Hiking the Greenwich Steps to Coit Tower in San Francisco

By John Roberts

Most people know about San Francisco's hilly geography and the city's famous Lombard Street that twists and turns and is reputed as "The Crookedest Street in the World" because of its eight tight hairpin turns over the course of one neighborhood block.

These hills can also be explored through the unique experience of an urban hike on the city's Stairway Walks. I discovered one of the routes up Telegraph Hill during a visit to the port via my cruise on Crystal Serenity. A friend of mine who lived several years in San Francisco knows that I am always looking for something active to try and asked whether I had heard of the Stairway Walks.

I told her that I had not, but that I was also intrigued. Erica pointed out that one of the routes was pretty close to our ship's location near Pier 23. The Greenwich Steps take you through a quaint neighborhood and lead you up to the looming Coit Tower. At the top, you get an amazing panoramic view of San Francisco Bay, the bridges and even Lombard Street, which is close by.

Let me take you along on my hike from the San Francisco cruise port up to Coit Tower so you can give it a try when you visit. I love finding free activities as a way to explore a city, and this is a nice heart-pumping outing that takes no more than 90 minutes to get to the top and back. Plus, Coit Tower offers a neat little museum and gift shop to explore as well. (More on Coit Tower follows once we reach the top.)

Ready? Let's go.

Crystal Cruises' Crystal Serenity at the pier in San Francisco.

The San Francisco cruise terminal sits right in the heart of the Embarcadero and close to many attractions along the Bay.

Our ship, Crystal Serenity, was docked at the James R. Herman Cruise Terminal. As you leave the ship, you can look up to the hills and see Coit Tower, my destination.

As you cross The Embarcadero, the great wide sidewalk that leads to all things San Francisco along the Bay, you are heading straight toward Telegraph Hill and the Greenwich Steps stairway walk that goes up to Coit Tower.

This spot along the pier is a wonderful launching point for several popular activities you can enjoy while on your cruise stop in San Francisco. To the southeast is the Exploratorium science museum, the Bay Bridge and the San Francisco Giants home field, AT&T Park. To the west is the Golden Gate Bridge. In that direction, you'll pass Pier 39 and all the sea lions, Fisherman's Wharf, Ghirardelli Square and the Aquatic Park Cove.

Read more: Why You Should Spend Time in San Francisco Before Your Cruise
 
To get to the start of the Greenwich Steps, I followed Battery Street to Greenwich Street and the start of the hike.

Just across the street, you can see up to the Telegraph Hill neighborhood and Coit Tower rising at the top.

Turning around, you can still see Crystal Serenity at the pier. Now, I'm on the other side of the Embarcadero and getting closer to the start of the stairway walk.

I reach Greenwich Street, and the tiny green sign indicates I'm in the right place.

You can see the base of the Greenwich Steps at the end of the street.

I started up the steps not really knowing what I would see and how long it would take to get to the top. They are steep, rising quickly into a unique community of hillside homes. The steps themselves are a "street," and the the steps, landings and paths that create the route into the neighborhood.

I noticed other tourists huffing and puffing their way up (or down), and I also saw fit residents using the steps as part of their running workouts (that's impressive).

One of my first views as I climbed the Greenwich Steps. You can start to see the San Francisco Bay despite the foggy day. Also, you see the top of Crystal Serenity peeking above the buildings.

Still on the way up, I'm making progress and finding some flatter terrain as I pass by the homes located in the shadow of Coit Tower on Telegraph Hill.

The homes are pretty up here, and I wonder how hard it is to move all your furniture into these residences.

Residents also utilize the property on the opposite side of the staircase to create beautiful wild gardens.

I emerged from the lower half of the stairway walk to reach a street. We're about halfway there.

Before continuing up, I wander to a wall along the street to see what the view looks like.

The second section of the two-part staircase up to Coit Tower is constructed with pretty red bricks.

I start up the second half of the hike and notice the steps getting a little bit more crowded with tourists who joined the route at the midpoint or who parked at the top and are wandering down.

There are 209 steps in the lower section and 178 in the top half that reaches Coit Tower. This second section has a more natural feel under a forest-like canopy and with pretty red brick steps and landing. It also has more switch-backs along the top half. 

It takes about 20 minutes to make my way from bottom to top, moving at a moderate but fairly steady pace. The hike will definitely get your heart pumping.

Proof that you are indeed in the wilds of San Francisco.

At the top, a statue of Christopher Columbus sits at the center of the parking lot at Coit Tower.

Coit Tower is a white concrete column that rises 210 feet from the top of Telegraph Hill, which itself is at an elevation of 275 feet. Telegraph Hill is one of the city's 44 hills and one of the original "Seven Hills."

Coit Tower features an observation deck reached by elevator. You can buy tickets to get to the deck and have 360-degree views over the city ($9 adults, $2.25 kids, $6 seniors, $6.50 city residents). The structure is named for Lillie Hitchcock Coit, a wealthy resident of the city and a well-known patron of San Francisco's volunteer firefighters. She died in 1929 and left money that was used to build a monument to the firefighters (in Washington Square) and the tower, which opened in 1933. An impressive gallery of mural frescoes depicting daily scenes of life in the area is located on the ground floor, and it's free and open to the public.

The mural frescoes in Coit Tower are free to explore o the first floor.

Here's a view from the top of the hill out of a window on the first floor of the tower.

I had a look around and then descended on the same route to spend some time on the Embarcadero in search of a cold beer as a reward for a thrilling hike. I settled in at the International sports bar in North Beach at 1000 Columbus Avenue, caught the NFL games, chatted with some locals and reveled in another fun day in San Francisco.

Thanks for reading,
JR