Diamond Head

There is certainly no shortage of places to hike in Hawaii, a prospect which excited Danny and I, as we are mostly used to hiking desert mountains back in Arizona. Probably one of the most well known hiking destinations on Oahu, is Diamond Head. This volcanic formed tuff cone earned its english name from 19th century British soldiers who thought they saw diamonds sparkling on the adjacent beach, which actually turned out to be volcanic calcite crystals. There may not actually be any diamonds here, but the fresh air and the great views were the gems we were searching for!

At a certain point in the hike there is a 100 step staircase you have to climb. What do you find at the top of said staircase? A beautiful view!

Also, apparently more stairs…

Once we reached the top, we had amazing views of the ocean, coral reefs, the crater, the Diamond Head lighthouse, the city of Waikiki and surrounding neighborhoods, and other ranges of mountains out in the distance.

We have to say, coming back down was a lot faster than hiking up. When we reached our car, it was crazy to turn around again and look up and see where we had just been!