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Star-Bulletin file photo
A hiker takes his shirt off at the top of the
Diamond Head Trail.

$1 fee no big
deal for hikers

Most don't mind paying
to enter Diamond Head

By Treena Shapiro
Star-Bulletin

Michigan resident Paul Handley said he wouldn't mind paying $1 to enter the Diamond Head State Monument.

Beginning today, each visitor will have to drop a dollar into a new collection box or buy an annual pass for $10.

"It's for maintenance. I think it's OK," said Handley, who was happy to hike there Friday for free.

"If they put in an escalator or an elevator, I'd pay $5," Handley added.

Chris Brown, who offers water, Gatorade and T-shirts to hikers several days a week, said he probably will buy an annual pass, as will other regulars he knows. "Everyone's the same way, "I guess I got pay if I want to keep coming,' " he said.

The fee is reasonable provided the money stays in the park, Brown said. "As long as they don't charge for parking it's cool for a buck."

California parks charge more

Yone Kura of Huntington Beach, Calif., said the fee wouldn't make a difference if he came back to Diamond Head. "In California almost all the parks charge three to four bucks just to get in," he said. "At least the beaches here are free. At state beaches in California, if you want to park they charge five bucks. Some places it's free, but the parking's tough."

Dan Quinn, assistant administrator for the Division of State Parks, said the state has no plans to raise the entrance fee, but future plans include charging an entry fee per vehicle, instead of charging per person at the trail head.

The fees will be put in a special fund for improvements and maintenance at state parks. "Funds for the parks have been cut over the last several years so we're in the position of trying to find alternative sources of revenue to continue to support the parks in the way we want to," Quinn said.

New lookouts, trails planned

Plans proposed for Diamond Head include an interpretive center, new lookouts and trails, additional historic features and new picnic areas. To accommodate more than 1 million visitors a year, a visitor orientation facility and parking lot also has been proposed at the Cannon Club site.

Manoa resident Suzanne Wells said she comes to the park once every couple of months, but she won't be buying an annual pass. She doesn't mind paying a dollar each time for the trail's upkeep, however.

She even suggested an improvement herself. "They need to put some lights at the tunnel and stairs," she said. "Someone's going to fall and hurt themselves."

Wells brought Molly Olecki, a friend from Los Angeles, to Diamond Head yesterday. "It was gorgeous," said Olecki. "It was a beautiful hike."Was it worth a dollar? "Oh yeah," Olecki said. "It's worth more."

Annual passes will be available from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. at the park and 8 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. at the state parks office on Punchbowl Street.