Filbert Steps — Attraction in San Francisco

A plan for hiking the Filbert Steps:

Walking up the Filbert Steps is one of the most serene and magical things you can do in one of the busiest parts of the City. I consider it one of the top 5 things all visitors should do. You've seen all the beautiful photos of the steps, the quaint homes, the jungle-like environment, and the breathtaking views, but none of those pictures will compare with the actual experience.

As someone who's climbed up and down these steps countless times over the past 30 years, here's my suggestions for first-timers.

If you're driving, street parking in this part of the Financial District on a Sunday is surprisingly easy and it's free. The steps begin on Sansome Street, between Union and Greenwich.

Bring water and take breaks to enjoy the views and scenery, especially if you aren't used to this level of physical activity. It's almost 500 steps to Coit Tower.

When you get to Napier Lane, take a short walk to the end of the "street". It's a public lane, but this is a very quiet community. Be respectful of the residents. If you see any, say hi and ask them about living there. Most of the people I've encountered love talking about their very unique homes.

Keep an eye out for the wild parrots!

Walk a little further up Filbert and take the another side trip down Darrell place. Take your time and really soak in the atmosphere of Telegraph Hill. It's especially dreamy on a foggy day.

When you reach the top, at Montgomery, turn right and walk down the street to the end. The big building there was a restaurant called Julius Castle for decades before shutting down in 2008. It's also notable as being the title mansion in the 1951 movie "The House on Telegraph Hill".

From here, I suggest completing the hike to Coit Tower by walking up the Greenwich steps, to the left of Julius Castle and to the right of a private garage.

Soon you will reach Coit Tower and its views. There's a public toilet there if you need it.

On your way back down, take a side trip up Montgomery, past the Filbert Steps to the end of Montgomery for more great views and photo ops of the Transamerica building and downtown.

I would plan at least an hour, probably longer for the whole round trip, depending on how much time you spent at Coit Tower and whatever side street exploration you do. You can easily walk down to North Beach restaurants and cafes if you're so...

These are some beautiful stairs, don't get me wrong I really like the view. The problem is that from the bottom up, the first half feels like you are suspended literally in the air and I, Bay Area native who knows the Hayward fault is overdue, suddenly couldn't help but that think how they didn't feel like something that would remain in one piece were the Earth to start shaking, rattling and rolling. The dog also didn't help, as he was less concerned and thus his usual always in the way self. Nor did it help it was 3am (I like walking when no one is out 🤷), which all conspired into my gripping the hand rail with tight, sweaty palms and praying to Lord Shiva that I'd make it to the top without falling over or an earthquake starting up.

Obviously that happened and I even took a minute to appreciate a lovely, very Bay Area beautiful, view while allowing my heart rate to return to it's usual levels. The second half was a relatively common example of houses only accessed by stairs as they are perched on impossible hillsides and must be a real pain to get groceries into. The gardens, which according to a sign were once the labor of a man who devoted 35 years to them, have been a little neglected and the roses really should be doing better in the climate (the key is chopping them back to a stump around late November, seems counter intuitive but works wonderfully) which is pretty sad because if I lived there, i would have kept up the dude's work out of respect for him having devoted so much of his life to gardens that even still neglected are really pretty and he made some excellent choices in terms of plantings for the shade levels and climate. The smell is fantastic too, it's a shame they are letting it go to the birds.

Overall it was just a way up telegraph hill I need not use again. The houses were really nice, probably out of my price range but maybe I'll be back because I don't mind carrying my groceries long distances it turns out, but overall a bummer to see that people still don't care a lot about local traditions like a community garden, which is realistically not about sticking it to the man but about respect for the man who came before and put hard work in to making it a place you want to live. I hope he rests in peace and got from those gardens the tranquility that I did wandering...

Filbert Steps – Coit Tower and Greenwich Steps are one block apart and both steps are led to The City’s iconic Coit Tower that was built in 1933 in the neighborhood of Telegraph Hill (aka “Signal Hill” formerly “Loma Alta.”) [*🤫 The Great Hwy was built in 1929; Bay Bridge completed in 1936; GG Bridge completed in 1937. The City was immune from the Great Depression? 😂 The answer perhaps lies in construction which could be a major driver of The City’s economy. ] This is true story of mother and daughter who were originally from "The Mount Rushmore State." The mother Lady Grace Merchant who built the world famed garden on Filbert side and the daughter Valetta {who was possibly mixed with “Big Foot” 🤫 } built the garden on the Greenwich side. However, both steps were located in the east of the Hill that during early are industrial warehouses for the “old working class slum” with literally garbage dumps. [[*Note: Barren hillside to the left of entrance of the Filbert Steps was evidence of quarrying in early days in combination of brick and stone to fill the Bay and build seawalls.] Now of course things are different and market value of these new condos are easily priced in the range of $2.5-$4.5 million. ❶ Begin from Levi's Plaza on Sansome Street go straight to Gilbert Street and climb up to Coit Tower. The first half (before reaching Montgomery Street) [about 12 flights] is quite challenging because steps are not only steep but are also made of concrete and metal like those on railroad tracks. The world-famed “Grace Merchant Garden” lies in the middle of the wooden steps at small dead-end street called Napier Lane. The second half after you reach Montgomery Street you have a choice to continuously climb up [about 10 flights] or walk one block north opt for Greenwich Steps [about 10 flights but with a view of the Bay] to reach the Coit Tower. Take Muni Bus 39 at Coit Tower back to “Little Italy” or Union St. ❷If you climb up on Filbert Street from Columbus or Grant side the total flights to Coit Tower through Pioneer Park are about 16.[*Steep streets such as Filbert, Lombard, Lyon, Moraga, Willard etc. build up flights more than actual steps. 🤫] Take Muni bus 39 back to Fisherman’s Wharf or simply climb down on Filbert or Greenwich steps to Embarcadero or Piers....