Diamond Head Compound and Hiking Trail

Hiking, History, and a Volcano

Diamond Head, a Hawaii State Park has a rich history.  Encompassed in its limits east of downtown Honolulu are a geologic history of the volcano which formed the mountain and a military history of the people who used the summit as a vantage point for spotting enemy ships.  

The tunnel entrance at Diamond Head State Park.

In Diamond Head's geologic history it was a volcano which formed on the island when it resided over the hotspot, a hot plume of magma from the earth's mantle that eats through the earth's crust spilling its oozy lava onto the earth's surface and forming islands.  Other famous hotspots include the Galapagos Islands and Yellowstone National Park.  As the tectonic plates (pieces of the earth's crust that float on the mantle and constantly move) of the Pacific, aptly named the Pacific Plate moved westward Oahu moved off of the hotspot and the hotspot began to build a new island, which is now the Big Island where Kilauea Volcano actively builds the island larger every day.  So Diamond Head was built by a volcano now dormant, which made it a great outpost for the military in World War II.

Bethani climbing stairs to the bunker levels of Diamond Head.

Diamond Head had a very specific and useful purpose in the second world war.  It was used to spot enemy ships and to triangulate their positions.  Soldiers at Diamond Head would measure the distance and angle a ship was from one of the Diamond Head bunkers.  Another group of soldiers would conduct the same assessment at the Fort DeRussy (now a free and worth while military museum) in downtown Honolulu.  Using the two measurements in tandem soldiers would then triangulate the exact position of a ship and then accurately fire artillery or worse in to the ship's location.  Anyways that was the plan, I am not sure if it was every actually executed as I don't know if enemy ships every got close enough for the system to work. 

A beautiful ocean view from one of the Diamond Head bunkers.

Today a road winds up the side of Diamond Head over the lip and into the crater.  We left our car at the base of the crater and began the one mile climb up a trail, into the bunkers, and up a series of stairs, lots and lots of stairs.  The last half of the hike seemed to be a series of stairs, bunker, stairs, bunker, stairs, oh thank goodness it's the last bunker.

The gang in good spirits after finishing the seemingly unending flights of stairs to the summit.

At the summit, hot and sticky from the Hawaiian summer humidity, we were treated to beautiful 360 degree views of downtown Honolulu, the deep blue Pacific Ocean, mountains behind Diamond Head, and the more secluded Oahu coast east of Diamond Head. 

With a beautiful view of Honlulu in the background I try to stay calm and cool in the Hawaii summer heat.

One of the nice things about the Diamond Head Trail is that it is comprised of a loop.  While we climbed a series of stairwells to reach the summit, we meandered down a trail that encircles the outside of the bunker system to descend back to the main trail, which led to the parking lot.  As much as climbing those seemingly infinite sets of stairs to the summit was annoying, climbing back down them would have been so much worse (I'm somewhat afraid of heights).  I was grateful for the change of trail on the descent.  

The parking lot we left our car in as seen from the summit.  The edge of the carter of the dormant volcano can be seen encircling the park.

Before visiting Diamond Head, I read many descriptions online calling it an overcrowded tourist trap.  I disagree.  While other visitors were present during most segments of our trip, I never felt crowded or bothered by other people.  I also think it unfair to call sites of such natural and national importance tourist traps.  I'd recommend Diamond Head to anyone visiting Oahu and able to attempt the series of stairs I show in the post here.  Its location near to downtown Honolulu makes it a short trip from any of the Waikiki hotels, a convenience for sure.

An old trail heading to other bunkers on ridges around Diamond Head.

Want to read more about my time on Oahu?  Check out my post about snorkeling and paddle-boarding on Oahu, the ride on the Pineapple Express at the Dole Plantation, or visiting Iolani Palace.  Interested in the other islands?  Read about my time hiking and riding a submarine on Maui, visiting the Kona Brewery on the Big Island, or visiting Hawaii Volcanoes National Park.