One of the first items I decided to tackle on my Hawaii bucket list was the Lanikai Pillbox. Oahu has pillboxes located all around the island that were previously used as military bunkers. Today, they’re the destination for many of the island’s most popular hikes.
The Lanikai Pillbox is a trendy hike for sunrise as it’s located on the eastern side of the island. However, because of this, most people arrive to begin hiking around 5 AM or so to summit in time for sunset.
Heading to Lanikai at 4 AM
Living on the North Shore, my drive to Lanikai isn’t short. It takes roughly an hour to get over to that side of the island. On the morning of the hike, I woke up at 3:45 for a 4 AM departure. My boyfriend, Dan, and I swung by to pick up our friend, Emily, who would be joining us. She had also invited her friend, Jacob, who lived in Kailua. We picked him up closer to the hike itself.
After grabbing Jacob, we arrived at the trailhead, which is located in a neighborhood. We parked on the street and began to hike/climb up the steep trail. I’m not generally a fan of hiking, and I had read that this was a short but steep climb that lasted about 25-30 minutes. This was an accurate description. At some points, I was on all fours, and the loose dirt made sliding backward inevitable.
Summiting Lanikai Pillbox
Fortunately, with little incident, we made it to the top in time for sunrise. We were able to look out and see the Mokulua Islands (also called the Mokes), where we had kayaked to only a couple of weeks prior. You can read more about our adventure kayaking to the Mokes in this blog. As the sun began to rise, someone at the top played, “Here Comes the Sun” by The Beatles.
Jacob remarked that he’d rather hear “Good Morning” by Kanye West and that Kanye West was a more influential artist than The Beatles. As a long-time Beatles fan, I had never heard anything quite so outrageous, and this spurred an hour-long fight that spanned our descent and the breakfast we went to get afterward.
My view from the Lanikai Pillbox hike as the sun rose
Final Thoughts
While I’m not sure I would hike to the Lanikai Pillbox again at 5 AM, I would absolutely recommend it as a hike on Oahu. It’s one of the best short hikes I’ve done on the island, and it provides a great view (regardless of the time of day). I, personally, found it more of an achievement to say that I woke up early than to say that I’ve done the hike. While it’s steep, and it can become challenging at points because of the loose dirt, I think it’s a feasible hike for most people. Check it out if you visit Oahu!