Stairway to Heaven Hike Legal Route

Such a great read!! I`m on Oahu for the next few months if anyone wants to hike it!! DM me on insta with questions 🙂 @kathleens_ If you are interested in climbing the (legal) trail back to the top, you can contact @mike.karas on Instagram and chat with him about the date of his next visit, as he walks the trail most weeks. When you reach the top of the Moanalua Middle Ridge Trail, you`ll have great views and you`ll be a stone`s throw from the satellite at the top. However, if you cross and enter the satellite platform or venture up the stairs, you are now in an illegal area. As you can see, there are 3 ways to reach the stairs. I chose the second option, so this is the route I will guide you below. Guests can enjoy a rich breakfast. You`ll need the carbs and energy – trust me! One of the hardest things about this hike is having the brain power to focus on the climb, the climb. The trail is a legal hike and you shouldn`t have any problems on the way to the top. However, don`t be confused by people telling you that this is the «legal» way to visit the haiku stairs. It is certainly not legal to set foot on the stairs of the haiku or the satellite area at the top. When people refer to it as the legal back way to get to the stairs to the sky, it refers to the legal route to the top of the Moanalua Valley trail, but you are still not allowed to go on the stairs or satellite area.

Thanks to your detailed explanation of how to take the legal route and these photos, my friends and I were able to reach the top without any problems! It was beautiful and perfect, so thank you!!! This concludes the Stairway to Heaven hiking guide! Wow I`m addicted I need to hike down these stairs great article and thank you for your help after the hike. You already know you won`t be able to walk the next day, so instead of being out of action any longer, do a nice stretching session. There are also epic yoga classes in Honolulu – take a simple class! Take plenty of water. Again, pack plenty of water! It`s an arduous hike and Hawaii has very hot weather. Hello! It is illegal to enter or climb stairs, but we have not seen any signs regarding parking allowed in the neighborhood. You can park freely in most neighborhoods of Oahu. But you`re right, it could certainly be a nuisance to residents. It`s always good to keep an eye on the community and residents and remain respectful when visiting a place! We have come this way some time ago. But when I look at the Alltrails website, I see recent comments from people who have walked the trail.

The top of the road, the haiku stairs, is illegal. Maybe that`s why this post appears on Alltrails? Hope this helps!! This hike was truly spectacular. The clouds gathered and it rained as we stood and looked at the stairs. There we found refuge in the bunker. Our descent was incredibly difficult because of the mud. We slipped and slid everywhere, and one of us fell heavily on the side of the ridge. Fortunately, he was fine! It would have been much safer if we had had chains on our hiking boots. Thanks for your advice, Nikki. We decided to park our car in the neighborhood, which is just before the park entrance.

So we were able to start the hike early. You can enter the park on foot before official opening hours. There is a budget of $1 million to remove the stairs soon, but it is estimated that it is currently increasing by at least $1.5 million. While the «Friends of the Haiku Stairs» hoped to introduce a shuttle and a limit of 80 hikers per day. The biggest problem, however, was getting consent from adjacent landowners, something they had not done in 30 years. Portions of the trail are located on land owned by the Hawaii Department of State. They also discussed a compromise to move the stairs, but it wouldn`t be the same, OMI. Many locals consider the view from the top to be the best in Hawaii and I agree. This old man was from the neighborhood — He told me that he often climbed the stairs of the haiku. Expect more rain in winter. It is more likely that Moanalua Creek will be flooded. The north and east experience more precipitation.

This is the coldest time of the year, but still up to 80°F in Honolulu during the day. It is possible to hike the trail, but expect the worst conditions on the climb. The way home is even more slippery than usual. The narrow and overgrown haiku staircase The staircase was built in the 1940s by the U.S. Navy. Stairs lead to an old radio station at the top of the mountain. The stairs were open to the public until the 1980s, when they were damaged by a storm and deemed dangerous. Now the hike is illegal and guards are posted below to keep people out. The police often patrol the area and the guard will call them if they see you.

If you are caught on the stairs, you could be fined up to $1,000. It`s a long hike and you`ll get hungry along the way. Bring snacks (granola bars, dried fruit, etc.) for hiking and breakfast if you make it to the top. A landslide in 2015 damaged a tiny passage on the stairs. This part is difficult to walk, but manageable. Bumping into other hikers is fun; No one worries about getting closer to each other. We wondered why hikers are forced to break the law. When the streets leading to the starting point of the stairs are closed, people walk through the neighborhood gardens. Avoid this and do not risk getting this extremely high fine! The Bamboo Forest — Image provided by a friend On the «top» of the Moanalua Middle Ridge Trail, you will get a first glimpse of the radio/satellite tower. There are a few more rope sections and very deep muddy crevices that you have to cross before reaching the top of this hike. The views are simply breathtaking and on a clear day you can see as far as Chinaman`s Hat near Kualoa Ranch and in the other direction at Rabbit Island in Makapu`u. Once you get to the «top» of the Moanalua Valley Trail, you`ll essentially enjoy the view, then turn around and walk down the path you took.

We saw people wearing chains over their shoes to support traction on the muddy and slippery mountain. In retrospect, this would have been a great addition to our hiking equipment on the Himmelstreppe. They are lightweight and help you feel more stable and safe when climbing. I highly recommend doing legal hiking if you are determined to see the haiku stairs. Antagonizing everyone and risking punishment is simply not worth it. Take a legal return hike, have lunch at the radio tower, take some photos at the top of the stairs, and then head back down. The trail gets quite adventurous as many sections become quite narrow and a rope is required to pull you up the slippery gravel surface. The terrain can be quite friable, with steep drops, so you`ll need to stay focused during this hike. Despite the unevenness, the trail is quite well protected and if it is not a very windy day, you should be fine unless you have little experience on ridges or with heights.

The great thing about this trail is that you have amazing views along the way and not just at the top. Every time I turned around to look back at the city, the view became better and better. There is a $1000 fine if you walk (or kick) down the stairs. Guards patrol the bottom of the stairs and police helicopters have been seen flying around the haiku stairs. Usually, September is also one of the best months for this adventure. The creek may have dried up, and it`s easy to walk the first 2.8 miles/4.5 km. There is less going on on the island, and the temperatures are pleasant. October is also good. November becomes wetter and trail conditions deteriorate. Watch for clouds on the ridge. It may be possible to hike, but it is even more difficult and dangerous in the rain and clouds.

We do not recommend hiking in the rain. Hi Nikki! Thanks for the good advice, definitely on my to-do list. Do you know someone who leads this hike? I`ll be in Oahu until Saturday, September 3rd and would love to hike before I go. I never hike alone, especially not a new trail. Other hikers filmed the helicopter trying to land. You could see most of the people in the video running away as they entered the stairs! I really enjoyed every second of this article! Your instructions are clear and easy to understand. So much so that I saw your details in my head while I was reading. I felt with you as I imagined my legs shaking violently! I always hoped to visit beautiful Hawaii one day, but I had never heard of this hike. I`m super excited when I think it definitely will be the first thing I`ll experience (after a good night`s sleep on arrival, haha) I also felt it would make more sense to fix them instead of paying for all the security.