Truly Terrific: Tiled to Tiled Stairway Walk

Civic Joy Fund

Join us for a 5.25-mile walk of San Francisco’s iconic tiled stairways, featuring special guests &amp; a finale party at Burnside Steps!

Bottom of Hidden Gardens stairway

SF Stairway Month 2025

The second annual SF Stairway Month is here! This October, explore San Francisco's 900+ stairways through guided walks and talks. Discover gardens, murals, tiled steps, sweeping views, and meet the neighbors and artists who bring them to life.

Be dazzled by four of San Francisco’s beautiful, truly iconic, tiled stairways featuring handmade tiles and mosaics. The walk will start in Golden Gate Heights at Hidden Gardens tiled stairway, then to 16th/Moraga tiled steps, walk up perfectly named Grand View Hill, head through West Portal, and then on to the “Dragon’s Tale” tiled stairway at Miraloma Elementary School, with the walk then transitioning to rustic Glen Canyon and end at Burnside’s combo mural and tiled steps.This walk will be led by <a href="https://www.urbanhikersf.com/" title="https://www.urbanhikersf.com/" target="_blank" data-msys-clicktrack="0" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer">Alexandra Kenin</a> who created <a href="https://www.urbanhikersf.com/sfstairmap" title="https://www.urbanhikersf.com/sfstairmap" target="_blank" data-msys-clicktrack="0" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer">this</a> extraordinary map of SF’s stairways. It will be moderately strenuous, with some hills, mostly pavement with dirt paths and uneven terrain in Glen Canyon. There will be a bathroom stop along the route. Bring water, pack snacks/a light lunch.This is the grand finale of SF Stairway Month walks, and it will end in style at the Burnside Steps with a party for all walkers to join – and – also celebrate the 1st anniversary of the completion of the Burnside Steps. There will be snacks and surprises.Special Guests: The extraordinary duo, Aileen Barr and Colette Crutcher, masterful mosaic artists for all four stairways featured in this walk, will share how the designs are created and artwork completed. Alice Xavier, community leader for 16th/Moraga stairway, the first tiled stairway in San Francisco, will greet walkers with stories of the steps, from the hatching of the idea to its realization. And, Renee Berger, organizer of SF Stairway Month and community leader for the Burnside Steps, will tell you about the special combination of a mural and tiled steps that together celebrate the history of Glen Park.This walk is a part of SF Stairway Month which is hosted by the <a href="https://civicjoyfund.org/" title="https://civicjoyfund.org/" target="_blank" data-msys-clicktrack="0" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer">Civic Joy Fund</a> and organized by Glen Park Beautiful. Thank you to our partners at the <a href="https://crosstowntrail.org/" title="https://crosstowntrail.org/" target="_blank" data-msys-clicktrack="0" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer">Crosstown Trails</a>, <a href="https://walksf.org/" title="https://walksf.org/" target="_blank" data-msys-clicktrack="0" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer">WalkSF</a>, <a href="https://sfcityguides.org/" title="https://sfcityguides.org/" target="_blank" data-msys-clicktrack="0" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer">San Francisco City Guides</a>, <a href="https://www.sftravel.com/" title="https://www.sftravel.com/" target="_blank" data-msys-clicktrack="0" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer">SF Travel</a>, and the <a href="https://www.parksconservancy.org/" title="https://www.parksconservancy.org/" target="_blank" data-msys-clicktrack="0" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer">Golden Gate National Parks Conservancy</a>.