On the island of Oahu, one of Hawaii’s most contentious issues has long been about what to do with the Haiku Stairs — a metal staircase also known as the “Stairway to Heaven” that rises 3,922 steps up the Koolau Range to a height of 2,800 feet. 

Hiking the stairs is illegal, but hikers trespassing over private property to gain access to the stairs have caused problems for area residents, heightening concerns. In 2021, the Honolulu City Council voted unanimously to have the stairs removed.

While the City and County of Honolulu plans to remove the Haiku Stairs, the nonprofit organization Friends of Haiku Stairs is fighting to keep it in place. But recently, another entity has publicly made its interest known, and it’s not without its own controversy.

Kualoa Ranch is curious about the idea of moving the stairs to its own property. “We are interested in evaluating the opportunities of putting stairs on one of the mountains at Kualoa Ranch — the north side of Kaaawa Valley,” John Morgan, Kualoa Ranch president, told the Honolulu Star-Advertiser. That would move the stairs roughly 13 miles away from its original location.

Kualoa Ranch is a 4,000-acre private nature reserve that crosses three valleys, including Kaaawa Valley, on the windward side of Oahu. The ranch has been owned by Morgan’s family for over 150 years, going back six generations. Its vision is to keep the land undeveloped while using adventure tours and commercial activities to help sustain it. Some of its most popular tours take visitors to sites of movies that were filmed on the property, such as “Jurassic Park.”

Since Kualoa Ranch is already in the outdoor adventure business, Morgan said it could be possible “to get the necessary permits to construct and install the stairs and operate them profitably with no adverse public impact.”

Sean Pager, president of Friends of Haiku Stairs, opposes this idea. He told SFGATE that if this happened, then the city would be putting millions of taxpayer dollars toward the stairs’ removal to benefit a private company. It also would “result in a mutilated, truncated version of the original” and dishonor the Navy’s wartime effort that built the stairs.

Pager said the Friends of Haiku Stairs’ managed access plan allows the nonprofit to oversee the stairs where they are, ends trespassing issues and eliminates liability for the City and County of Honolulu should someone get hurt. It would also bring jobs and revenue to benefit the local community.

A spokesperson for the City and County of Honolulu told SFGATE that Honolulu Mayor Rick Blangiardi feels differently. The spokesperson said the mayor met with advocates of the managed access plan and determined they were not able to get enough support from residents at the base of the stairs.

“He does not have anything against the stairs themselves and is not opposed to the idea of a private landowner like Kualoa Ranch exploring the possibility of creating a similar attraction, where access could be safely controlled in a manner, which is not possible given the current location of the Haiku Stairs,” the spokesperson said. “The mayor has no commitments to any private landowners regarding the current Haiku Stairs.”

As laid out in a $2.34 million agreement with the City and County of Honolulu, it is up to The Nakoa Cos., the contractor charged with the removal and disposal of the stairs, to decide in what manner the stairs will be disposed of. It’s unclear whether that means The Nakoa Cos. can then turn around and sell the stairs to another entity. SFGATE reached out to The Nakoa Cos. but was unable to get a response in time for publication.

Morgan told the Star-Advertiser he talked with the Nakoa Cos. about the possibility of relocating the stairs to Kualoa Ranch early on, but that nothing has been formalized. He’s not planning anything further because he’s not certain that will happen quickly, he said.

Hawaii’s leaders have debated about what to do with the stairs for decades, and until the stairs are actively being removed, it brings uncertainty that it will ever happen, especially as Friends of Haiku Stairs will be fighting them every step of the way. 

In the most recent legal battle between the City and County of Honolulu and Friends of Haiku Stairs, the court dismissed the lawsuit that argued the City and County of Honolulu was violating environmental laws.

The spokesperson for the City and County of Honolulu said it is proceeding with the removal of the stairs as planned, while Friends of Haiku Stairs intends to file an appeal.