Diamond Head Beach Park

Great little stretch of beach just far enough from the resorts that it’s not crowded at all. Popular spot for surfers to watch and a decent spot to watch the sunset.

Living on the island of Oahu, there are many beautiful soft sand beaches that surround the island and offer great access to well-​known surf spots for locals and visitors, alike. I’m embarrassed to say that as a local-​born, I don’t swim! At least, I’ll go into the water but not any higher than waist-​high. Sorry, but, I have to be able to touch ground or keep my connection with the sand.
As a landlubber, Diamond Head Beach Park is one of places where I can safely admire the surf from either street level in between the 3 Diamond Head Lookouts or walk down the paved path near the Diamond Head Lighthouse to add more terrain to my walking route. I often find myself sitting on the wall along Diamond Head Road to relax and eat lunch that I’ve gotten from Ono Seafood, Hawaii Sushi, Rainbow Drive-​In or South Shore Grill.
During a couple of recent stops, I was thrilled by several hang gliders who used the street level part of the park as a launching and landing area. You could hear some of them hooting and hollering with excitement as they took pictures from their helmet mounted GoPro cameras. One of them even asked me if I wanted to ride tandem with him. He could see my glee and excitement while watching the 5 other hang gliders who were already in air. I kindly declined as I had just finished eating a spicy ahi poke bowl. And, given my clumsiness, I probably would have dropped my phone while trying to take pictures. Alas, it was a kind offer that I’ve sort of kicked myself for not accepting. Oddly, I actually would have felt safer being up in the air than in the water!
Well, maybe next time I’ll be more spontaneous. But, in the meantime, I’ll still stop by either along or after my walk to enjoy the beauty of our blue Pacific Ocean, cool breezes and listen to the soothing sounds of the waves below.
#342

Beautiful place! Stopped here for a quick peek. Wasn’t there 2 minutes & got approached by Jehovah’s Witnesses. They were cordial. We didn’t stay long.

I am going to start with, I can’t believe I am writing a review for a park, but here we go! I have been coming to Diamond Head Beach Park since I was a child. Growing up in Hawaii has made me an avid beach goer. I have been to pretty much every beach from the South Side to the North, East/​West. Diamond Head Beach is my home beach for sure.
It’s not hard to miss because of the 3 different look outs and parking up top. This is where most people experience the park. Most people drive up and take a look from these 3 spots than move along. It’s definitely not a bad experience. The views from up top are pretty amazing. To the left you can see Black Point and to the right you can see the West side.
If you actually make your way down the path you will end up at the beach. What I love about Diamond Head Beach is that it’s not too crowded. If you are a tourist and want to move away from the crowds of Waikiki than stop by Diamond Head. You can even walk down to Black Point which is beautiful. Along your walk you will see all of the Mansions, hence the surf spot «Mansions», along the beach.
The amenities of the park include a water fountain and shower (for surfers/​swimmers). The fountain is up top and frequented by runners. There are no bathrooms so make sure to use it before heading here.
Diamond Head Beach Park is definitely 5 out of 5. It’s clean, beautiful and one of my favorite beaches in Hawaii!

This place is awesome! It almost reminds me of Southern California a little bit because the beach is right next to a high cliff, but the water is so warm and so nice for a swim. It’s a little rocky, but there are some amazing places to get in and go for a swim. Overall an awesome beach near town!

One of the more secluded beaches close to town. The sand has a lot of sharp twigs that can cut you. The trail down is fairly safe. I just urge people to take their garbage home coz there’s only two rubbish bins at the beach and they get full pretty fast on the weekends and they spill over. The water is a bit murky, not good for snorkeling. There’s only a few sand patches you can walk out on and take a dip but otherwise pretty reefy. I guess you can wear one of those water shoes and look like a kook. It’s mostly a sunbathing beach, I see a few topless women now and then so if you don’t like tan lines… Not a lot of people will bother you if you do decide to go runnin around naked lol. The surf… don’t surf here. There are man-​eating turtles and seals. The reef is sharp, if you graze them you will get cut. The rip current is also pretty strong. You will be at ala moana in no time. The locals will also kick you out. Hehehe. Anyway if you wanna just get a tan this is the beach for you. Definitely not good for family get togethers, or group activities, swimming, or surfing.

Diamond Head Beach is a type of park that defies swimming. It has a long shelf of reef and rocks that is wonderful to be in for about 10 minutes. Then one realizes that the water is shallow. You can see reef fish go by. There are surfers in the distance.
There are issues concerning parking and the walk down to the beach. It is a surfer’s beach not so much a swimmer’s place. There are showers. There are lookout points if you just want to watch the surfers go in and out.

We decided to enjoy our poke we just bought at Ono’s at Diamond Head Beach Park. Awesome decision. Enjoying poke on the beautiful, calm, quiet beach (not crowded at all, only one other group besides ours!) hella beats cramming in a table in front of Ono’s.

Great quiet beach on the back of diamond head. There were very few people on the beach. It is Monday morning though, so not too surprising. We passed some people doing yoga and a lot of surfers coming in and out. It was fun to watch the windsurfers, the sup’s and the surfers who were out. It looked like great surf.
There were a few sandy spots to play in, but the ground was mostly coral.
Good showers at the bottom of the beach access.

Cool spot to surf, hang on the beach, and get away from the crowds. Dog friendly. Waves get pretty active out here so if you’re coming out for a swim like me, be careful!

Very clean pissoir at 7:43AM highly recommend
After running and walking around diamond head a clean toilet is a fine find.
The park is great too. Only sad thing is coach Ian and High Town fitness (Cross Fit HTF) don’t train here no more. Those were the days.
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What’s not to love about Diamond Head Beach Park? This place has all the essential elements of a favorite beach spot.
1, Never too crowded. I always wonder why there really aren’t that many people here.
2. Ample parking. Be careful about parking at the east lookout as you may have to hike down the cliff to get to the beach.
3. Calm water towards the shore. This beach is great for cooling down in the water.
4. Lots of sun. Being that it is a south facing shore and Oahu is in the northern hemisphere, south shores get the most sun.
5. Entertainment. There are beautiful houses to admire, lots of surfers, SUPers, and kite surfers to watch to pass the time.
6. Shower. A shower at the beach entrance is always a great touch.
This beach is all around incredible. I love coming here and I guarantee I will be back many times in the future.

There is so much that I love about this beach. The fact that it does not get too crowded most of the time. The fact that the sun beams down on you (unless there are a lot of clouds) always since there are not a lot of trees. And the fact that there isnt a crazy shore break so one can peacefully wade in the water if they please.
This is my go-​to beach when I want alone time and this is my go-​to beach with a couple of friends! I mean, Oahu is blessed with a billion gorgeous beaches. But since I live in Kaimuki, this beach is pretty convenient. The hike up/​down might be the worst part of it all, but it provides a wonderful view so I guess its bittersweet ;)

A local favorite, Diamond Head Beach is perfect for surfers and water sports enthusiasts. A good lookout point from the road.

Goodbye to our loved ones. Goodbye to 2012.
This is the last resting place for my father-​in-​law and his parents. He had three wishes before he died 1) full military honors, 2) to have his ashes scattered with his parent’s ashes and 3) ashes scattered at Diamond Head. Option three was out as we read up on local laws which stated scattering of ashes on state or federal land was illegal in Hawaii but the ocean was OK, so the ocean it was, as it was for my friend’s dad two years prior.
The beach parking lot is up on Diamond Head Road, so it is a little walk down/​up. We got there later so we had to park on the dirt and walk down to the beach carrying our surf boards, the ashes (quite heavy, surprisingly), towels, sand toys for the kid, lawn chairs, etc.
Unlike a lot of other beaches, this beach is pretty rugged, which means no toilets and no life guards, tons of Kiawe (mean thorny trees and branches), strong currents and razor sharp rocks and coral. There is a small shower area to rinse off.
Shade is very scarce so if you end up pitching your blanket under the Kiawe trees, be warned that you should not attempt to lay on the blanket due to thorns coming through the fabric and piercing your butt, put your lawn chairs on them instead.
Because it was courtesy to scatter ashes far from surfers and other recreational water users, we had to paddle out very far, about a half-​mile and past the reef line. The husband and I paddled on our boards and my cousin and her son swam out. The swim out was easy due to the currents. We gave our boards to my cousin and her son and we opted to swim back… which was a good thing, because we got caught in a rip current that took us 40 min to get back to shore and we are experienced swimmers that know the area.
I would not recommend this beach for inexperienced swimmers, as deceiving as the water appears; flat, calm and glassy (in the winter) with a strong rip. There are a lot of razor sharp coral as well; we saw a surfer with a bleeding cut on his back.
A few lucky people will encounter Monk Seals on the beach when they come to shore as evidenced by the park sign with Monk Seal sighting phone number.
Despite the thorns, sharp razor coral and rip currents this is a very beautiful and sacred place. My father used to bring me here as a child for crabbing in the full moonlight. It was only fitting that we laid my father-​in-​law to rest here today with his mother and father.
Goodbye to the Major, his mother and his father. Rest in peace. Goodbye to 2012.

Unilocal 31 Challenge: ⁸⁄₃₁
Whenever I’m feeling a little sad or melancholy I cheer myself up by remembering that I live in the MOST FAN_​FREAKING_​TASTIC place on Earth! Then I grab a suit and a towel and hit the beach!!!
Never had I stopped to enjoy a day soaking up the sun at Diamond Head Beach Park so when the roomies were feeling like going for a jog, we worked out a brilliant plan! I would drop them off at the end of the Ala Wai and then they would make the run up to Diamond Head Beach Park and cool off in the water.
Perfect plan!
The beach is so tranquil and the waters were plenty fun for boogie boarding and surfing. There were tons of Kite Surfers and Windsurfers out too but the beach remained a tranquil refuge for me to fill myself with nice ocean air, taking in the sounds of the waves playing on the sand… ahhhhh!
Heard that this used to be a «clothing optional» beach back in the day… didint see much of that but I did feel free enough to untie and let the sun fix those pesky tan lines :)

Good spot for those who love the ocean. Surfers, Longboarders, SUP’ers, Windsurfers, and Bodyboarders all share the waves here.
Its a pretty far paddle out, but once you get into the line up, its all good. Wear lots of sunscreen, there aren’t many spots with shade there… ALOHA!!!

I’m surprised there aren’t more tourists up here and there aren’t more reviews. One of the most picturesque sights in the world, if you ask me!
Drive up Kalakaua onto Diamond Head Rd. and as you come up around the big curve, you’ll see a parking and viewing point. You gotta stop there on a sunny day — heck, stop there on a rainy day even!
The views are spectacular, plus you get to admire the better-​than-​average surfers brave the reefs below for that perfect swell. On this particular day, there was a kayak race from Molokai going by, so more reason to hang out longer!
We always stop by for our photo op. Its becoming a tradition.

As for the lookout, it’s scenic, tranquil, and calm, except for the crashing waves you see at shore (love that sound!). Ideal for picture taking. The first time we came over to check it out, was summer of 2007. The next time, we took some nice pictures here (we asked a stranger to snap it for us); it was sunny, bright, and clear. It was a little windy, though (bring a sweater). Recently, on our last trip to the island (²⁄₁₂), we had some time to kill, before our next destination, so we went here again, but got to spend more time here. Enjoy the view, take it all in, the beauty of this vista point.
Ample parking lot, small shower area to rinse off, a trash can, a warning sign (no lifeguards here), and steep decline (don’t wear heels here, just a word of advice). If you get here in the morning, there is considerably less people here. This also ensures a parking spot. Also, watch for lots of runners in the area.
As for the beach, there is a wide stretch of of soft, clean, white sand with a couple of lava rock areas. I discovered lots of beach glass here. There were a few people here (as well as one fisherman and a couple surfers) the morning we visited, but way less than the popular Waikiki Beach. It was nice to spend that time here (I love beaches). I beach-​combed while my husband took lots of pictures (some shots taken on «vibrant» mode made for nice pictures). Sadly, there were a couple memorials, as well. Remnants of a bonfire was also on the beach, but there was no trash (until we walked back up the ramp). I can’t comment on the condition of the water, because we didn’t swim here.

This amazing beach provided THE best place to watch the 2010 Autumn Equinox. Why? This beach on the the south edge of the island gave me the opportunity to view the sun and the moon on one horizon!
Even around 6:29pm (This was the exact sunset time on the equinox) I was able to find a parking spot in a hurry (The sun was setting and the moon had already risen!).
There is an average paved downhill path to the beach from the parking. Fresh water rinses available at each end of the path.
Sand was ehhhh. On the gravely side for me. Lots of stuff in the sand, but seemed quiet enough! Would definitely check this beach out if I were trying to avoid Waikiki at all costs.
Lots of surfers were coming and going. Lots of joggers as well. And of course, a crazy gal running around taking tons of pictures of a seemingly average evening.
This amazing phenomenon happens once every 20 years and I hope to back at this same spot at that time.