Welcome to the Park of the Week Newsletter for August 22, 2024. This week we’re featuring a park that protects the most famous natural landmark in Hawaii.
Diamond Head State Monument
Location
Waikiki, Oahu, Hawaii, United States
Claim to fame
Diamond Head is the most iconic natural landmark in the state of Hawaii. A 300,000 year-old saucer-shaped volcanic crater that sits on the Waikiki coast, Diamond Head provides a stunning backdrop to Honolulu, the state’s largest city. The state monument encompasses over 475 acres of the crater’s interior and outer slopes.
Reason to visit
The 1.6 mile (2.6km) roundtrip trail to the top of Diamond Head crater is the most popular hike in all of Hawaii. The top of the crater provides unparalleled panoramic views of Honolulu and the island of Oahu. The trail itself is historic, constructed in 1908 as a part of the island’s coastal defense system, and at the top visitors will find military bunkers and a huge historic lighthouse.
Wild Fact
Diamond Head was named “Diamond Hill” in 1825 by British sailors who mistook its sparkling volcanic crystals for diamonds. In Hawaiian the crater is called Lē‘ahi, from the words lae (meaning browridge) and ‘ahi (meaning tuna), because the crest of the massive crater was thought to resemble the dorsal fin of a tuna.
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