ALOHA!
The Diamond Head hike is the popular Oahu hike that will get you iconic Hawaii views of Waikiki.
The difficulty of Diamond Head depends on who you ask.
There are some people who call it easy.
Officially, Hawaii state parks call it moderately difficult. The difficult part is that it is a trail that goes up up up to the Diamond Head summit! There are a lots of stairs too.
You’ll be going to Diamond Head State Monument to hike up to the summit of the Diamond Head crater.
The easy part (if you want to call it that) is that it’s relatively short. If you’re active in regular everyday life (aka you’re reasonably fit) and don’t stop very long very may times along the way, it’s very possible that you’ll be back to the trailhead in less than an hour.
But if you take your time and stop to enjoy the views along the way (there are a number of places with benches), then you might take closer to 1.5 hours from start to finish.
The Diamond Head summit trail seemingly starts off as an easy paved trail, but soon enough the trail becomes rougher and steeper, with a bunch of switchbacks and even some stairs. The trail literally goes back and forth as you go up, and towards the end there are lots of stairs.
You need to make a reservation for Diamond Head before you go. It costs $5 per person, and it’s $10 for parking. Parking slots book up quicker, so make your reservation sooner rather than later. It’s possible to make a Diamond Head reservation starting 30 days out.
Doing the Diamond Head Summit Trail
- Trail length: Around 1.6 miles round trip. 0.8 miles up, 0.8 miles down!
- Time: 1-2 hours
- Difficulty: Moderately difficult
- Reservations: Required! You can make reservations through the Hawaii State Parks reservation system up to 30 days in advance
- Entry fee: $5 per person
- Parking fee: $10 per person, with reservations required
- Hours: 6am to 6pm, with the last reservation possible at 4pm for last entry at 4:30pm
- How to get there: Bus, shuttle, trolley, uber, or drive yourself
👆 You’ll be climbing a lot of stairs to get to the Diamond Head crater summit!
👆 You get the famous Waikiki views by hiking up to the Diamond Head crater summit.
You’ll see a mix of people on the trail, from little kids to older people. It is just 1.6 miles (ish) round trip, so work a little hard for a relatively short amount of time and you’ll get the famous views!
So the Diamond Head hike is not technically difficult, as in your don’t need any special skills, but the combination of uphill the whole way, stairs, and heat (bring water!) can make it feel more strenuous.
👆 You can get a free Diamond Head trail map at the visitor center near the trailhead.
Below, I’ll show you what the trail is like from my most recent hike up to the Diamond Head summit in summer 2025!
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>> DIAMOND HEAD TIPS > BEST SHOES | RESERVATIONS | BUS
>> DIAMOND HEAD SHUTTLE | DIAMOND HEAD AND NORTH SHORE IN ONE DAY
First, the quick tips for Diamond Head!
- Wear proper shoes! Don’t wear flip flops. Brooks running shoes can be perfect. (You don’t need to be a runner to appreciate these shoes!) They are lightweight with good grip, which is why they work well for trails like Diamond Head where you don’t need to be prepared for anything too rugged. Plus, they’re great for walking around town too.
- Take a look: Brooks shoes for women and Brooks shoes for men
- Bring water! I think snacks are a good idea too. There are food trucks near the trailhead for post-hike food. Or, head to South Shore Grill for fish tacos on your way back to Waikiki. Or, head to Waikiki for an acai bowl!
- It’s no problem to go to Diamond Head on your own. But there is also a Diamond Head shuttle from Waikiki. You can also make it a hiking day through a Diamond Head and Makapuu Lighthouse Trail combo tour.
- You can do a combo tour that includes both Diamond Head and the North Shore: Circle Island tour with Diamond Head hike
- For your other outdoor activities that aren’t as strenuous, teva sandals are popular travel sandals that are good for walking!
- Take a look: Teva sandals for women and teva sandals for men
What makes the Diamond Head hike feel hard: Diamond Head Summit Trail guide
The people of Hawaii State Parks (State of Hawaii Department of Land and Natural Resources) who manage Diamond Head State Monument say that most people take 1.5 to 2 hours to hike to the summit and back. Allow enough time to enjoy the scenic views at the top. The park gates close at 6pm, so you should start your hike by 4:30pm.
I’ve included the amount of time it took me to get to each spot below. Your time may vary! I thought I was walking at a leisurely pace going up, but I went on the faster side going down. I didn’t stop very long at each of the scenic viewpoints.
This was my third time hiking Diamond Head. This Diamond Head hike is from July 2025. Here we go from the start of the Diamond Head Summit Trail!
👆 Before you begin, there will be several signs warning you of the difficulty of doing the Diamond Head hike.
This warning from Hawaii State Parks says: Strenuous and challenging, the hike to the summit is not recommended for anyone with heart or respiratory problems. This is not a casual stroll in a tree-shaded park. Be prepared for the hot sun and a winding trail with steep stairways and dark tunnels. The trail is 1.5 miles long round trip. You will return the same way you go up.
👆 At 1:20pm I got started on the trail! This is where time = 0:00 will be.
👆 It starts on a paved trail. Easy! 🤪 Not for long…
👆 There are switchbacks where the trail winds back and forth. This is uneven ground with dry gravel and loose rock. Watch your step. It’s portions of the trail like this that makes it good to wear running shoes for the Diamond Head hike.
Time: 9 minutes from start. Picture: 1:29pm
👆 Stop off for a scenic lookout and an excuse for rest. If you don’t want to waste time, you don’t need to stop here. You’ll get more scenic views up ahead!
Time: 17 minutes, 1:37pm
👆 This is at the scenic lookout. From the free trail map that you can get at the visitor center, this concrete landing is the concrete foundation that held a winch and cable that lifted materials from the crater floor to this point during construction at the summit.
👆 Continue the trail gradually going up, with stairs coming up!
Time: 18 minutes, 1:38pm
👆 Now here are a lot more steps at a time!
Time: 19 minutes, 1:39pm
👆 Now for some fun walking through a tunnel! It is lightly lit, but you want to be careful. The tunnel takes like a minute to walk through.
Time: 20 minutes, 1:40pm
👆 At the end of the tunnel, you have 2 routes that you can take to get to the summit. The short way is to take these stairs immediately. But the better way is to take the longer route, so you get more views! I took the longer route.
👆 Instead of taking the 99 stairs up right after the tunnel, going left is the better way so you can walk with more views!
👆 More stairs. Avoiding those 99 stairs at once doesn’t mean you’re avoiding stairs altogether! It’s just a slower way up instead of all at once!
Time: 22 minutes, 1:42pm
👆 Soon you’ll be walking with ocean views!
Time: 23 minutes, 1:43pm
👆 You’ll soon see these stairs on the right. But wait! Don’t go up them just yet. Keep going straight for more views! Just up ahead is a lookout point.
Time: 23 minutes, 1:43pm
👆 Walking with ocean views!
👆 Walking up ahead to the lookout point.
👆 Views from the lookout point.
👆 You’ll turn back around to go to the stairs you just saw, and when you do… mountain views!
👆 If you get tired climbing up the stairs, your excuse for a break is to turn around and look at the views!
Time: 25 minutes, 1:45pm
👆 Once you get to the top of the stairs, you can see the summit! It’s right there.
Time: 26 minutes, 1:46pm
👆 Almost there! These are the stairs to the summit. But wait! You might want to go off on the trail just to the left before you start climbing the stairs. It’s short and more views are there.
👆 There’s the summit on the right, the little trail off to the left.
👆 A distant view of Diamond Head lighthouse is down below. (It’s an active US Coast Guard station.)
Time: 26 minutes, 1:46pm
👆 One of the lighthouses you can see on Oahu! You can also go to Makapuu Lighthouse Trail to see another lighthouse! (And emphasis on SEE. There’s no public access to Diamond Head Lighthouse or Makapuu Lighthouse.)
👆 Heading back, more walking with ocean views! (Well once you reach this area it’s basically all walking with ocean views!)
Time: 27 minutes, 1:47pm
👆 The vast ocean views once you get to the top make the Diamond Head hike worth it!
👆 Now the actual final stairs to the summit!
Time: 28 minutes, 1:48pm
👆 It’s very windy once you get near the summit! Hold on to your hat!
👆 And you’ve made it to the point to see the famous views of Waikiki from Diamond Head! So it took me around 30 minutes to get to the summit area.
Time: 29 minutes, 1:49pm
👆 Get to know the Diamond Head crater!
👆Climb a few steep stairs to get to the actual summit!
👆 Look on the other side and you can see the rim of the crater. Hanauma Bay is off in the distance on this side.
I left the summit at 1:52pm.
👆 I went back the same way I came. I actually totally forgot about the possibility of making it a loop by taking those 99 stairs down.
👆 The views you get make the Diamond Head hike worth it! (And this is also why you should not take the stairs up after you walk through the tunnel.)
👆 More ocean views!
👆 The tunnel going back.
👆 It’s down down down on the way back!
I got back to the start of the trail at 2:15pm. So it took around 30 minutes to hike to the summit, just over 20 minutes to go down, and I was on the trail for a little less than an hour.
>> DIAMOND HEAD TIPS > BEST SHOES | RESERVATIONS | BUS
>> DIAMOND HEAD SHUTTLE | DIAMOND HEAD AND NORTH SHORE IN ONE DAY
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