Diamond Head State Monument, HI

After a full day on the beach New Year's day, we rested up for some hiking.
On today's agenda was a hike up to one of Oahu's most prominent landmarks -Diamond Head.
We arrived a little after 10 a.m. at the entrance of the park. We paid $5 to enter and park our vehicle, with a wait time of approximately 10 min. until the park attendant guided us to the next available parking space. We noticed a lot of people walking all the way from the base of the park, where a trolley drops off visitors. Usually that trolley picks up in the nearby tourist hotspot of Waikiki and shuttles tourist as close to the state Monument as possible. Since we didn't come from the Waikiki area, we drove our rental car all the way up and parked. If you walk all the way from the trolley stop a fee of $1.00 per person is required at the park entrance.
To be honest, walking from the trolley stop just to the gate is already quiet a stretch, all uphill. Once you get to the park, there is some serious uphill walking for about 20 min.
I'm just throwing that in to mentally prepare you for a good workout.
It was pretty crowded along the narrow path that leads up Diamond Head, but I was super excited to make that hike. The views along the way are fantastic.
We opted to climb the additional stairs all the way to the top, which had my heart pumping pretty good. But, oh boy - the peak left me breathless, not only from climbing but from the beauty of it.
Once we arrived at the peak, we took pictures plenty of video footage and caught our breath, when suddenly the island sirens started to go off. Confused we asked other tourists what that was. Some wondered about a possible Tsunami warning. We still have no clue why the siren went off, but we concluded that it may have been just a test. After a couple of minutes the siren quit and we started our descent back down the Volcano. The trail takes you to the edge of a 300,000 year old crater. While the hike isn’t that long in terms of distance, it can be somewhat challenging due to its ascent. Parts of the trail are over uneven rock, and the 99 steps near the end of the hike are steep. Also, the only water fountains are at the beginning of the trail, so you’ll want to bring a water bottle to stay hydrated.
Once we arrived back at the parking lot we approached the vendor and spoiled ourselves with some fresh pineapple smoothies.