This was intended to be a mild day, but it was not. When I was originally planning the "all stairs in one day" route, the biggest hurdle that caused me to break it up into several days was a scouting trip to Washington Park. Washington Park is a clusterfuck of staircases. Planning a route through Wash Park that didn't have much backtracking was a logistics nightmare. The trip should have been confusing but not too long. However some improvisation ended up making it an even longer day. Lets get to it.
I went up 23rd, crossed Burnside heading south, and took a back road that no one ever has any reason to walk on. Why? Because one of the best staircases in the city is hidden away back there. It starts on a cul-de-sac turnaround, and takes a spiral path 37 steps up to a higher cul-de-sac on the hill. It's great, and honestly has no reason to exist.
From here a small opening at the end of another street drops me off at the top of Washington Park's Park Place entrance. A quick stroll south and you see the grand 46 step entrance stairs at the top of the hill. From here I walked across the playground area and dipped back down next to the reservoirs, where 3 total staircases go down to lower Jefferson street under the Vista bridge. I took 49 steps down, then 6 steps down, then on the way back up hit the middle steps for 29.
From here I was back at the top, and walked back north to the Mac Trail start. At this spot, off the road, drops a huge several flight staircase all the way down to Burnside again. It's technically several different staircases, but it's all part of a single pathway, so I counted it as one. It was 165 steps downhill.
Then a breif detour back up the gully pathway entrance to WashPark, and a right turn west took me up one of the better staircases. It's an old, falling apart, uneven curvy 36 step mess of a staircase.
From here, I swung back down to Burnside and then took the monster stairs of the day. A tight narrow staircase that goes through multiple stages on the way up the hill, It's 278 steps to the top the whole way. The steps are short and easy, but still, 278 steps. Damn. It just keeps climbing.
Then at the top, next to the statue, lies another staircase down. 54 steps. It drops you off on a trail. A quick loop back around and I take another staircase,20 steps up. Next to the maintenance shed on the west side lies a steep 7 step drop.
Now I'm back on roads near Washpark. A little looping takes me to the entrance to a 22 step climb into an unused road that functions more like a pretty alley driveway to a couple houses.
Then, once on the road again, another well hidden staircase (one of my favorites since I found it years ago) drops down 44 steps to the park road.
From here, cut across an open green area to the ROSE GARDEN ENTRANCE STEPS.
The Rose Garden is built on tiers and therefore contains absurd numbers of staircases. 13 separate stairs in all, 15 if you count the two proper stairs in the amphitheater. I did about half the stairs on my way in. I went up 31, down 28, down 3, up 6, up 21, up 3, and up another 2. Then I exited, the garden half complete. I had to swing by something else then I'd hit the rest. Also nearby the garden are two large staircases to the upper parking and tennis courts. I went up 33 and down 19. I wanted to do the Japanese Garden stairs, but there aren't many and the area is closed for construction, so I had to sadly decline.
I then illegally went up the "closed" staircase to the zoo train station, all 44 steps of it. Then I took a meandering road walk down to the playground area, where 15 steps chill out near a pavilion. Then I got a bad idea. I was 3 miles in at this point, and almost done. But I just remembered something. Hoyt Arboretum is nearby, and HOYT ARBORETUM HAS STAIRS. Well guess I'm gonna kill these birds with one stone. I set off up the Mac trail, to the wildwood, to the upper overlook trail. I found my first Hoyt stairs going downhill to the Zoo parking lot. 15 steps down, then a long walk, and then 88 more steps down.
Once in the zoo area I walked to the Vietnam memorial, which as 26 stone steps down and nearby 5 steps up to an access trail. Then I took the access trail to the memorial, walked the spiral path around and up, re-joined the wildwood, and found the stairs I was looking for. 60 steep wood steps up to the road.
At the top of the hill past the road, 26 steps descend to the visitor center. Then 17 more down to a big wooden pavilion. Then 6 back up to a nearby trail, it never ends, these stairs. This was about the time I was heavily questioning my life choices.
After a long time on roadways getting back down to Washington Park, I was finally ready to re-enter the rose garden. I then went down 16, down 13, down 6, up 13, up 20, and up 4. Now for the Amphitheater.
The Amphitheater is a mess. Two major staircases, plus a huge amount of mini-access stairs to the different levels of the amphitheater. I did every one, getting weird looks from nearby relaxing guests.
I went (including the major staircases) down 8, down 26, up 20, down 29, up 38, down 37, up 31, down 29, and up 12. Phew. Only a couple staircases left.
Back down the road, a quick side path to 8 stairs. Then 26 stairs up to a meadow, then to my favorite staircase, the Gully Stairs. The Gully entrance to Wash Park is a concrete path up a valley functioning as a sort of backdoor from Burnside. At the top of the gully lies a 39 step wide, grand staircase with excellent railings for sliding on. I did not slide, I had to walk them. So I did. Hooray for me.
My final staircase of the day was a pointless 3 stairs to a side path where hobos live in the gully area.
8 Miles later, I was done. STATS!
Total steps climbed: 873
Total Steps Descended: 755
Total Stairs: 1628
More stairs and miles than the day before. Here is a map of my route, probably the weirdest map you will ever see. Green is stairs.
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