Hawaii… A vacation destination like no other. The island of Oahu is filled with tons of activities to keep anyone busy on their vacation, there will be a group of posts featuring Oahu so be sure to check them out. For those of you who prefer to be outside, we have the best Oahu hike of 2019. I recently had the opportunity to visit some friends who are currently living on Oahu. While on the island there was one thing I knew that I had to do before I left. I wanted to do a sunrise hike somewhere on the island. After doing some research I found the Lanikai Pillbox Hike. This hike is rated one of the top hikes on the island. I totally can see why!

5AM Wake-Up Call

At the time when I was planning to complete this hike, I was staying in Waikiki at an Airbnb right on the marina. The views were great and the condo was just what we needed. The only downside was it was on the opposite side of the island and I wanted to hike the pillbox for sunrise… The original plan was to meet up with my friends shortly after 5am to complete the roughly 45 minute drive to the base of the hike in order to complete the climb before sunrise. But there was a slight change to my plan when I got an unexpected phone call saying they wouldn’t be able to make it out for the morning hike. This hike was something I was really looking forward to, so instead of going back to bed I decided I was going to complete the hike solo. Although the start to the day was not going as planned, I was determined to complete the hike either way.

Driving route from the Marina to the Pillbox Hike

Let The Hike Begin

One of the most difficult parts of this hike happened even before I got out of the car. The trail starts in a residential area with limited parking. Be sure to watch for no parking signs and which streets you can park on. I arrived before 6am at the bottom and there were already a lot of parked cars. Although there isn’t much of an official map, a lot of information can be located on various sites online. A reflective sign greeted and pointing me in the right direction in the dark.

Sign pointing to the start of the trail

Nowhere To Go But Up

As I began the hike up, I realized one thing that would have made this much easier… That thing would be a headlamp flashlight. Unfortunately for me, all I had was my phone flashlight. In addition to my phone I had a water bottle and backpack full of camera gear. Another thing I would do different next time would be to bring more water. The hike itself was not overly difficult. There are ropes to grab onto in some of the steeper parts. There are also multiple paths going up the side of the terrain. Once my eyes adjusted it was much easier to see where I was going. One of the cool parts was seeing the lights of other hikers farther up the hillside in the dark. The photo below doesn’t do it justice, but gives an idea of the darkness with a few dots of light.

Dots of light from other hikers farther up the hill.

Breathtaking View

I may have been out of breath from the hike, but even if I wasn’t the views themselves were breathtaking. I made it to the top shortly before the sun rose over the horizon. All the hard work had paid off! The overall hike didn’t take more than 20-30 minutes to get to the top, although I wasn’t actually timing it. There were plenty of other people out hiking as well so even though I went alone, I felt like if something happened others were near by just in case. DISCLAIMER: Now if you are afraid of heights I would not recommend this hike. There are numerous steep drop offs along the trail with plummeting views. It does make for a great view once at the top, just be careful especially if you plan to go in the dark like I did. I was able to enjoy the sunrise atop the pillbox and once the sun was up I was able to get the drone in the air.

Just before the sun rose Sun just over the horizon

All Worth It

Although there were some unplanned aspects of this hike and details overlooked, it was all worth it. The hike back down was interesting since I was able to actually see where I was going. The terrain I had covered on the way up was really interesting. If you are going to Oahu, I would highly recommend adding this sunrise hike to your list of must do! If you are more curious about the hike check out my video below which shows some drone footage and the hike back down. As always keep Seeking Discovery all the time and Explore Every Day. We will see you in the next adventure!