HONOLULU — The City and County of Honolulu announced the reopening of Moanalua Valley Neighborhood Park on Tuesday morning after community members complained about the closure.

What You Need To Know

  • Officials reopened Moanalua Valley Neighborhood Park on Tuesday morning after community members complained about the closure

  • The park was closed last month in order to stop trespassers from hiking Haiku Stairs while it was being dismantled

  • The Moanalua section of the Honolulu Watershed Forest Reserve remains closed

  • Earlier this month, the City partially halted the dismantling of the Haiku Stairs, as they await a lawsuit to be resolved

On June 13, state and county agencies closed Moanalua Valley Park and the entire Moanalua section of the Honolulu Watershed Forest Reserve in order to make it easier to stop hikers from illegally accessing Haiku Stairs as it was being dismantled.

The Moanalua section of the Honolulu Watershed Forest Reserve, which includes trails that connect to Haiku Stairs, remains closed. Honolulu Police Department officers will continue to be posted near the entrance of Haiku Stairs.

The City and County of Honolulu said in a news release they may reinstate the park closure during active deconstruction if they find the closed trails are being illegally accessed via the park.

In April, the City began dismantling Haiku Stairs, which requires removing nearly 4,000 stairs and was expected to take six months. While Haiku Stairs was already illegal to access, trespassers started flocking to the trail for one last hike. Often they would hike up the “Backside to Stairway,” which takes hikers to the summit of the Koolau Mountains and allows them to descend the Haiku Stairs. In May, the Department of Land and Natural Resources announced the closure of the “Backside to Stairway,” also referred to as the Middle Ridge. The following month, the entire Moanalua section of the Honolulu Watershed Forest Reserve was closed.

However, the dismantling of the stairs is partially on hold after the nonprofit Friends of Haiku Stairs filed two lawsuits against the City. Earlier this month, a court of appeals ordered the City to partially halt its dismantling until one of the lawsuits was resolved, according to the Honolulu Civil Beat. The City said it is still removing stairway modules that were previously detached from the mountain, while pausing the rest of the dismantling project. 

“My Moanalua Valley community is close-knit, and while understanding of the necessity of security during deconstruction, strongly voiced the importance of reopening their highly utilized neighborhood park, especially in light of the announcement of the pause in deconstruction activities,” said City Councilmember Radiant Cordero, who represents the area, in a statement. “Keiki playing at the playground, kūpuna staying active and being social, people having family outings, and friends playing basketball games are just some of the activities that the Valley’s neighbors are excited to get back to with the reopening of the park.”

Michelle Broder Van Dyke covers the Hawaiian Islands for Spectrum News Hawaii. Email her at michelle.brodervandyke@charter.com.

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