Best Stairway Workouts: West Seattle

With the weather improving, lots of folks seem to be chomping at the bit to get out and exercise, either for its own sake or to get in shape for local hiking. So, over the next few days, we'll do a series of postings about particularly good workout stairways that are long enough for a good workout, with the added benefit of providing entertaining views or nearby attractions when you need a break from the huffing and puffing.  

Of course, our book focuses on stairways as a wonderful way to explore our cool neighborhoods on foot. But if you want to find a good stairway specifically for a workout, we have a number of them in mind, scattered among various neighborhood districts. We'll focus on Seattle stairs that are less well-known, and try to avoid the longer stairways (like the Howe and the Blaine stairs on Capitol Hill, or the Thistle stairs in West Seattle) that lots of people already visit.    

In this first posting, we cover our own hood, West Seattle.

SW 53rd Avenue between Hughes Avenue SW and Halleck Avenue SW: This stairway heads up the Duwamish Head bluff, from the north side of Alki Point. It covers a lot of vertical and historical ground: 175 steps in two flights, constructed at various times across 85 years. As you climb up from Halleck, some sections climb more steeply than others, giving you some workout variety. Watch for a set of lap-counting stones at the top of the first flight, where the stairs briefly pause to cross Hobart Avenue SW. Enjoy the views of Alki! 

Looking up the 53rd Avenue SW stairs from Halleck Avenue SWCounting stones, 53rd Avenue SW stairway

SW Spokane Street stairway, between 60th and 61st Avenue SW: This brand-new stairway opened in the summer of 2012. It has 109 steps, of varying steepness along the way, and great western views over the south-facing section of Alki Point. 

Lower SW Spokane Street stairwayMiddle and upper SW Spokane Street stairway, during latter stages of construction

SW Carroll Street and SW Douglas Place stairway loop: These stairways are virtually a stone's throw from the SW Spokane Street stairs mentioned above. The Carroll and Douglas stairs make a great workout loop, with 326 steps between them - one of us, Jake, occasionally uses them as part of a backpack conditioning route. Both stairways top out at Aikins Avenue SW; you can go up and down one set, then move over to the other stairway and repeat, or do a sort of horse-shoe circuit, with Aikins tying the two stairway arms together. The SW Douglas Place stairs, to the south, are uneven and somewhat overgrown, while the SW Carroll Street stairs are much straighter and more open. The Carroll stairs bottom out just a few feet away from an old Alki mainstay, La Rustica restaurant, and there's a wonderful little pocket park, Weather Watch Park, at the shoreline.

The SW Carroll Street stairway leads up to Aikins Avenue SW

The SW Douglas stairs also lead up at Aikins Avenue SW, but these take a more sinuous route through close cover

The SW Genesee Street stairway: Three flights comprise this long, 207-step stairway running up the western flank of Puget Ridge from Delridge Way SW. The middle section is brand-new, having been refurbished in Spring 2011. You'll get a great workout on these under-utilized steps, which could also be used to tie together a longer workout starting along Longfellow Creek farther to the west, up the Genesee stairs, then descending the eastern flank of Puget Ridge via the 228-step Charlestown Stairs. You can then circle around Pigeon Point to get back to your starting point, using a bike/pedestrian path under the West Seattle Bridge (see the book, Chapter 19, for a complete route map).

Looking back from the west flank of Puget Ridge, along the SW Genesee Street stairs