These stairs may be worth the effort to reach the top, but may be intimidating and treacherous – and remember, you have to get back down...
Haiku Stairs, Oahu, Hawaii
The 3,922 rickety steps that lead a half mile up Oahu’s Koolau Mountain range are so seriously scary that climbing them is now illegal. Nicknamed the Highway to Heaven, they were built in 1942 by the U.S. Navy. Popular with daredevil hikers, by 1987, they were closed for safety concerns, and they stay that way, despite a 2003 renovation project.
Half Dome, Cable Route, California
If
you want to see panoramic views of Yosemite Valley and the High Sierra, you will have a seven-mile all-incline hike through the wilderness that culminates with climbing the rock face along a cable ladder for more than 400 vertical feet. Rainy conditions have proved fatal.
Statue of Liberty, New York City
To reach the platform in Lady Liberty’s crown, you’ll have to trek up a claustrophobic, crowded, 146-step double-helix spiral staircase with just six feet of head clearance. Or, if you are really brave, make the entire tight 377-step hike up all the way from the lobby, the equivalent of climbing a 20-story building.
Moaning Cavern, California
Welded almost a century ago, this 100-foot-tall curlicue staircase, leads you deep into the darkness of a damp cave known for its eerie wails and moans. Make it to the bottom and you’re rewarded with a cave so big it could fit the Statue of Liberty.
The Verrückt, Kansas City, KS
To reach the starting point of the world’s tallest and fastest water slide, you’ve got to climb 264 steps that wind up the slide’s tower with 25 turns. If you can’t brave the slide, you’ll have to turn around and suffer the 17-story walk back down the nauseating steps.
Cedar Creek Treehouse Observatory, Washington
Climb up a unique, 82-foot cantilevered, spiral stairway to experience expansive views of Mount Rainier and the Nisqually Valley from this observatory. It is one of the only cantilevered stairways on earth built into a tree. As you go, try not to think about the planks being supported by nothing more than bolts and the trunk of the centuries-old fir tree.
Your Creepy Basement Stairs
A majority of basement and cellars from around the country still have some of the scariest stairs. Conditions usually include dank, low light situations with dirty, unfinished wood treads, inconsistent step height, low head clearance and rickety bannisters – if any! These types of stairs seem to have a starring role in every horror movie ever made!
HOW TO MAKE YOUR STAIRS LESS SCARY
Common sense fixes include removing trip hazards, replacing broken or worn treads, increasing the lighting and tightening or installing hand rails. Contact Safe Way Traction today to speak to an expert on products that will help make your stairways less scary.What does your scariest staircase look like? Share your pictures on our Facebook page.