Bring water & food. Dont attempt this hike when its raining or for a couple of days after heavy rain. Copyright 2023 Journey Era | Mediavine Trellis Child - Journey Era on Trellis Framework by Mediavine. (Facebook). It was a beautiful day, not too muddy to complete this hike. Fun hike. I also didnt get enough sleep dont be like me. Id allow a good 4hrs to hike if with a group and more time if the conditions are windy or muddy. I wouldnt recommend this trek if you have a big fear of heights, but most people who do the hike will agree its not nearly as bad as they expected. All rights reserved. Here are my hiking essentials. The main problem is going through the neighborhood. Whoever JT is he needs to lighten the hell up. Moanalua/Kamananui Valley Trail Hard 4.7 (4054) Honolulu Watershed Forest Reserve Photos (5,132) Directions Print/PDF map Length 9.2 miElevation gain 2,998 ftRoute type Out & back Enjoy this 9.2-mile out-and-back trail near Honolulu, Oahu. There is one short section of stairs that was mangled in a storm, but the damage is pretty minimal and you can pass that part without any trouble. Similar to the Angles Landing Hike in Zion National Park. If its handled right, this solution could resolve many of the issues associated with the Stairway To Heaven. Once at the summit of the Moanalua Valley Trail you will essentially enjoy the view and then turn back around and head down the way you came. A guide to those volcanic terms: Pele's hair, caldera, volcanic ash -- learn what they mean, Suspect in deadly Kapiolani hit-and-run crash released from jail, Beware of counterfeit products this holiday shopping season, Homeland Security Investigations warns, Maui County residents asked to report property damage caused by massive weekend ocean swells, Thanksgiving travel should be less chaotic than summer, Sunday Morning Weather - Light Trade Winds Continue. The trail becomes quite steep from this point on with lots of tree roots to scramble up, boulders to clamber over and small rope sections to navigate. If you want to see this place legally with almost no chance of fines, you can hike up the Moanalua Valley Trail on the back side of the same mountain. This trail is a national and state treasure, with amazing scenery and a cool bit of history behind it. These are four items that I using right now and this list gets updated every year! ", "You need to have a certain amount of physical conditioning, because you are climbing almost the entire time," Griggs told Hawaii News Now. At the beginning, a large monkeypod tree leads to the Douglas Damon house site. The city of Honolulu spent almost a million dollars repairing the stairs and was considering re-opening the stairs in 2002 but resident complaints and safety concerns halted the re-opening and the stairs have been closed ever since. Lol ALOHAAAAA. We recommend packing an external back-up battery. Microspikes are good to have to make it up/for traction. ", Hikerstold KHONthe trail was muddy from rain this past weekend. Yes, technically it is illegal to climb the Oahu Haiku Stairs since theyre closed to the public. Parking was easy, street parking next to the park and it was very easy to find the green gate. Its towering heights along a steep ridge could cause a sudden slip to be fatal. As we continue on for the next few hours theres something encouraging about being able to zero in on where we started at Moanalua Valley Park and the remote summit before us, to visually track our progress. Your e-mail address will be used to confirm your account. . I didnt end up using mine even with the amount of rain and mud present. The trail will cross the stream 28 more times before the last 1/4 mile of trail. "Novices have no business being on that hike. The exposed ridges have more space on the sides than the pictures seem. Unfortunately, in September 2021, the city administration randomly reversed this decision and decided they would rather spend $1.3 million to remove the stairs, which could happen as soon as 2023. There are notable repeat offenders that continue to make 4 or 5-digit profits in a single week, none of which benefits the environment which they are degrading. I didnt need spikes but some good traction helps. It may never be surpassed! Anthony J. Polizzi. People claim the stairs are dangerous but they are a lot safer than climbing the mountains without stairs which is what people are doing to avoid breaking the law (but then they get on the stairs at the top for photos). Get an early start, because parking fills up fast. absolutely not! Foster Botanical Garden is a loop trail that is used for walking and nature trips located near Honolulu, Oahu, Hawaii. We did this trail in about 6.5 hours (both of us experienced hikers) with stoping for many photos and breaks. Keep your personal fitness and skill levelin mind, and always take proper precautions when venturing off road. Personally I think hikers should decide for themselves what kind of risks theyre comfortable with, but bear the responsibility themselves if they have an accident. If you knew anything about natural resources, you'd understand that this isn't just about respecting something that's sacred but rather protecting a watershed that provides benefits that you clearly take for granted. Its actually one of the safest parts of the hike IMO. Basically, when you reach the top of the Moanalua Middle Ridge trail you will have great views and are within a stones throw of the satellite at the summit. Such an exhilarating trail that really puts your body and mind to the ultimate test. Be advised that if you need emergency services you will be billed for the rescue equipment usage and personnel time. Did this exact hike. Judd Trail Mountain View is an out-and-back trail where you may see beautiful wildflowers located near Honolulu, Oahu, Hawaii. I think its best to begin just after sunrise as it can be quite a hot, exposed trail if you leave it too late in the day for the ascent. It definitely is not legal to set foot on the Haiku Stairs or the satellite area at the summit. In this web series,we bring you our favorite Oahu trails once a month. We hit the stairs and then disappeared into the jungle before we could find out. Wear proper shoes and bring gloves!Quite muddy I lived on Oahu for two years and loved adventuring from the beaches to the mountains to the waterfalls! Ill keep this blog post updated. So long as you make the right turn in The Valley you can easily find your way up, assuming youre up to the effort. How To Get There: Stairway Entrance / Directions, Deaths On The Stairway To Heaven In Hawaii. Past Week. The Associated Press contributed to this report. You can see the windward side of Oahu island with Kaneohe Bays sandbars, and an amphitheater of mountains surrounding you on all sides. The exact cause of the incident is still under investigation. Ive done most of the hikes on the island before. 0 rides ; 6 Months. The Moanalua Valley Trail to Haiku stairs hiking route is one of the most adventurous hikes on Oahu. If you receive a citation you will be required to appear in court. Amazing! One hiker, Dale Yoshuizu, told the station that while he'd done the hike "a lot of times it makes you aware that no matter how many times you've done the hike you need to be careful. Hawaii, like any other state, has property laws. At this point, it becomes a ridge walk as you keep gradually ascending to the radio tower, and even on a cloudy day the views are spectacular. Aloha, for those that think this trail is legal and open to the public with no repercussions, you are wrong. Follow a small path in the grass, or walk to the Hoomaluhia Botanical Garden is on my list of the top ten most beautiful nature places you can drive to. Did this hike last week started at 6 AM. He was a freelance writer and journalism teacher in China from 2006-2009. it's not. You'll enjoy sweeping views of southern Oahu on this 10.4-mile roundtrip hike. Once you pass the sign and creek crossing go to the right, the trail behind the foliage, not the obvious one on the left. If you want to go hike, I'm not stopping you. Bring A LOT of water, snacks, sunscreen and gloves really help for the ropes. Please find another hike. Please tag along! After graduating with a journalism degree, I set off to explore the world while creating adventure travel guides featuring hikes, waterfalls, beaches & adrenaline activities. Stick to the main trailfollow a tributary path, and you may wind up in Waimano Valley. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); Hi! Moanalua Valley Trail to the Haiku Stairs (Stairway To Heaven) [CLOSED / PRIVATE PROPERTY] Hard 4.7 (2199) Honolulu Watershed Forest Reserve Photos (5,275) Directions Print/PDF map Length 10.5 miElevation gain 5,029 ftRoute type Out & back Bummer, this trail is closed. Instead, retrace the Moanalua Ridge route to get back to your original destination. It was beautiful! Pass all the crossings and continue to follow the trail. Moanalua (Kamananui) Valley Trail on Oahu. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); Hey there! I hope this clears up YEARS of misconceptions about this trail. This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Wear spikes if you have them, makes most of the trail up the ridge line easier. A coworker identified the victim as Nathan Stowell, 24. He was previously stationed at Aviano Air Base, Italy; Whiteman Air Force Base, Mo. It has some sections of nearly vertical, rope and muddy sections. The middle ridge in Moanalua is home to many native species not found anywhere else in the world, and being at the top of the ridge, the effects of illegal hikers and illegal tours ripples down into the valley. To remember: You came this far. Be careful. Our biggest priority is taking care of his family and supporting his fellow Wingmen. From a timing perspective it took me 3hrs and 5 minutes but that was solo. Eat healthy foods bring nuts, fruits like bananas or mandarins to get quick sugar fixes so you can have quick energy (if you can have those things) . Drone shot of the mountain. Do not leave trash at the summit or on the trail. Accessing the Trail: The trail starts at Moanalua Valley Park, about 20 minutes away from Waikiki. My issue isn't with people hiking to the stairs, its with people using Moanalua to hike to the stairs and not caring about the impact they are leaving while doing so. Not the one all the way to the left. Most accidents happen when hikers leave the established trail and disregard warning signs. Regular athletic shoes will not do the job. If you think about it there is a large number of people on 24/7 neighborhood watch and some are very angry and extreme. A guy yelled and cussed at us and sprayed us with water with blue dye. The seemingly level elevation from point A to point B can be misleading and the giddy nature of being so close can come with a lack of focus. Trailhead Coordinates - Latitude: 21.37409 | Longitude: -157.880509. Access to the public is restricted. The World Travel Guy 2023 The key in the first part of the hike is to be cognizant of the distance you are covering as the ridge trail is somewhat hidden and can be easily missed. Whenever you buy something through one of these links, I get a small commission at no extra cost to you. Spikes and gloves definitely help but arent 100% necessary. Once up on the ridge, the view is absolutely incredible! In terms of cardio its definitely a workout. "One couldnt help but be in a good mood when you were around.". This is quite the work out and worth the view. After the first three miles, when you start to ascend, it could get really slippery, if youre not an experienced hiker, DO NOT do this hike after rainy days. Don't listen to the naysayers who hate tourists. Copyright 2020 Hawaii News Now. If you want to do a guided hike anywhere on State Lands, please ask the guide to see a copy of their commercial use permit, issued by the Division of Forestry and Wildlife. The first part of the trail is fairly flat and easy consisting of 17 riverbed crossings. If you look closely, you can see the winding stairway. Submitting this form below will send a message to your email with a link to change your password. If you do choose to continue on past the legal boundary and to the illegal area of the radio tower and reach the Haiku Stairs, this is what you can expect. The trail is a little over 9 miles roundtrip and took us about 7 hours (we hung out at the top for 30 minutes or so). Be careful on your footing & hand placements not all branches are build to hold your weight. Give me a break!, its a hike, and a damn good one at that! Basically, politics and money got in the way of this epic hike. All rights reserved. The first 2.9 miles are fairly straightforward with only 100ft of elevation each mile. adventures and follow local regulations. Highly recommend, it was one of the best hikes I have ever done. The group is part of the 15th Wing. To put it another way, THIS HIKE IS ILLEGAL. The valley itself is historical, with the earliest human inhabitants dating back to the 1500s. Just wished the front way was open, For experienced hikers dont do alone unless youre a pro & even then let someone know where you are. I'm also attempting to educate people about how this place is being overrun by people who want to experience nature but are doing so at the cost of nature and for what? Went up the stairs last week with wife and baby. Bring ziplock bag to gather your trash respect the land & beauty of the island. The Moanalua Valley Middle Ridge Trail to the Haiku Stairs is a 10.7 mile (roundtrip) hike along varying terrains with several rope climb sections and very narrow ridge climbing. Although extremely tempting, the hike down the Haiku Stairs is highly illegal and subject to fine, etc. Maybe we miscounted the 4 wheel drive crossings because we were at 15 or 16 when we hit the Kulana'ahane trailhead (on the left). However, we wouldnt recommend running. Overall, I think the risk of death on the Stairway To Heaven in Hawaii is greatly overstated, and as long as youre careful you should be fine. I first discovered the Stairway To Heaven Oahu hike on the internet in 2015 and knew I had to try it. I'm David, an American with a passion for adventure, the outdoors, and all things travel. It has been a long perpetuated myth that simply being on the stairs is what gets you fined. Good hike, perfectly legal way. After you reach the first platform, the hike flattens out quite a bit and things get much easier. Crouching Lion and Sacred Falls are other examples. Definitely dont pay a guide for this hike like some people seem to. This is the name that will be displayed next to your photo for comments, blog posts, and more. The area escorts us into a network of trails here, where the middle ridge opens up upon crossing a streambed found just after the marker for the Kulanaahane Trail. Don't hike with this Mike guy on here , he reaches out and tries to rip you off and doesn't even hike it with you . Liability is the main reason theyre closed. Trudging up the slope, it takes about half an hour to scale the first hump. 2023 Stars and Stripes. We did run into a few people who had gotten lost at the start though. At another, I cut up my knuckles clawing for exposed roots to keep from tumbling down the rugged spine. Views are worth it. It gave the mountains and everything a surreal touch that made us feel like we were walking up into the heavens. Polizzi was on the hike with a group of friends. An off-duty firefighter died in 2014 and a social worker died in 2011, both from falling off the trail. A helpful tool I used was to count the 4 wheel drive road crossings (ie concrete slabs) over the river bed. At some points, the stairs of death are almost vertical, clinging to the side of the steep mountain. Make sure you allow enough time to complete the hike so youre not heading back in the dark. There is a security guard at the beginning. FIND YOUR WAY OUTSIDE is a trademark of AllTrails, LLC. There are a few rope sections and some very intense drop offs on the sides for lots of the trail, so this is not for the faint of heart. UPDATE 02/2023: Theres still hope that the Stairway To Heaven Hawaii trail may be saved after all. Im chicken little when it comes to doing anything that is deemed illegal. The cool, breezy path goes through a lush forest and contains seven bridges with stream fords. If you forget it, you'll be able to recover it using your email address. One of my favorite trails, with tons of side trails, pools, and ruins to explore. Can see the water on both sides of the islands the further up you hike. You need to take the MIDDLE option. These people are mad and will make increasing trouble for hikers as time goes by. It all goes back to a history of lawsuits from people getting injured while hiking in Oahu and then suing the state. (iStock). If you are inside a Forest reserve outside of those times and without a camping permit, you are in violation of the HRS chapter 104 rules and can be cited. Every time I turned around to look back towards the city, the view just kept getting better and better. Steep drops on both sides, but the metal Haiku stairs and railings are surprisingly solid. If you fall at dusk you might very well spend the night in the jungle. Staying on the trail greatly reduces your chances of getting injured or lost. Mutual Fund and ETF data provided by Refinitiv Lipper. The Moanalua Valley Trail takes you up a steep, strenuous dirt path with ropes and no stairs. There is danger involved with traversing a mountains ridgeback, an absurdly obvious fact thats slightly deceiving during the first leg of this trek, which begins at Moanalua Valley Park, a flat, straightforward 3-mile walk into Kamananui Valley. The stairs start in the Haiku Valley, under the H3 highway (John A. Burns Freeway) and they wind up the side of a mountain near Kaneohe, called Puukeahiakahoe. These are extremely helpful and if the trail is the least bit muddy they are a full-fledged necessity. Some of the original cobblestone road remains intact, and leads to a large, petroglyph-covered boulder. Affiliate Disclosures Privacy Policy Terms Of Use Hoomaluhia means "to make a place of peace and tranquility." from. The Stairway To Heaven also has much more epic views than Koko Head in my opinion, but Koko Head is still a great hike in its own way, and its completely legal, so its a good choice if you want another challenging hike with some fantastic island views. Monalua Ridge offers legal access to the top of the Haiku Stairs (note: they are illegal to go down).
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