Stairways Crisscross the Hills of San Francisco. Here's Why People Love Them

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San Francisco is widely considered one of the hilliest cities in the world.

But all this elevation gain comes with a price: stairs. The city boasts more than 900 public stairways — everything from winding wooden paths to mosaiced climbs. It’s a charming urban feature that’s given rise to a community of stair enthusiasts.

This week’s question asker, George Krause, is one of many San Francisco stair admirers. He’s a photographer, and he stumbled upon the stairways during his work trips to the city.

“Between shoots in San Francisco … [I’d] ride public transportation to a neighborhood that I had not been to before, and then just walk the streets with my camera doing street photography,” Krause said.

“Every neighborhood in San Francisco has got these hidden stairway walks, Castro and Potrero Hill and Excelsior and you name it … they’re everywhere. So it’s like a free, fun thing to do.”

All this got him wondering. What’s the shortest stairway in San Francisco? What’s the longest? What’s the steepest?

The Shortest Stairway

When it comes to measuring the city’s stairways, there’s a lot more debate than data. I sat down with one of the city’s leading stair enthusiasts, Alexandra Kenin, to try to get to the bottom of it all.

Kenin claims to have walked 99.99% of all the city’s stairs. She’s also compiled a digital stairway map.

According to Kenin, San Francisco’s shortest stair is a single step in the city’s Financial District. It’s on Sansome Street, between Broadway and Pacific.

“There’s literally railings like you would have on a multi-step stairway, yet there is just one stair,” Kenin said. “So it kind of looks like a stairway, because there’s stairway infrastructure.”

Some people would not call this one step a stairway; others would swear that it is. San Francisco Public Works, which maintains public rights of way, including stairs, offers an alternative. They list the city’s shortest stair as a five-stepper at 14th Avenue and Fanning Way.

The Longest Stairway

If you ask most San Franciscans to name the city’s longest stairway, they’ll probably point you towards the famous Filbert or Greenwich steps. Located in the Telegraph Hill neighborhood, they both offer scenic climbs up to Coit Tower.

But there’s a catch: those stairways are broken up by roads.

“So we should debate, is it the longest continuous stairway?” Kenin queried. Or is it the most total steps?

According to Public Works, the Oakhurst Lane stairs are actually the longest. They’re on the sloping hillside of Mount Sutro near Laguna Honda Hospital. Unlike the Telegraph Hill steps, Oakhurst Lane is uninterrupted — a steady climb that amounts to an estimated 290 feet. That’s roughly 10 feet higher than the Filbert and Greenwich steps.

The Steepest Stairway

Nailing down San Francisco’s steepest staircase is even trickier. Public works doesn’t track the steepest stairways, and it’s hard to pull together accurate data about the city’s stairs.

But based on some Geographic Information System (GIS) mapping endeavors and Kenin’s real-life experience, here are a few top contenders.

The Filbert Street Steps:
These steps are scenic and punishing, climbing through lush gardens up Telegraph Hill.

The Normandie Terrace Steps:
This little-known but dizzying flight of stairs connects one street to a cul-de-sac far above.

22nd Street and Vicksburg Steps:
This block is one of the steepest streets in the city. The grade? An estimated 31.5%. The sidewalk is a stairway.

Iron Alley Steps:
This steep stairway is no joke. One stair database lists measurements that amount to a 51% grade slope.

Why People Love San Francisco’s Stairs

For Kenin, stairway walks aren’t just about exercise or views. They’re about connecting with the city in a more mindful way.

“You get a visceral experience,” she said. “It all of a sudden becomes quieter. You can see beauty with your eyes. You might smell a jasmine plant that is blooming in someone’s lawn right next to the stairway. … You could hear a hummingbird float by.”

The stairs also offer a link to San Francisco’s history. Back in the day, when people got around on horseback, stairs were a practical pedestrian solution. Some streets were just too steep for horse-drawn carriages.

“It’s kind of a cool connection to the past because people have been going up and down these stairways, probably some of them since the 1800s,” Kenin said. “So I like that.”

If you’re interested in walking some of San Francisco’s most iconic stairs, check out Kenin’s stairway map to chart out a route of your own. And, October happens to be “SF Stairway Month,” a new thing that started in 2024. So, it’s the perfect time to get out and explore!

Episode Transcript

Katrina Schwartz: Almost every day when I get home from work I strap on a baby carrier and take my one year old daughter, Esme, out for a walk.

Katrina Schwartz in scene: So, Esme and I are walking up the Franconia Street Steps in Bernal Heights.

Sounds of Esme humming

Katrina Schwartz in scene: Look at that, Esme, you can see the fog comin’ in. Isn’t it beautiful?

Esme babbling sounds

Katrina Schwartz: Some of the stairways we take have swings on them. Others are beautifully cared for, with terraced gardens.

Katrina Schwartz in scene: Hello. We love your steps, they’re so beautiful.

Katrina Schwartz: All have sweeping views.

Katrina Schwartz in scene: Phew, at the top of the hill now

Esme sounds

Katrina Schwartz: San Francisco has countless winding pathways like this, from simple wooden stairs to mosaiced climbs and utilitarian concrete steps. It’s incredibly charming and a delightful surprise to many visitors.

George Krause: Every neighborhood in San Francisco has got these hidden stairway watch Castro and Potrero Hill and Excelsior and you name it. You know, there’s, they’re everywhere. So it’s like a free, fun thing to do, you know.

Katrina Schwartz: Our question asker this week, George Krause, is a photographer. He often comes to the city for work and likes to spend time on the stairs.

George Krause: When I wasn’t shooting, you know, between shoots in San Francisco. That’s basically what I did — ride public transportation to a neighborhood that I had not been to before, and then just walk the streets with my camera, doing street photography.

Katrina Schwartz: San Francisco is one of the hilliest cities in the world — and stairs are often the most direct way to get from A to B.

All this got George wondering. …

George Krause: What is the longest stairway in San Francisco? What is the shortest? What is the steepest?

Katrina Schwartz: George’s question won a Bay Curious voting round, so we know many of you are stair-curious too!

Today, we’re devoting the show to walking San Francisco’s iconic stairways. We’ll meet some stair lovers and see what’s powering their uphill devotion. Then we’ll talk with a map expert to try and answer some basic questions about the city’s stairs.

I’m Katrina Schwartz, you’re listening to Bay Curious. Stay with us.

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Katrina Schwartz: With more than 900 public stairways, it’s safe to say that San Francisco is a city of stairs. But when it comes to measuring them, there’s a lot more debate than data. Pinpointing the longest, the shortest, and the steepest stairways turned out to be a bigger challenge than we imagined, but Bay Curious producer Gabriela Glueck was up to the job. She met up with one stair fanatic to get some answers.

Gabriela Glueck: Alexandra Kenin is a quintessential stair enthusiast. She claims to have hiked 99.99% of all the city’s stairs.

It’s an obsession that started back in 2007, when she first moved to San Francisco and started leafing through some guidebooks her dad had given her.

Alexandra Kenin: So he gave me, at the time, what was popular, which was a Zagat guide for restaurants, and he gave me Stairway Walks in San Francisco.

Gabriela Glueck: Stairway Walks in San Francisco was written by Adah Bakalinsky, the so-called Queen of San Francisco’s stairs. It’s got step-by-step directions to find hidden stairways, gives background info on neighborhood history and generally celebrates this unique side of San Francisco life.

For Alex, that book became a lifesaver when the coronavirus pandemic hit.

Alexandra Kenin: You know, we were stuck at home, and I was kind of going stir crazy. My partner and I found ourselves juggling a one and a half year old between meetings, and it was really stressful, and we needed a stress release.

Gabriela Glueck: So, she started walking, following Adah’s directions. Her quest? Walk all of the city’s stairs.

Alexandra Kenin: You get a visceral experience …It all of a sudden becomes quieter. You can see beauty with your eyes. You might smell a jasmine plant that is blooming in someone’s lawn right next to the stairway. You could hear a hummingbird float by.

Gabriela Glueck: The stairs also offer a window into the city’s past. Back in the day, when people got around on horseback, stairs were a practical pedestrian solution. Some streets were just too steep for horse-drawn carriages.

Alexandra Kenin: And it’s kind of a cool connection to the past, because people have been going up and down these stairways, probably, some of them, since the 1800s, so I like that.

Gabriela Glueck: But Alex has also brought stair walking into the 21st century with an online map that features many of Adah’s favorites as well as some new ones. If there’s anyone who can help me figure out the longest, shortest and steepest stairway — it’s Alex.

We’ll start with the shortest. Sansome Street, between Broadway and Pacific

Alexandra Kenin: There is literally a random one step, which makes me laugh. …

Gabriela Glueck: The Sansome Street step is on the edge of the city’s Financial District, with a nice view of the Transamerica Pyramid in the background. And then, the single stair.

Alexandra Kenin: There’s literally railings like you would have on a multi-step stairway, yet there is just one stair. So it kind of looks like a stairway, because there’s stairway infrastructure.

Gabriela Glueck in scene: So here I am at the shortest staircase in San Francisco. It is just one step. For the sake of journalism, I’m gonna walk it.

Sound of taking a step

Gabriela Glueck: I feel like this is a good place to talk about the definition of a stairway. Some people would not call this one-step a staircase … others would swear that it is.

Alexandra Kenin: It really depends on your definition of a stairway. So I didn’t know if I should put that in there, but it is a stair. So I did want to include it.

Gabriela Glueck: Many people define a stairway as two or more steps. Alex says there are plenty of two-steppers throughout the city.

But according to San Francisco Public Works — which maintains public rights of way, including stairs — the shortest stair is a five-stepper at 14th Avenue and Fanning Way. Do with that what you will.

Next, the longest.

Alexandra Kenin: So I think it’s either the Filbert or Greenwich Street steps going up to Telegraph Hill. …

Gabriela Glueck: The Filbert and Greenwich Street steps are many people’s first guesses. They both offer scenic climbs up to Coit Tower. The lush Filbert Street steps are also home to a famous flock of parrots featured in film, “The Wild Parrots of Telegraph Hill.”

Parrot sounds

Gabriela Glueck: But — and this is where things started to get even trickier — how do you define “the longest?”

Alexandra Kenin: OK, so we should debate, is it the longest continuous stairway? So when you do the Filbert or Greenwich Street steps, you are crossing various roads. So does that count?

Gabriela Glueck: Or is it the most total steps?

Alexandra Kenin: Those two stairways, Greenwich Street steps, Filbert Street steps, are around 380 to 390.

Gabriela Glueck: According to Public Works, the Oakhurst Lane stairs — on Mount Sutro near Laguna Honda Hospital — are actually the longest. That’s because, unlike Filbert and Greenwich, the lane is a continuous stairway; there aren’t roads in the middle breaking it apart.

It has fewer total steps, but climbs an estimated 290 feet. Making it the longest continuous stairway in the city.

So, Alex and I headed to Mount Sutro to check it out for ourselves.

Alexandra Kenin: Alright, here we go. We’re climbing the first flight of stairs. We’ve got some concrete steps.

Sounds of climbing stairs

Alexandra Kenin: It’s a foggy day. The eucalyptus trees are swaying. It’s a very atmospheric day. And if you take a look, it’s kind of funny. There’s moss growing on the stairs. I’m pretty sure it’s foggy here a lot of the time.

Gabriela Glueck: As we make our way up the steps, the city kind of fades away. It feels like an isolated residential path, sandwiched between houses. And, like many San Francisco stairs, it’s cared for by community members.

Rick: I’m just clipping the poison oak so people can walk up and down Oakhurst Lane.

Gabriela Glueck: This is Rick, Alex and I ran into him on our walk. He lives in the neighborhood and has been walking the lane for 30 years. He’s seen all kinds of people on these steps.

Rick: There was one guy, he was training to go up Mount Whitney, and he put on this really heavy pack, and I think he went up and down like 15 times. But this guy was sweating, and he was just like, step by step by step. …

Gabriela Glueck: OK, we’ve been to the shortest and longest stairways and my legs are officially warmed up. Time for part three of the question. What is the steepest stair? Or, as our question asker George reframed it, what’s the most challenging one?

This is where I started to run into some real trouble.

Alexandra Kenin: This is a thing that people debate. What is the steepest Street in San Francisco? I can find 10 articles on the internet right now telling me different streets are the steepest.

Gabriela Glueck: There are a lot of close contenders and not a lot of accurate measuring going on.

When I asked Public Works about the steepest stairway, one representative said that quote, “We don’t track the steepest but likely will capture that in a longer-term asset management initiative.” Translation: they don’t know.

But this seemed like the kind of problem you could answer, if only you had a digital mapping specialist in your corner.

David Medeiros: OK, the analysis question that I’m trying to answer is, which San Francisco City staircase is the steepest?

Gabriela Glueck: David Medeiros is a geospatial reference and instruction specialist at Stanford. Basically, a map expert.Which is why I sent him a city data set dedicated to structures in the public right-of-way, including stairs. Then I asked him for help.

David Medeiros: So, from a technical standpoint, the process is not difficult. So, you just need one other piece of data, and that’s an elevation model for the city.

Gabriela Glueck: David’s plan? Take a map of all the stairs and overlay it on a map of the city’s peaks and valleys and boom.

David Medeiros: OK, I have QGIS open, and I’m going to add the data sets now. … I’m going to bring in the 1-meter digital elevation model for San Francisco. (Fades under) First, I’m going to go grab the SF stairs, or the stairs structures, line features and overlay them on the digital elevation model.

Gabriela Glueck: I’m fast forwarding here, but once he’s got the two maps, it’s a simple slope calculation. Rise over run.

David Medeiros: So now I have a list or a table of the slope, the percent slopes for all of these things that the city has in this structures data set, that includes stairs and viaducts and retaining walls and that sort of stuff.

Gabriela Glueck in scene: And what is the steepest stair? What did you find?

Gabriela Glueck: If you thought this was gonna be the payoff moment — so did I. But no.

As we started looking at our top steep contenders on Google Street View, many of them just didn’t look that steep.

David Medeiros: The more difficult part of it is the data itself. It’s the staircase data is a mess.

Gabriela Glueck: David says the lengths weren’t precise enough. That the public right-of-way info is more like a rough sketch. Not the kind of picture you could build a case on.

David Medeiros: So I feel like, I feel like I failed a little bit, in a sense, like the all the work that we did, all the information it, the the actual workflow is fine. It works. The underlying elevation data is a good resource. It’s just that we don’t have good data for the stairs, the real stairs, what they really look like in the real world.

Gabriela Glueck: According to David, this data-to-real-world gap is a pretty common digital mapping challenge. Sometimes there’s no substitute for just going to see for yourself.

Gabriela Glueck in scene: So I’m at the first stop on the steepest stair tour, and we are at the Glendale street stairs, and they look pretty, pretty steep.

Gabriela Glueck: With the help of David’s data, Alex’s real-world experience, and countless internet searches, I compiled a list of top five potentially — and I emphasize potentially — steepest stairs in the city.

Then, I devoted an entire day to walking all of them.

The first one? Glendale street stairs in Twin Peaks.

Gabriela Glueck in scene: They’re kind of boring. …They’re in between two apartment buildings, and below it is this really steep road.

Sounds of walking

Gabriela Glueck in scene: OK, so I’m at the second stair stop on this steep stairs journey, and I’m at the Normandy terrace stairs in Pacific Heights. They’re very grand, they kind of zigzag up a vertical wall.

Sounds of walking up steps

Gabriela Glueck in scene, out of breath: You can see the bay and kind of the whole expanse of the city stretching out before you. And it is a pretty good view. And recommend you

Gabriela Glueck in scene: All right, I’m walking over to our next stair stop, and it’s 22nd Street and Vicksburg.

Gabriela Glueck: These stairs are in Noe Valley… a small stretch of the 22nd street incline.

Gabriela Glueck in scene: So these are pretty amazing. It’s on an extremely steep San Francisco street, and the … basically, the sidewalk is a staircase. They’ve carved out stairs in the concrete because it’s just … it’s just too steep to walk by yourself. So here goes.

Gabriela Glueck: This block is one of the steepest streets in the city. The grade? An estimated 31.5%. As local resident Laura tells me, it’s enough to make drivers change their plans. Also, she says it’s a prime spot for shenanigans.

Laura: Halloween? People roll pumpkins down the hill. …

Gabriela Glueck in scene: So I’m here at the Iron Alley stairways in the Twin Peaks neighborhood, and this one looks pretty steep, not gonna lie, goes straight down.

Gabriela Glueck: Iron Alley is no joke. Averaging numbers from one stair website and my own online mapping endeavors, I’m estimating something around a 46- to-51% grade slope.

Gabriela Glueck in scene and out of breath: 1.2.3.4.5.6. …

Gabriela Glueck: Given the information available and my experience walking them, I think Iron Alley might be the steepest stairway. Some neighborhood gardeners I met on the stairs seemed to agree.

Neighbor: Man, you take a tumble, you could be going all the way.

Gabriela Glueck: I have to say that defining the longest, shortest, and steepest stairs in San Francisco ended up being a lot harder than I’d imagined.

And in some ways, besides the point.

First stair love note: Really, I love stairs because they are a vital part of urban infrastructure, they are beautiful, they are a great workout, they give you a sense of accomplishment when you climb them.

Second stair love note: It feels like I’m living in a game or story universe where I’m discovering new pieces of the map

Third stair love note: My favorite hike is starting in the Forest Knolls neighborhood. The stairs are green and floating and surrounded by eucalyptus trees.

Fourth stair love note: they are so beautiful and surprising and mysterious.

Katrina Schwartz: Those were stair love notes from Bay Curious listeners.

That story was brought to you by producer Gabriela Glueck. If you were listening closely, you may have noticed that Gabriela said she was going to walk the five steepest stairways, but she only talked about 4. You’re right! The fifth contender was the Filbert Street steps, but we have an entire episode about the history of that stairway and the beautiful garden that runs next to it. I’ll put a link in our show notes.

Bay Curious is produced at member-supported KQED in San Francisco.

Our show is made by Gabriela Glueck, Christopher Beale and me, Katrina Schwartz.
With extra support from Maha Sanad, Katie Sprenger, Jen Chien, Ethan Toven-Lindsey and everyone on team KQED.

Thanks for listening. Have a great week.