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SEATTLE STAIR CLIMBS

We know that sometimes our athletes just have to get outside! This is intended to be a living resource built by our community of athletes and their favorite routes. Have a running route you'd like to share? Want to write a review of a route that we have already posted? Let us know at contact@traininginseattle.com
 

GOLDEN GARDENS - BALLARD:
287 STAIRS
 
It starts at the edge of the Loyal Heights neighborhood and descends 287 steps to Golden Gardens beach, with glorious views of the Olympic Mountains and Puget Sound from there.
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I-5 COLONNADE - EASTLAKE:
391 STAIRS
 
Colonnade Park is located in the open space beneath I-5, in an area south of E. Howe St between Lakeview Blvd and Franklin Ave E. Completed in December 2005,
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JOSE RIZAL PARK - BEACON HILL:
88 STAIRS
 
Dr. Jose Rizal Park has an amazing view of south Downtown and Elliott Bay.  The park is located near the Beacon Hill neighborhood but is a great place to take a short drive to due to it's awesome 9 acre off-leash dog park..
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THE STAIR MAZE - BEACON HILL:
186 STAIRS
 
The giant tract of land south of downtown between I-5 and Rainier Valley is known as Beacon Hill, most people recognize it by the old red brick veteran’s hospital that sits atop its peak.
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GALOR TRAVERSE - QUEEN ANNE:
967 STAIRS
 
Starting from the West Lake Union Pedestrian Bridge and ending at Marshall Park, the Galer Traverse is a 5k that is not for the faint of heart. From Lake Union to the Queen Anne Radio tower athletes gain roughly 500 vertical feet in just under 3/4 of a mile.
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I-5 Colonnade Stairs

Colonnade Park is located in the open space beneath I-5, in an area south of E. Howe St between Lakeview Blvd and Franklin Ave E. Completed in December 2005, it includes an off-leash dog area, stairs to make pedestrian connections between Eastlake and Capital Hill, and a mountain bike course.

 

DIRECTIONS:

 

  • From Eastlake Ave. E.

  • Turn East (toward I-5) on Howe St

  • Look up the hill and you will see 3 sets of stairs. Section underneath the freeway is spaced, leading to steeper more coninuous stairs.

 

 

 

RECOMMENDED WORKOUT:

 

FIRST SET OF STAIRS: From the bottom, go up 118 stairs (with several landings in between). The first landing has a couple of picnic tables and the first set of stairs ends on Lakeview Blvd E and Howe. Cross Lakeview at the crosswalk if you’d like to start the second set of stairs.

 

SECOND SET OF STAIRS: Go up 188 stairs (there are a couple of interesting gardens when you first start out). The second set of stairs ends at Broadway and Howe. Cross Broadway (carefully due to traffic) to get to the third set of stairs.

 

THIRD SET OF STAIRS: Go up 85 stairs and the third set of stairs ends on 10th Ave E.

 

TOTAL SET OF STAIRS (one-way): 391 stairs

Golden Gardens Stairs

It starts at the edge of the Loyal Heights neighborhood and descends 287 steps to Golden Gardens beach, with glorious views of the Olympic Mountains and Puget Sound from there. The elevation gain is roughly 325 feet and most of it feels like it’s straight up. This is likely because the horizontal distance from the bottom of the trail to the top is only 800 feet, that's a 42% grade!

 

DIRECTIONS:

 

  • From Ballard head toward Golden Gardens Park. 

  • Take Seaview Ave along the marina.

  • Pass under the Rail bridge and pick-up a trail about 30 yards on the East side of the road.

  • Take the switch backs and stairs up a 325 ft elevation gain.

  • You’ll leave the woods by Cafe Fiore, then head east on 80th to close the loop.

 

RECOMMENDED WORKOUT:

 

This staircase has a number of short flights and open landings. A great way to approach it is to break it into a number of shorts sprints. Depending on the athlete, they can be broken down by flight (80-120 continuous stairs, then taking a breather at end of each flight) or into "Sprint and Steps" (a hard sprint up 25-50 steps followed by walking the remainder of the flight.

 

A good goal when doing sprints or sprint and steps is to get 5-10 total sets of sprints or 250-500 stairs. If you are using the Golden Gardens Stairs then you are looking at to complete trips to the top.

Jose Rizal Park Stairs

Dr. Jose Rizal Park has an amazing view of south Downtown and Elliott Bay.  The park is located near the Beacon Hill neighborhood but is a great place to take a short drive to due to it's awesome 9 acre off-leash dog park. If you have a furry four legged running partner this staircase is a must. These are big burly stairs made from old railroad ties and back filled with gravel, so a stable, thick soled shoe is recommended.

 

DIRECTIONS:

 

  • From Western Ave. turn East on Yesler Way.

  • Follow Yesler Way and 12th Ave S. to S. Charles St.

  • Slight right onto 12th Ave. S. - Park on West side of  street at 1008 12th Ave S. Seattle, WA 98144

  • Stairs are inside gated dog park and continue in a long arc until meeting the open field area.

 

 

 

RECOMMENDED WORKOUT: The "888"

 

The "888", named after it's 8 sets of 88 stairs, a killer sprint workout located within a gated off-leash dog park, is a great opportunity to let your furry friends get into 5th gear. This workout is not rocket science, just put your head down and drive those knees high, up all 88 steps. The height and depth of the steps will limit the ability of some to take multiple steps in a single stride but for those up to the challenge the following is recommended.

 

ODD 88's (sets 1,3,5,7) - Single stair steps driving knees within 15 degrees of parallel to the hip.

EVEN 88's (sets 2,4,6,8) - Double stair steps. The focus should be to keep your chest in front of your hips, avoiding overstride and keeping your body at a 45 degree angle.

 

TOTAL STAIRS: 704

Beacon Hill Stair Maze

The giant tract of land south of downtown between I-5 and Rainier Valley is known as Beacon Hill, most people recognize it by the old red brick veteran’s hospital that sits atop its peak. Beacon Hill has about 15 different staircases that run along the east slope that vary from 50-161 stairs. The "Stair Maze" is our preferred route due to it's minimal traffic and continuity of stairs.

 

DIRECTIONS:

 

  • From Rainier Ave S. turn West on S. Massachusetts

  • Start stairs at 17th Ave S. and S. Massachusetts

  • At the top of the stairs go North on Sturgus Ave S.

  • Turn West uphill on S. Atlantic St. and continue to S. Atlantic St. and 15th Ave S.

 

 

 

RECOMMENDED WORKOUT: Maze Runner

 

The Maze Runner is geared toward expanding your workout to include all the different phases of sprint training, including stairs, overspeed, intervals, and plyometrics. This workout does not include a warm-up, but it is HIGHLY RECOMMENDED that athletes warm-up completely before participating in any kind of sprint training.

 

17th Ave S. to S. Massachusetts St. - Single stair high knees. Keep chest up high, focusing on driving chest UP more than FORWARD (68 Steps)

 

1st Stairs to Corner of S. Atlantic St. and Sturgus Ave. S. - This is the top of a dead end street with pretty much no traffic. Clearly it's important to use caution, but most hours athletes can train comfortably down the right side of the street. This stretch is roughly 150M with about a 4% downhill grade. Sprint the first 100M with the goal of running as fast as you can while staying upright. Brake gently with roughly 50M left until overspeed sprint slows to jog.

 

S. Atlantic St. and Sturgus Ave. S to 2nd Stairs - With a 100M straight stretch at an 8% grade divide this into 10x10yard interval sprints. Each sprint should be allowed 10-15 seconds rest between.

 

2nd Stairs to S. Atlantic St. and Sturgus Ave. S. - The first 30 steps of the second stairs wrap around with two landings and then go straight up 80 steps. Jogging up the first 30 steps, when you reach the bottom the the last 80 steps begin the following pattern :

 

Single Leg Single Stair Jumps x10 (Right Leg)

Two Foot Double Stair Jumps x10

Single Leg Single Stair Jumps x10 (Left Leg)

Single Stair Hopscotch to the top.

 

(118 Steps)

 

S. Atlantic St. and 15th to 17th Ave S. and Massachusetts St. - After reaching the top, at a brisk pace jog back the way that you came.

 

Repeat 4x

TOTAL SPRINT DISTANCE: Approximately 1/2 mile

TOTAL STAIRS: 744

Galor Traverse 5K - Queen Anne

Starting from the West Lake Union Pedestrian Bridge and ending at Marshall Park, the Galer Traverse is a 5k that is not for the faint of heart. From Lake Union to the Queen Anne Radio tower athletes gain roughly 500 vertical feet in just under 3/4 of a mile. This is a great run for those training to 5k or just located in the Queen Anne neighborhood on both the east and west sides.

 

DIRECTIONS:

 

  • From the West Lake Union Pedestrian Bridge, start up stairs headed WEST toward Queen Anne Hill

  • At Dexter Ave N and Galor St. continue west up Galor St. to the Aurora Sky Bridge, following north on Galor St. to the Queen Anne Radio Tower. (Route Midway Point)

  • Continue WEST on Galor St. to 7th Ave W. where decent continues to 9th Ave W.

  • At 9th Ave W. turn SOUTH (downhill)

  • Continue SOUTH on 9th Ave. W. to the W. Lee St. stairs.

  • Follow W. Lee St. stairs to 8th Ave. W., cross the street into the Wilcox Wall Stairs Complex.

  • Follow Wilcox Wall SOUTHEAST to END at Marshall Park.

Galor Traverse
Galor Bigalow Landing
Aurora Sky Bridge
Marshall Park
Wilcox Wall Queen Anne
Lake Union Pedestian Bridge

 

RECOMMENDED WORKOUT: Galer Traverse 5K

 

Complete route from West Lake Unoin Pedestrian Bridge to Marshall Park and back. Goal pace should be 9:00 to 11:30 per mile with a total time under 35 minutes. For added difficulty, begin on the Marshall Park Steps making the traverse in reverse.

.

TOTAL SPRINT DISTANCE: 5K

TOTAL STAIRS: 967

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