If you’re plannig a trip here (or live here), you might want to pick up a book titled “Stairway Walks of San Francisco” (I’ve got it listed here on the site … from Amazon). It’s filled with 15 or so walks, all over the city, complete with the time each one takes, the level of difficulty, maps and detailed directions – very helpful. We tend to keep going on the same ones and this is one of our favorites. It takes you up to Coit Tower and back down to Battery Street, near Levi Plaza. This one takes you up the side of what seems like a cliff, through a collection of hillside homes that have no other access, other then the stairs you’ll use on this walk. I’m not sure how people manage to move furniture in or out … you’ll see what I mean when you go. Also, the story about the The Wild Parrots of Telegraph Hill started here, and they still frequent this normally quiet little hillside neighborhood.
This area is perfectly safe, even at night, and when you get to the top, you’ll have a 360 degree (almost) view of the city. The Coit Tower photo was taken during a special event – an outdoor performance art project – someone was screening images onto the tower. It was very interesting, but it was really cold that night and we didn’t stick around for the whole performance.
