Crane Park

As you can see, my rating of this park is not too high. I am a regular here, but I visit often simply to do my cardio workout or ball up with my boys on the field or courts.
The pros…1) Vast field space, literally the size of a baseball field. 2) Basketball courts are in above average conditions. There are nets on the hoops and lines on the blacktop so that’s a plus. At night, however, the courts are usually occupied by some groups. 3) The good news: benches, a playground & bathrooms DO exist.
The cons…1) The bad news: benches in below average conditions, the playground is risky since there is usually caution tape around it & the bathroom conditions are so atrocious (only use in emergencies!) 2) Homeless & juvenile delinquents tend to linger around this area, but this is the outskirts of Kapahulu/​Waikiki, you gotta expect that. 3) The field conditions aren’t too good; grass has pokies, sprinklers stick out… 4) Parking is the pits, whatever you can find on the street is it. Or you could park in Sekiya’s parking lot or the Market City parking lot & walk over.
Overall, Crane Park is a «last resort» type of park that you’d go to if you live close by or you want to get an official game of ultimate disc or football going. Not exactly a kid-​friendly park. The only real activity that goes on here are softball games and an occasional family BBQ.

This park was a childhood favorite of mines as I grew up Kapahulu. What always stood out for me were the large number of baskets on the large court here. As a kid I would be hesitant to go to other parks because they usually had only one court (i.e. two baskets). I would have to walk to the park and often times all baskets were being used so I could not practice shooting. This park has six baskets! Perfect to almost guarantee that there will be a basket open for you to use.
Nowadays, since I drive, parking can be an issue. There is very limited parking (two stalls) and then the rest is street parking. Restrooms are available for public use as well.
Besides the basketball courts there is a large baseball field, a small playground for kids, and a good sized area for picnics with park benches and lots of shade.

Seems like there is regular hoops there. I ran Saturday morning and there were a couple of guys who could play a bit and a couple of guys who could probably play a few years ago. If you believe YouTube, the run gets better and younger at night. Was about a 30 minute walk from Waikiki, nice single rims.

Crane Park is one of the best parks in Honolulu in terms of basketball courts. It has 2 full courts and 2 half courts, and all rims have nets. Lights illuminate it after sunset. Surface is in good repair as well. This is a great park. The water fountain, unfortunately, was in disrepair and not working when I last visited, however, so bring your own water.

This park is seriously ghetto (no offense to anyone). I was here for a game and I went in the bathroom. It was night time and there are no lights in the bathroom so it is a bit creepy. I went in and there was a woman full on washing her hair in the sink, like full on suds. I had to wash my hands in the water fountain cause I didn’t want to disturb her. Last, the walls for the stalls are short so anyone can look in on you while you use the bathroom.
Parking sucks too.

I’m at Crane Park every week for dog class, which is great fun. But the park is being poorly maintained. The city is letting the homeless people camp in the park and the bathroom is, well, fortunately I’m a guy and can keep my distance. There are a few places in the field that also seem to have bad sprinklers so they get mushy.
The City and County needs to be stricter about the homeless living there and keep the bathrooms clean.

Recently I took my friend here in hopes of getting in a little exercise during our lunch. I remember this being a nice sized park where I took my dog for puppy classes in the evenings and played basketball with friends. That was about 10 years ago… Things have really changed over the years.
Now there are all these homeless people camped out and lined up in the covered bathroom areas with their large umbrellas and lounge chairs. I felt so uncomfortable as they watched us walk by. The park seems so much dirtier now. So instead of doing laps around the park as we had originally had hoped, we cut through the park and walked along Date Street and Kapahulu instead.
It’s so sad to see our beautiful parks being wasted away… I don’t see myself returning.
Ambiance: **
Value: **