Haiku Stairs

Haiku Stairs is a military stairway on the island of Oʻahu in Honolulu County that climbs almost 4,000 metal steps up the steep slopes of the Koʻolau mountain range. The structure runs through dense greenery and rocky terrain and reaches an elevation of about 850 meters above sea level.

The Navy built the installation in 1942 to reach a radio station that transmitted signals to ships across the Pacific. After the war ended, the station remained in operation until it was finally abandoned in the late 1980s.

The name refers to the three short lines of Japanese poetry and reflects how quickly the view changes with each climb. Many hikers feel the narrow steps offer a physical challenge that helps them see the landscape from a new perspective.

The city began dismantling the structure in 2021, which means the metal steps are being removed piece by piece. Anyone interested in military installations can find other relics from that era in the surrounding valleys.

Although access has been forbidden since 1987, the structure saw no major accidents over more than 80 years. Many climbers discovered that the steps became slippery in rain and covered them with rubber mats that can still be seen occasionally today.