Visit these cool stairs in San Francisco (colorful, artsy and great views from above)

 

There is nothing like climbing up somewhere that is inspiring and part of a journey, and when you finally get to the top, you just may be rewarded with fantastic views of a city skyline or even a peak to San Francisco bay. That’s probably what you may find climbing some of the amazing and cool stairs of San Francisco – you just don’t know what to expect to find at the end of your climb.  Don’t worry, it’s worth the effort visiting some of the local stairs in these neighborhoods which are lovingly cared for by the community. Checking out the cool stairs of San Francisco is definitely a fun way to explore the different parts and unknown areas of the city.

 

Exploring the famous hidden staircases of San Francisco

Most of these are not really hidden any more but more local spots around San Francisco that were created by the local communities and collaborations with artists to beautify and area and create a unique stamp and character to that neighborhood. Most of these are easily accessible by bus transporation, Uber or taxi or walking around the city on your own. The staircases of San Francisco are fun and unique and offering some wonderful neighborhood views, gardens and color in that part of the city.

 

 

The fabulous mosaic stairs of Lincoln Park Steps

Created mostly from private funds and fundraising from the Katherine Delmar Burke School next door, this stunning staircase display at Lincoln Park steps is stunning to witness and a relatively new addition to the mosaic stairs in the city. Created by artist Aileen Barr who spent over ten years to create and finesse this stunning mosaic staircase. It is truly a labor of love from the artist and the local community that did all the prep work and fundraising to make this stunning art display and staircase to the top of Lincoln Park. The staircase is only 52 steps and when you get to the top, you’ll see Lincoln park and the surround neighborhood with views of the downtown skyline in the background.

 

 

 

 

 

Beautiful stairways with colorful hand made tile details from local artists

 

 

The Lincoln stairs are really amazing and colorful, check it out below

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Cool stairs in San Francisco – The Vulcan Steps

Not well visited but well maintained by the local gardeners that have homes in the area, this hidden staircase is about two blocks long and almost feels like a jungle in the big city. With mature trees and sweet peek a boo gardens, it is fun to walk through and even have a nice talk with some of the neighbors that help to keep up the garden staircase. You will find some quirky homes and interesting gardens to look at along the way to the top with some nice views of the immediate neighborhood below.

 

 

Cherry blossoms in bloom on the Vulcan Steps

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Check out this cool neighborhood and homes at the Vulcan Stairs below

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Saturn Street Stairs

 

Just a short walk down from the Vulcan stairs is another set of stairs at Saturn Street.  It’s located off 17th street and Saturn with relatively easy parking on the street. (at least in the morning hours). From the street you can easily find the stairs to start your climb up the fairly easy block long staircase.  The best thing about visiting this local staircase is that it is lovingly cared for the entire neighborhood and if you make it to the top of this short climb, it has some wonderful views of the Castro area with peek a boo views of the bay below.

 

 

 

A profusion of annual colors on display

 

 

 

 

Views from the top of Saturn Street Stairs

 

 

 The famous 16th Avenue mosaic stairs

One of the most colorful and popular stairs to visit in San Francisco are the 16th Avenue mosaic stairs. This large staircase is definitely worth visiting and easy to get to with public bus transportation. At the base of the stairs you will find mostly California native plants that are carefully planted and maintained by local neighbors who live in the area.  To find out more information and cool pictures of stunning mosaic work, check out my recent post on the 16th Avenue stairs here.

 

 

California native flowers blooming at 16th avenue

 

 

Here’s a tour of the 16th avenue stairs to the top

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Filbert Steps by Coit tower

A short walk from Little Italy and right at the base of Coit tower from the parking lot is where the Filbert steps can be found and leading you down to the base of the Financial district at Sansome street. Along the way you will find a lush and green oasis in the middle of the urban downtown areas of the city with hidden gardens, beautiful vistas of the bay and some fun garden art sprinkled around this walk down the Filbert Steps. If you want more information and details check out my post of the Filbert steps here. For those scared to climb the stairs back up to Coit tower, there is public transportation close by or you can easily flag down a cab to take you anywhere in the city.

 

 

Gorgeous spring blossoms and hidden gardens at the Filbert Steps

 

 

Cool stairs in San Francisco – Greenwich Steps

Another set of stairs that originates from the top of Coit Tower is the Greenwich steps. You can access the Greenwich steps from the parking lot and down to the main area with signage that leads you down a string of the stairs. You will find more secret gardens with beautiful annuals and perennials well taken cared of by the neighbors along with wonderful views of the bay below you.  For more details and lovely pictures of these hidden gardens and walks in North Beach, check out my Greenwich post here .

 

Here’s a quick tour of the Filbert Steps and neighborhood

 

 

 

 

Beautiful gardens on Greenwich stairs

 

 

 

Check out this walking tour of the Greenwich stairs below

 

 

 

 

Cool stairs in San Francisco – University of San Francisco

Overlooked even by the locals this staircase and viewing areas above are quite nice  to visit and check out the scenic panoramas of the city.  The main entrance to the Lone Mountain University starts on the north side of Turk Boulevard in a curving staircase that is modeled after the Spanish Steps in Rome. Once you get to the top, you will be rewards with beautiful skyline views of the city, mountains and the bay area below you. Their are some nice gardens with benches on top to sit or you can walk around the campus to check out the views from all different parts of the promontory campus.

 

 

The classical stairs of USF

 

 

 

Hill views to Sutro Tower

 

 

What else to see in San Francisco?

 

 

Golden Gate Park gardens

The gardens of Golden Gate Park and a great place to enjoy the open space and landscape around this expansive park area. Encompassing historic gardens from the conservatory, the Japanese Garden, Aids memorial, botanical garden, rose garden, there’s so many wonderful open areas and specialty gardens to explore.

Check out our post on the gardens of San Francisco here for more inspiration and images to visiting the park.

 

 

 

 

Unusual and quirky San Francisco

San Francisco has so many fun and unusual places, neighborhoods and unique attractions that are above the typical in the city to visit. Many of these are only in San Francisco type places that you definitely should visit if you have free time from visiting the normal tourist attractions.

Check out our post on these 20 quirky and fun places to explore in San Francisco, you’ll love visiting all of them when you visit the city.

 

 

 

Best views of San Francisco from above

If you love checking out fun viewpoints from above then you’ll want to visit all of the fantastic viewpoints. We’ve picked the most scenic vista points around the city with this post on the best views above San Francisco here for you to get inspired with this wonderful views and capture your own photos and selfies here.

 

Cool Mission district graffiti at Clarion Alley

One of the most colorful alleys in the city is at the Mission called Clarion Alley. Located between Valencia and the Mission, this alley is painted constantly with images that covers the gamut from local politics, national news and other colorful tributes to the neighborhood and city. It’s a fun visit to exploring the area and checking out some cool art.

Check out the Cool graffiti at Clarion Alley here for more inspiration and images to visiting the alley in the Mission.

 

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So many stairs of San Francisco to climb

As you can see there are plenty of choices of original and colorful stairs of San Francisco to explore and enjoy a really unique facet and artistic creation from the community. Which stairway stands out for you to explore if you visit the city? I’m sure you’ll probably want to visit all of them.

Check out these other posts on visiting San Francisco

Ferry Plaza Farmers Market

Places to eat in San Francisco

20 quirky, fun and trendy places to visit in San Francisco

The cool stairs of San Francisco

Fun and unusual things to do in San Francisco

Mission district food tour

Exploring North Beach and the Greenwich steps

Filbert Steps from Coit tower

20 quirky and fun places to explore in San Francisco

Best views to photograph in San Francisco

 

Conclusion to Cool stairs in San Francisco

Which ones were your favorite to discover? Please share your thoughts in the comments below.

I hope that this has inspired you for exploring some of these wonderful staircases and landmarks around San Francisco. Have you been to some of these places or know some other interesting places to explore and photograph? Please do share them in the comments section below. Thanks for visiting today and checking out this post on Cool stairs in San Francisco, hopefully some of these places will inspire you to visit when you come to the city. If you enjoyed the images and post, could you please share it with any of the social media buttons located around the post.

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