Diamond Head Crater Hike

Today is another work/play day. After 4 hours of nose to the grindstone work on a medical application, the time has arrived to hike Diamond Head State Monument, probably the most recognized landmark on the Hawaiian Islands. Located not far from where I live in downtown Waikiki, I decide to walk to the Monument rather than take the bus.

Off I go, and as I make my way, I can see Diamond Head peeking through the trees, it takes about 30 minutes before I face the park entrance.

Burrowing through the side of the crater, the entrance takes me to a pay station. Cars pay $5, walk-ins (me) pay just $1. I pay my fee, collect an information brochure, then proceed to the trail head.

The hike will be a short one, just .8 miles to the top and 560 feet up. The lower section of the trail is paved, eventually giving way to stone, with two flights of stairs and a tunnel thrown into the mix to spice things up a bit. The trail to the summit (called Le'ahi in Hawaiian) was constructed way back in 1908 by the U.S. Army as a means of accessing the military bunker that's buried inside the crater wall that faces the ocean. The bunker itself is comprised of 4 levels, there's a spiral staircase inside that's part of the trail to the top.

All in all it's a rather interesting and varied hike. Soon enough I reach the top and take in the view. Bordering the ocean I see the Diamond Head Lighthouse and up the coastline I see downtown Waikiki and Honolulu. I suppose the most interesting sight is looking down into the crater itself. Diamond Head Crater, the remnant of an eruption some 300,000 years ago, covers approximately 350 acres and supports a variety of plants and animals.



After spending about 15 minutes at the top I head back down, then head back home on foot. All in all it was a rather active day, I probably walked/hiked about 5 miles, and in the process got to see some really nice views from the rim of a volcanic crater. How many days of our lives to we live but forget? Probably 99% of them. Today is one of those 1% days, one I'll never forget.


I think traveling has a tendency to increase the percentage of days one remembers, imagine a life where you could remember each and every day. Every day something unique happens to you, something interesting that holds your attention and permanently burns it into memory. Maybe that is why I like to travel, I want to remember, it seems to make life worth living even more.