Tantalus Lookout (Puʻu ʻUalakaʻa)

Puʻu ʻUalakaʻa State Wayside (Tantalus Lookout)

A hilltop view over all of Honolulu, Diamond Head to the airport

⚠ Non-resident parking $7; car needed

Hours

Winter (day after Labor Day to March) 7am–6:45pm; summer (from 1 April) 7am–7:45pm

Tickets

Free entry; non-resident parking $7 per car (charged since February 2026)

Address

A state-park lookout at the top of winding Round Top Drive behind downtown

Wind up through the forest behind downtown and you reach a small car park and a lookout on a grassy hill. From the railing the south coast stretches out: Diamond Head on the left, the Waikiki hotel towers in the middle, downtown, the airport and Pearl Harbor to the right. The favourite plan is to arrive for sunset, watch the sky colour up and stay as the city lights come on. The gates close at 6:45pm in winter and 7:45pm in summer, so you can't linger long into full darkness.