From the Waikiki Historic Trail Marker sponsored by the City and County of Honolulu:
"Waikiki means 'spouting water' because it was a vast marshland fed by many streams. You are in fact standing on what was the mouth of an old stream, the Kuekaunahi. From ancient times Waikiki has been a popular surfing spot which is one of the reasons why the chiefs made their homes and headquarters here for hundreds of years. Though it's been called 'the sport of kings', everyone surfed. Surf spots had their special names and the most famous in Waikiki was Kalehuawehe or 'take off the lehua'. It was so named when a legendary hero took off his lei of lehua blossoms and gave it to the wife of the ruling chief with whom he was surfing. Romance and surfing often went together.
Believe it or not, by 1900 surfing had nearly died out in Hawaii partly because of the missionary opposition to the sport which took people away from worship and other religious obligations. Waikiki has some of the best summer waves in the world. The swells vary in height from 2 to 8 feet and on rare occaisions, have reached as high as 35 feet. A ride can easily extend a hundred yards or so. The longest recorded ride took place in 1917 when the great Duke Kahanamoku caught a 35-foot wave and rode it to shore, a distance of a mile and a quarter."
Today, this 2-mile stretch of white sand is the probably the most famous beach in the world and the destination for many of Hawaii's visitors. The beach is fronted by a variety of high-rise hotels, restaurants, unique shops and other tourist facilities. The beach is excellent for sunbathing, swimming, surfing, and of course the out-rigger canoe rides.
Waikiki Beach is usually crowded but the east end has a breakwater that creates a very nice area where one can swim, canoe, surf and snorkel. Adjacent Kapiolani Park, at the foot of Diamond Head, offers expansive picnic areas and a variety of family-oriented recreational facilities.
Enjoy a cool Mai Tai while working on your tan... The tropical white sand beach meets cosmopolitan Waikiki, with a decidedly Asian flair. This is the beach that Bing Crosby crooned 'Sweet Leilani' in the 1937 film "Waikiki Wedding". The perfect place to soak up the sunshine and splash in the surf.
