Stairway to Heaven was actually built during World War II between 1942-1943. They were built to provide access to a top-secret naval radio station that was tucked away in the Haiku Valley. It was well hidden because of all of the surrounding cliffs. The stations high altitude gave it the ability to blast transmissions out too much longer ranges, and also protected it from enemy attacks.
Before the stairs were built, it took the first climbers, Bill Adams, and Louis Otto, 21 days to figure out the route and climb to reach the summit. They left spikes embedded in the rocks as they climbed. These spikes were later used to hang ladders to make future treks faster and safer. The ladders were later replaced with wooden stairs and eventually galvanized steel stairs.
In many places of Stairway to Heaven, you can still see the wooden stairs alongside the steel ones. Each section of the stairs is 6 feet long and contains 8 steps and handrails on both sides. They are anchored to the mountain with metal pins. The average slope of each section is 30º. Unfortunately, there was a massive landslide in February of 2015 that damaged the stairs and left the fate of the 3,992 stairs up in the air.
Nowadays, it is illegal to be on the Haiku Stairs. You will be fined if you get caught. However, you can reach the top of the stairs through the back way, which is the Moanalua Valley Middle Ridge Trail. In our opinions, it is actually a better way to go. Check out the directions here.
Happy Adventuring. Don’t forget to follow us on Instagram, subscribe to our Youtube channel, and sign up for our newsletter!
