honolulu. Climate of Hawaiʻi. Retrieved September 25, 2026.
Hawaii Department of Transportation. Saddle Road renamed Daniel K. Inouye Highway, realignment to Māmalahoa Highway opened. Retrieved September 25, 2026.
Hawaii Department of Transportation. Maui state roads and highways, with the definition of each route. Retrieved September 25, 2026.
Hawaii Department of Business, Economic Development and Tourism. The State of Hawaii Data Book 2023, Section 18, Table 18.01: distances of selected state routes and interstates, from the Department of Transportation Highways Division. Retrieved September 25, 2026.
Federal Highway Administration. America’s Byways in Hawaii. Retrieved September 25, 2026.

Reviewed September 25, 2026. Conditions, closures and rules change; check with the managing agency before you travel.