There are over 300 stairways in hilly San Francisco, most of which are quiet places known only to locals and maybe travel bloggers with lots of extra time on their hands. Since we have a whole month here, we set out to find and scramble up some of the city’s most interesting and artistic sets of steps.
Some of the steepest hills (and real estate prices) in San Francisco are in the sky-high Pacific Heights neighborhood. Here, with panoramic views of the Golden Gate Bridge and San Francisco Bay, the streets are so tilted that cars park perpendicular to the curb and stairs are cut right into the sidewalk.
Also in Pacific Heights, along Billionaire’s Row, we scaled the swanky Lyon Street Steps. This fashionable stairway is surrounded by manicured hedges and well-tended gardens, and includes more than 300 steep steps separated by formal landings and elegant balustrades.
Not as posh, but equally fun to climb are the Filbert Street Steps. Beginning at the Levi Strauss & Company world headquarters, we ascended the old concrete and wooden steps past century-old cottages, flowering gardens, and a pandemonium of wild parrots to the Art Deco Coit Tower at the top of Telegraph Hill.
Notwithstanding the previous examples, most of San Francisco’s stairways are used almost exclusively by the local citizens. In our own neighborhood of Cole Valley, we utilized the unassuming Farnsworth Steps, named for former resident Philo Farnsworth, inventor of the first all-electric television.
We found another quiet neighborhood stairway at the intersection of Athens Street and Avalon Avenue in the Excelsior District. Here, community members raised funds to replace a rickety stairway on a trash-strewn hillside with a brand-new set of steps decorated with brightly colored tile risers.
Another grassroots community effort led to the installation of the ambitious 16th Avenue Tiled Steps in the Golden Gate Heights neighborhood. With 75,000 fragments of tile, mirror, and stained glass, Irish ceramicist Aileen Barr created a magnificent sea-to-stars themed mosaic gracefully running up the 163-step stairway.
Another tile mosaic stairway project by Aileen Barr, the Hidden Garden Steps in the Inner Sunset District, features native plants, flowers, animals, and insects in a naturally flowing motif. With living gardens on both sides of the stairway, the vibrant steps blend organically and biologically into the environment of the surrounding neighborhood.
One final imaginative Barr creation, the Lincoln Park Steps are located in the Inner Richmond District just off the 18th fairway of the Lincoln Park golf course. Unlike her other mosaic step projects, this 30-foot wide tiled stairway was completed in a symmetric and balanced Beaux Arts style.
After climbing some of the city’s most fascinating and beautiful steps, we appreciated a gleeful descent on the 40-foot long Esmerelda Slides. With a nod to the old board game of Chutes and Ladders, a thrilling ride on a slippery and speedy slide was a welcomed substitute for traipsing back down the stairs of San Francisco.
Feature Photo: Tiered Staircase at Alta Plaza Park, Pacific Heights Neighborhood
Month at a Time Travel 
I remember when “millionaire’s row” sounded like the ultimate in wealth! But I loved this post…so many beautiful stairs. My guess is you really did appreciate that slide by the time you’d climbed so many steps. Finally, are coyotes common in San Francisco? I wouldn’t have noticed it if you hadn’t mentioned it!
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These days, a million wouldn’t even get you a pup tent in Pacific Heights, Ann. The average home price is now over $10 million! We came across a few slides on our walks in San Francisco, but the Esmerelda Slides were the longest, fastest, and most fun. Surprisingly, coyotes are very common in San Francisco. I was parking our car on a neighborhood street late one night, and three coyotes ran right by me up the middle of the road. Signs have been posted all around the city’s open spaces warning pet owners of the prevalence and danger of these wild canines.
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Wow! No wonder there are so many homeless people in San Francisco…those are crazy high prices! I have relatives there, and they told me that house prices are a problem, but I had no idea the expensive areas were quite that expensive.
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Wow! I am ready to pack my bags and get back up to San Francisco to see those magnificent tiled stairs! I am definitely putting these on my to-do list for my next visit. It looks like you are continuing to get fabulous weather (except, maybe, for the recent “atmospheric river” event).
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San Francisco’s tiled stairs are magnificent, Janis. The 16th Avenue Steps and Hidden Garden Steps are the most elaborate and are only a short distance apart. At the top of the 16th Avenue Steps is the aptly named Grand View Park, where the sweeping views are some of the city’s finest. We actually just missed the “atmospheric river” event. The day we left to drive home to Arizona, San Francisco received over 4 inches of rain, the most for a single day in October in the city’s history!
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There can’t be many cities in the world where you can conduct a physical field study of artistic staircases. One, probably. I get the feeling this is a real “Joe & Esther” type of thing..don’t I remember you setting out to cross all of the bridges in a Spanish city? Either Seville or Valencia, I think? I like this idea of using a theme as a way if seeing different parts of a city.
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You’re right, Phil & Michaela. The stairs theme was a perfect Joe & Esther type of thing. Not only was it a good way to explore the lesser known parts of the city, but it led us to some great views, and burned off some of our overindulgence on sourdough bread. I think you may be remembering one of our similar posts from October 2018 on “The Bridges of Bilbao”. That effort also involved a lot of walking, which is our favorite way to sightsee.
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Your cardiovascular system clearly is in excellent shape!
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Thanks, Neil. The stairs of San Francisco were a walk in the park after hiking on Mount Rainier and Mount St. Helens in the Washington Cascades. In San Francisco, we observed many fitness enthusiasts running the steps for a cardio workout. Maybe they are in training to hike a volcano?
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It’s never occurred to me that the stair venues are mostly visited by primarily locals (with the possible exception of Coit Tower, I suppose). But now that you mention it, most of the ones I’ve climbed (and slid!) were shown to me by my former boss, himself a longtime SF resident. It’s been years since I’ve seen the Hidden Garden Steps — truly a gem! – Marty
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You are so right, Marty! The Hidden Garden Steps are stunning; but, they are much less traveled than the neighboring 16th Avenue Tiled Steps and Filbert Steps to Coit Tower. You were fortunate to have a local introduce you to this unfrequented and mystifying attraction. As you will remember, the artistic detail is elaborate, intricate, and sinuous. The subjects include an extensive collection of biological organisms, like dragonflies, mushrooms, sand dollars, and many many more. It would take a couple hours to fully appreciate the artistry and inspiration hidden in those 148 garden steps!
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Lovely write up on the steps in SFO.
Nice topic…I never even thought of it!!
Can I share your post on my blog?
I have blogged on SFO at
https://travel-along.in/2021/11/26/san-francisco-1/
leela
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