The Ala Wai Canal was dug in the 1920s to drain the wetlands and fishponds that previously occupied Waikiki, allowing the hotel development that created modern Honolulu's tourist strip. Today the canal forms Waikiki's inland boundary and its banks have become the city's most popular running and walking route — shaded in places, with views of Diamond Head and a constant parade of outrigger canoe clubs practising on the water.
Watching the canoe clubs is one of Honolulu's free pleasures. In the evenings, dozens of six-person outrigger canoes slice up and down the canal, training for races that are a serious part of Hawaiian culture. The canal walk is a legitimate alternative to the beach promenade and connects the length of Waikiki without the tourist-zone density.