Haiku Stairs: A 3,922 step steel structure from the bottom of the Haiku Valley, near Kaneohe on the windward side of O`ahu. The Haiku Stairs are a special asset to residents and visitors alike. Nowhere else in the world is there a ladder-way from gulch bottom to mountain top, scaling a nearly vertical cliff, ending at a spectacular overlook 2,800 feet above the valley. The beautiful native mountain plant community and coastal scenery at that elevation are rare treasures. Friends of Haiku Stairs have been working to eradicate alien species along the stair corridor in efforts to preserve and protect the native ecosystems near the summit.

A History of the Effort to Open Haiku Stairs

1942: Haiku Stairs were constructed as a part of the war effort. They supported the U. S. Navy's top-secret high-powered transmitter station in Haiku Valley.

1955-56: Wooden Haiku ladder was replaced by a steel structure. The ladder provided access for maintenance of radio equipment near the top of Pu'u Ke-ahi-a-ka-hoe.

1958: The Naval Radio Station at Haiku Valley was deactivated, taken over by civilian personnel.

1975: Area commissioned as an official Coast Guard unit operating as an Omega navigational transmitter. Local hikers who knew about the Stairs were allowed to climb after signing a waiver at the Omega station.

1975 - 1987: Tens of thousands of hikers climbed the Stairs without a single report of serious injury.

1981: A Magnum P.I. episode filmed a chase scene on the Stairs, and hike popularity increased.

1987: Coast Guard closed the Stairs to the public, due to concern about vandalism and liability.

Strong public reaction to the closure resulted in the formation of the Friends of Haiku Stairs, who organized public support for the re-opening of the Stairs.

1988: Construction on the H3 freeway recommenced, the trailhead leading to the Stairs was engulfed by the construction operation, and FHS activities were postponed.

1997: H3 construction completed; City and revitalized Friends of Haiku Stairs cooperated with Coast Guard personnel to open the Stairs to the public. Coast Guard officials eventually agreed the Stairs would not be dismantled. Hikers, pig-hunters, and other trespassers quickly created their own means of access to the Stairs through and over the perimeter fence.

September 1997: Haiku Omega Station was closed; the closing threatened destruction of the Stairs.

1998: Newspaper articles and letters support Stairs re-opening January: “Repair of Haiku stairs stalled” (Honolulu Advertiser headline); May “Stairway to Heaven" faces purgatory of neglect” View Point by John Flanigan, Star-Bulletin); June: “Council OKs Haiku Stairs as Park, but transfer delayed” (Star-Bulletin headline)

July 9, 1999: 147 acres of the former U.S. Coast Guard Omega Station acquired by the State Department of Hawai`ian Home Lands. This transfer denied the City access to the stairs through the original Coast Guard trail.

2000-2003: City acquires much of Haiku Stairs, accomplishes repair, negotiates access through DHHL land: June 23, 2000: “Funding set aside for ‘stairway to heaven; repairs could be completed next year” (Star-Bulletin headline); July 21, 2000: ”Volunteers clear the way for repair of Haiku Stairs” (Star-Bulletin headline); July 5, 2001: ”Hikers ignore warnings on stairway to Heaven” (Honolulu Advertiser headline); July 27 2001: ”Fixing a Stairway to Heaven” (Star-Bulletin headline); January 20, 2002: ”Haiku Stairs repair work to be completed this year” (Kokua Line, Star-Bulletin headline)

June 2002: Repairs to Haiku Stairs completed

2002-2003: City frustrated in finding appropriate access; illegal hikers cause problems: July 8, 2002: ”Sneaking up the stairs: Hikers ascend the haiku stairs even though it is still off limits” (Star-Bulletin headline); July 18, 2002: ”Haiku stairs to reopen in August” (Star-Bulletin headline); ”Get ready to climb Stairway to Heaven” (Honolulu Advertiser headline); September 24, 2002: ”’Stairway to Heaven’ to open in October” (Star-Bulletin headline); October 10, 2002: ”Reopening of Haiku Stairs delayed by lawsuit worries” (Honolulu Advertiser headline)

Spring 2003: Illegal hiking increased to more than a hundred a day on weekends, and residents of the nearby subdivisions became increasingly frustrated with inconsiderate hikers and trespassers. The City then placed security at the trailhead in response to neighborhood complaints. Soon the illegitimate climbing was reduced to fewer than a dozen a day: July 28, 2003: ”Police return to Haiku Stairs” (Star-Bulletin headline); August 14, 2003: ”Access issues stop reopening” (Honolulu Advertiser headline); August 19, 2003: ”Parking issue halts ‘Stairway’ (Star-Bulletin headline); August 20, 2003: Rep. Ito holds meeting attended by protesters and supporters at Windward Community College; August 21, 2003: ”Residents vocal in ‘Stairway’ standoff (Honolulu Advertiser headline); August 22, 2003: ”Solution can be found on Stairway” (Island Voices, Honolulu Advertiser); September 22, 2003: ”Haiku Stairs barriers fail” (Star-Bulletin headline); September 23, 2003: ”Beef up stairs’ closure until access improves) (Editorial, Star-Bulletin)

Winter 2004: Currently the City continues to pay for security at a cost to taxpayers of $1500 per week while a few Haiku neighborhood residents stall and fight the process to open Haiku Stairs to the public. These vocal few residents have remained irate from their recent problems with rogue hikers. Some even advocate complete removal of the structure and permanent closure of the Valley.

The current efforts of the Friends of Haiku Stairs are to gather evidence of the strong support of the general population for the re-opening of the Stairs, and to cooperate with the City and the concerned residents to develop a use and access plan that will be compatible with both public access and neighborhood comfort.

Today: The City is still undertaking negotiations with DHHL to bring about an exchange of land that would allow the City access to the Stairs from the old quarantine station. The Kaneohe Neighborhood Board is considering recommendations for accessing via a hike from Windward Community College Parking (week-ends only), past the Hawai’i State Hospital. (Week-day access would begin at the Kaneohe District Park (about 1.5 miles to the trailhead). The neighborhood complainants continue to resist public access of the Stairs or the proposed Park Preserve through public streets (through the neighborhood) and through the original Coast Guard gate.