Tantalus Lookout: Puʻu ʻUalakaʻa, the Gate and the Drive Up

Facts from DLNR’s park page, parking notice and trail records, checked Oct 14, 2026.

DLNR describes a “sweeping view of southern Oʻahu from Diamond Head to Pearl Harbor, including Honolulu and Manoa Valley,” from a forested cinder cone close to downtown (DLNR). In the photos here, Diamond Head and Waikīkī fill one side, and downtown, the Punchbowl crater and the airport the other.

The official name is Puʻu ʻUalakaʻa State Wayside. Honolulu police and many visitors say Tantalus Lookout, and the road up is Round Top Drive. Punahou students gave both English names: Tantalus for the neighboring peak, Puʻuʻōhiʻa, and Round Top for this hill (Honolulu Magazine). ʻUalakaʻa means “rolling sweet potato”: in the moʻolelo, an enormous potato rolled down the hill from one farmer’s field into his rival’s (UH Mānoa).

Winter hours are 7 a.m. to 6:45 p.m., from the day after Labor Day through March 31. Summer hours, from April 1, run to 7:45 p.m. (DLNR). By the Naval Observatory’s tables (USNO), sunset in Honolulu is 5:57 p.m. on October 29 and 5:55 on December 21, so the closing time falls 48 to 50 minutes after sundown. The margin shrinks at the edges of the winter schedule: sunset is 6:46 on March 31, a minute after the last winter closing. DLNR has closed the park early on New Year’s Eve (Star-Advertiser), so check its park notices before a holiday.

Parking has been managed by Pro Park, Inc. for DLNR since March 1, 2026. Hawaiʻi residents park free with a valid Hawaiʻi ID or driver’s license. Nonresidents pay $7 per vehicle, by credit card only, and commercial vehicles pay $15, $30 or $50 by passenger count (DLNR notice). DLNR says the system exists to improve safety and traffic flow and to reduce vehicle break-ins (DLNR).

After the gate closes, the park is closed. State rules require everyone to follow posted visiting hours, and a vehicle left in a closed area may be impounded (HAR 13-146-4). There is no after-dark viewing here.

There is no beach, stream or lifeguard here, and the State’s trail record lists swimming as prohibited (Nā Ala Hele). The safety questions are about cars, the hour and the trail.

Cars. DLNR ties its managed parking to fewer vehicle break-ins. Honolulu police reported an armed robbery at the lookout at about 11 p.m. on February 20, 2026: a 19-year-old man and a 20-year-old woman sitting in their vehicle were approached by two men, one with a handgun (Hawaii News Now). The posted hours end at 6:45 p.m. in winter, so plan to be out before then.

Trail. The State lists uneven surface, dangerous footing and a narrow trail as hazards on the ʻUalakaʻa Trail, and a hunting area there and on the Makiki Valley Trail (trail record; Makiki Valley record). On the Moleka and Puʻu ʻŌhiʻa trails, pig-control hunts with dogs run Wednesdays and Sundays, sunup to sundown (Moleka; Puʻu ʻŌhiʻa).

The park has restrooms, drinking water, trash cans, benches and picnic shelters (DLNR; Nā Ala Hele). The ʻUalakaʻa Trail starts at a signed junction on the right side of the entrance road. DLNR lists it at 0.53 mile with 400 feet of elevation gain, though its park page calls it a one-mile loop. It climbs on two switchbacks, passes Cook pines, macadamia trees and banyan arches, and ends at a bench and a trail map at a four-way junction with the Makiki Valley, Moleka and Maunalaha trails (DLNR trail page).

For a loop, turn right on the Makiki Valley Trail to Round Top Drive and cross the road twice to return to the start. The Moleka Trail, 0.75 mile, has panoramic views of Honolulu and Tantalus and lists a dangerous cliff as a hazard. Dogs must stay on a leash, and bicycles are not allowed on the ʻUalakaʻa Trail.

DLNR’s directions: go uphill on Round Top Drive, and at a hairpin turn the wayside is on the left, almost at the top. Look for the trailhead sign at the end of the first curve and continue to the parking area (DLNR). By our routing with no traffic, it is 14 minutes from Honolulu Hale and 18 from the Duke Kahanamoku statue in Waikīkī.

The road is the historic Tantalus-Round Top Road. The National Park Service’s registration form says it varies from 14 to 30 feet wide and “remains winding and narrow along the majority of its length,” with a 25 mph limit and no sidewalks or light poles (NPS). Civil Beat reported in October 2025 that sections are full of potholes, with the first phase of City improvements not going to bid until the end of 2026 (Civil Beat).

Check conditions before you go. After Tropical Storm Lala in August, the City closed a section of upper Tantalus Drive near the 4.5-mile marker to vehicles and pedestrians (Star-Advertiser), and we found no reopening notice as of October 14. That cuts the loop, so plan to go up and back down Round Top Drive. Repairs at 2369 and 2375 Tantalus Drive run weekdays, 8:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m., with contraflow traffic for about six months from July 6 (City), and storm-felled eucalyptus blocked both roads in August (Hawaii Public Radio). DLNR lists no closure for the wayside itself.

TheBus’s schedule data lists no stop on Round Top Drive (GTFS feed), so you arrive by car, tour or a ride.

State Parks rules apply: no drones, no smoking including e-cigarettes, no alcohol, no excessive noise, plants left undisturbed, and pets on a leash of six feet or shorter with waste picked up (DLNR park rules). Report violations to 643-DLNR (643-3567), emergencies to 911.

Mānoa Falls is 20 minutes from the lookout by our routing. The State lists the falls trail at 0.8 mile each way, open sunup to sundown (Nā Ala Hele). Sundown is 5:57 p.m. on October 29 and the lookout stays open to 6:45, so do the falls first and the lookout last. Viator lists a guided falls hike with Waikīkī pickup whose lunch stop is at Tantalus lookout.

Downtown is 14 minutes down the hill. Honolulu City Lights, the holiday display at Honolulu Hale, opens December 5 and runs daily until 10 p.m. (FAQ), a natural stop after dusk here. Bishop Museum and Kapiʻolani Park are each 18 minutes away. For the sun going down from the shore, see where to watch the sunset in Waikiki. The other big overlook is Nuʻuanu Pali Lookout, 24 minutes away over the Koʻolau ridge, and the Koko Head hike climbs stairs for a view on the east side. The rest is in our things to do on Oahu guide.