The Diamond Head Crater hike is one of the most popular and one of the more casual hikes in Oahu. You are awarded at the end of your hike with a panoramic view of the city skyline coast-side!
Contents
Hours
This hike is open daily from 6AM to 6PM. There are signs on the hike that emphasize the trail closes at 6PM and that the latest you can start your hike is at 4:30PM. There are gates closing the parking lot in front of the trail start so the closing and start times are important.
Directions
Admission
The entrance fee is $5 per vehicle if you are driving in or $1 per person if you walk in. If you don’t want to pay the entrance fee for the vehicle, you can park down the mountain and you’ll find free parking. But it will be farther away from the hike start point.
Restrooms
There are restrooms located at the bottom of the trail along with other facilities such as food stands and tables.
Distance
Diamond Head Crater hike is about 0.8 miles each way (1.6 miles round trip).
Difficulty
The trail is paved and this hike is suitable for people of all ages. You will climb about 500 feet in elevation so depending on how physically fit you are, the hike can either be easy or moderate. We went around sunset so we had to walk at a faster pace than usual to make sure we made it there on time. There was one area that was slightly difficult (you’ll know it when you see it).
Diamond Head Crater Hike
We started the hike a little before 4:30PM (October 27, 2018) so that we could catch the sunset.
TIPS:
Wear appropriate shoes. Since the trail can get dirty, rocky, and uneven we would not recommend wearing sandals. No pets are allowed at Diamond Head. Also, since the temperature gets pretty hot, make sure to bring enough water with you and sunscreen. There are food stands at the entrance if you would like to buy a drink or food before/after your hike.
The Hike
The beginning of the hike is a paved road so it was a nice, easy walk compared to other hikes that we have done so far (Crouching Lion Hike).
There are some informational signs along the trail where you can read more about Diamond Head and its history.
After a quick 15 minute walk on the paved road, you will start to see more dirt roads and a lot of switchbacks. The hike gets a little more difficult here because the road can get steep and uneven.
Before you get to the top of Diamond Head, there are a few lookout points that you can stop at to take some photos. This was one of them:
After passing this lookout point, you will go up some stairs (there are rails). You will go through this tunnel. It’s cool in there to help you from the heat.
As you exit the tunnel, you will encounter this. This was one of the memorable moments of this hike was when we encountered this wall that looked like something out of a horror movie. There was a smear of red resembling blood, hand prints everywhere, and a double sided arrow. When you looked closer you could see that the left arrow said “Easy” and the right arrow said “Hard.” Can you guess which way Brea chose?
We picked the hard way of course. So we prepped ourselves and began the very, very, steep ascent.
When we finally reached the top of the stairs, we encountered a spiral staircase! But don’t despair, because you are almost there. If you’re lucky, you might also be able to see a rainbow too like we did at the top. It rains frequently so there is a good chance.
The Top
Once you reach the top of Diamond Head, take a few moments to take it in (and also to catch your breath). I liked this hike because of the view of the skyline on the right and the water on the left. There were quite a few people there when we finally reached the viewpoint, so we had to both dodge people taking photos and also wait so that we could take photos ourselves.
There are some railings at the edge and Brea sat on top of them while we went up on a platform to take pictures of her with the skyline in the background. If you are daring like her, you can try this too but be careful though!
There are multiple signs that says not to fly your drone. There are also signs to not go past the railings as it is not a trail.
On the hike back down, we went down the “easy” path to see what the view was. There was another lookout point with a helipad. This would have been a nice place to fly a drone.
The easy path consists of a inclined/declined paved road with railings. It’s a little longer in length, but if you have a hard time going up stairs, this would be the best option.
I’m glad that we made time in our itinerary to do this hike not only because it was more calm compared to other hikes but also because the end result was worth it and beautiful. Watching the sunset on top of Diamond Head Crater should be on everyone’s list whether it is your first time visiting Oahu or your 100th time. It’s an easy hike and a tourist spot so keep that in mind during your planning.
Don’t forget to take your time on the hike and take lots of photos!
Click here for other things to do during your trip to Hawaii.
