The popular Koko Crater Tramway was reopened July 10, 2025, after a temporary closure. Hikers are reminded to stay on the tramway and follow the warning signs and caution tape.
ORIGINAL ANNOUNCEMENT – TUESDAY, JULY 8, 2025
The popular Koko Crater Tramway will remain closed until City crews can address access points to the bunkers atop the trail’s summit. This after an 8-year-old boy accessed one of those entry points on July 5, sustaining critical injuries after falling approximately 20 – 40 feet.
Upon further surveying, City crews observed three access points to the former military bunkers, placing caution tape and some restrictive barriers on those areas.
The access points are part of a series of WWII-era bunkers which formerly served as a radar station for the United States military. Since being decommissioned and turned over to the City and County of Honolulu in 1966, the over 1,000-step tramway has served as a hiking trail to access the summit of Koko Crater (Kohelepelepe).
In Spring 2021, the City conducted a variety of safety mitigation efforts as part of phased improvement project at Koko Crater.
The first phase of the work involved: removal of debris from tunnels and shafts; sealing the shafts, vents, and tunnels, and installing signs at the summit, steel platform, and tramway trestle to warn visitors of the conditions.
Additional work was conducted in Summer 2023 to install a more stable viewing structure at the summit, replacing the dilapidated remnants of the military steel platform.
These two efforts were conducted separately from the work of the Kokonut Koalition, a volunteer non-profit organization who maintains the tramway leading to the summit of Koko Crater.
We appreciate the patience and understanding of the Koalition and avid hikers while we work to mitigate these safety concerns, and hope for a complete and speedy recovery of the young boy who sustained injuries atop Koko Crater.
If you need an auxiliary aid/service, other accommodations due to a disability, or an interpreter for a language other than English in reference to this announcement, please contact the Honolulu Department of Parks and Recreation at (808) 768-3003 on weekdays from 7:45 a.m. until 4:30 p.m. or email parks@honolulu.gov at least three business days before the scheduled event. Without sufficient advanced notice, it may not be possible to fulfill requests.
—PAU—
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