Hiking up the Haiku Stairs has been on my bucket list for a while now, so once our flights to Oahu were officially booked I started scheming how to make it happen. It seemed like an epic and mysterious quest with a well-earned view at the top - to be able to peer down at the rest of the island from the clouds? Dreamy. There are soooo many ridge hikes on Oahu (and I’m sure on most all of the Hawaiian Islands), but I got my little heart set on this one. Poor Meg.
photo by Mike Karas
Once we started our research, it became clear pretty much immediately that hiking up the Haiku Stairs (or as many call it, “The Stairway to Heaven”) is now illegal. Though the 4,000 steps were built during World War II to allow access to radio transmission stations at the tippity top of the island’s peaks, they technically closed the trail to the public in 1987. Over the past few years, they’ve become stricter about enforcing the unlawfulness of the trail by placing a guard at the entrance of the stairs and handing out $1000 fines and mandatory court dates to hikers who dare to risk it.
So, the scheme started to evolve… was there a back way to get up to the top? Yes. But a lot of those cut-throughs were through people’s backyards and homes and we read a lot of stories about how locals were woken up at 2am, 4am, 5am, 7am every night by young tourists trying to rig the system for a piece of their adventure. Though I was willing to be a bit risky (again, poor Meg) and attempt sneaking around the guard (because bucket-list-tunnel-vision-obsession), I just didn’t feel comfortable disrupting the locals. It felt super disrespectful. It’s just not how we roll. (Meg is now relieved)
We then heard about another trail that lead up to the top -- not a cut through -- a trail that was harder, but legal. Though we’re experienced hikers and up for researching a trail ahead of time and giving it a go, this one was recommended to make sure to go with a local, someone who knows the trail. So we found a dude (info at the bottom) and joined a group, and made some friends along the way!
Hint: look for a little blue dot... it me!
We met up with our group around 6:30am at the trailhead to start the hike up. We ended up with AMAZING weather! Considering the week we had had thus far, we didn’t know what to really expect. We had beautiful blue skies to hike up the ridges and into the clouds at the top. It made the conditions for the hike manageable. Our guide told us that of the hundreds of times he’s hiked this trail it’s been slightly different every time depending on the ever-changing weather. It was a relief to just focus on the hike and not have to worry if we were going the right way or had reared off-trial. He provided gloves and shoe spikes which were really handy (if you’re going at it on your own, I would totally recommend). There were stretches where you had to climb up a ridge one-by-one holding onto a rope and it made you feel a bit steadier.
photo by Mike Karas
photo by Mike Karas
We’re so glad we chose this route to the top - we felt like we got a 2 for 1! An epic ridge hike where you could see all the peaks and valleys (and ocean) on both sides of you AND the mysterious world at the top! When we finally crawled our way up to the end of the trail, the top is where the top of the Haiku stairs began. It was like we were in another world. It got cooler once we were up there, as we were in the clouds and it all felt so mystical. I wandered down on the stairs a bit and they were overgrown by weeds as though it was out of scene of Jumanji. The stairs went on for what seemed like forever. Abandoned territory, graffitied posts, and secret lookouts made it feel like you were walking through time. It gave me memories of hiking the Great Wall of China though they are definitely from a different era (like thousands of years).
photo by Mike Karas
Even though I only went down a few tiers, they were a b*tch to climb back up! At least the ridge hike was varied, climbing up the stairs the whole way may have been brutal. We spent a hour at the top wandering around, eating lunch, and resting before we headed back down. Some people hike up the back way and then choose to take the stairs all the way down. We did not. We hiked back down along the trail we came up, and it was quite rewarding (and our car was waiting for us there). Having a nice crew made it more enjoyable too :)
In the end someone tracked that we hit over 30,000 steps and 10+ miles in over 8 hours. Worth it.
Unless you are afraid of heights…
I made her turn around and pose for this.
Notes:
Start early: You never know how crowded the trail may get. We were lucky even though we were on a Saturday morning and the first clear day all week. I would have even liked to hike the first part of it in the dark so we could see the sunrise as we started the assent (heart eyes).
Watch the weather: You don’t want to get stuck on a muddy trail or in the middle of a storm. I don’t know how much the shoe spikes will help you then.
What to wear: layers, comfortable hiking socks and boots boots (Meg used trail runners, but you do have to walk through shallow streams at a few points so you have the potential to have a wet foot…)
What to pack:
2-3 liters of water per person. We love our little blue backpacks.
Snacks - we’re a big fan of the pb&j at the top of the hike as well as easy to eat bars, fruit, and nuts. I even got fancy and roasted some sweet potatoes that were easy to grab and eat and they were so tasty.
Sunscreen, hat, sunglasses
Layers - we each brought a long-sleeve that we could take on and off as well as a raincoat (matching of course) in case the weather turned. You will get muddy.
What to expect: If you are a moderately in shape person, that is you do some kind of exercise/physical activity 2-3 times a week, you can do this hike. This is not the hike for you if you have a fear of heights, are adverse to copious amounts of sweat, or have knee pains/problems. The trail is just over 5 miles in each direction with the first 3 miles being relatively flat, which means you are ascending/descending 2500 feet give or take in about 2 miles.
Go local: Don’t disturb the neighbors. Don’t get a ticket. Get dirty hiking up the harder way. DM Mike on Instagram and chat about hopping on his next hike. He’s nice, prepared, chill, and knows the trail thoroughly. (We have NEVER gone with a “guide” on a hike and our egos were a bit hesitant on this one, but we are so glad we did.)
Directions: If you would rather go out on your own, I have found that this guide is a pretty accurate description of the hike, including how to access the Moanalua Middle Ridge Trail. However, be warned that we have heard several people saying that they got lost. We highly recommend using microspikes and please be wary about trekking this trail when it is wet. We had a sunny day for hiking and the trail still had quite a bit of mud from the day before (as evidenced by our dirty bums). Also, the parking lot at the trailhead gets full pretty early in the morning so I would consider an early start time.