Pittsburgh, PA

City of bridges? More like City of Steps! With nearly 800 public stairways, Pittsburgh has more than any other city in the US. These stairs are scattered throughout the city, but one of the biggest clusters of them can be found in the Southside Slopes. This little jaunt through Southside park and the Church route leads you up some of these infamous step streets for soaring views of our favorite city. If you park on the street in Southside you can conveniently end your step trek at Velum Fermentation, one of the Burgh’s newest breweries!

THE HIKE: Southside Park & Step Hike

Length: 3 miles
Elevation Gain: 600 ft
Difficulty: Moderate
Time: 1-1.5 hours
Trail use: Best for walking only
Parking: Paid street parking nearby

There’s no way around it; Pittsburgh needs steps. The elevations across the city vary from 700 to nearly 1,300 ft. As the city population grew in the early 1900s, the steps were created for ease of movement around the city neighborhoods. According to an assessment by the City of Pittsburgh in 2018, there are more than 800 individual steps across city limits. 

Local historian Bob Regan made it his mission to learn more about the steps in the late 1990’s, culminating in a project to document all of the steps. Regan’s hard work greatly informed the city’s later project to improve and preserve these historic characteristics of Pittsburgh! Some interesting stair finds that Regan uncovered were “paper-only” streets. These are streets that appeared only on city maps but were actually stairs. 

Although these steps can be found across the city, the longest is Ray avenue in Brookline (378 stairs) and the steepest is along the infamous Canton Ave in Beechview (also the steepest street in the Burgh). The largest accumulation of stairs can understandably be found in the Southside Slopes neighborhood. In fact, the South Side Slopes Neighborhood Association hosts a yearly Step Trek event to raise money.

This loop begins on S 21st street heading towards Mission Street. Then, it takes the set of stairs to the right leading up to Mission street. From there you cross over the bridge to head towards South Side Park. Maintained by the awesome crew of Pittsburgh Park Rangers, this park just went through a major replanting to remove invasive species and prevent erosion! Great job to everyone involved in this huge project! 

Southside park is a choose your own adventure. Pick whatever loop of trails you’d like but eventually end up back at the corner of Mission & S 18th St. If the trails are muddy, or you just want a step hike, you can skip South Side park. From Mission street, cross S 18th Street and begin down Pius Street. From here, the loop roughly follows the directions from Discover the Burgh’s suggested route. 

From Pius street, turn left to follow signs for Yard Way. You’ve found your first named stairway! Take your time heading up as these stairs continue for a while! At the very top the stairs let out onto St. Paul Street. Bear to the right to loop around the Monastery. Turn right onto Monastery Ave, then in front of the building, turn left on Monastery Street. Then, turn right onto St. Thomas St and take the  steps down to Hackstown Street, then continue down the stairs again. Sometimes the stairs are a bit hard to see as they descend directly next to houses! At the bottom of these steps, you’ll be back on Pius Street. Turn right to pass by the church then turn left onto Clinton Street. There’s another set of stairs that lead down to a train overpass for a really cool view of the city. We happened to be walking over as a train was passing! The stairs down from the overpass let out onto S 15th Street. Meander your way back to where your car is parked. Make sure to look up and notice some of the really unique architecture and details on the row houses along the way! 

THE BEER: Velum Fermentation

Address: 2120 Jane St, Pittsburgh, PA 15203
Distance from Trail Head:  Park near brewery to start the hike
Website: velumfermentation.com/
Food?: Permanent food truck outside
Details: Arcade games, events, outdoor patio

Velum is a new addition to the Pittsburgh Brewing scene. I’ve long thought that the Southside needed a local brewery and Vleum really fits the bill! Located around the corner from Ascend Climbing gym, it’s already established itself as a fun hangout with arcade games, pingpong ball, and skeeball. Tucked into a warehouse space off 21st street, Velum is massive on the inside, which they take advantage of through events like pickleball, discgolf, yoga, flea markets, and much more! I particularly loved the way the game area was situated right next to the brewing area. It’s a very cool experience to have a beer that was made right in front of you while also playing some Pacman. 

In addition to this large space, there’s also a smaller taproom where you order your beer. There’s seating, great art, and some wonderful people who are just itching to talk about beer with you! Besides delicious beer, they also have local cocktails and wines. Also don’t miss out on the heavenly sandwiches from Love, Peace + Grilled Cheese, the food truck out front. It was so decadent!

Looking for more urban hikes in Pittsburgh? Check out Strip District & Bonafide Brewing, Allegheny Cemetery & Coven Brewing, Emerald View Trail & Inner Grove Brewing, Frick Park & East End Brewing, or Riverview Park & 412 Brewing.