Vulcan Stairway

Quite a boring and mundane stairway. I was Unilocaling, after doing the Hidden Garden, and found this one. Meh. I guess I should be happy I knocked out another SF stairway. It wasn’t crowded — so there’s a plus?
Don’t waste your time here unless you’re on a mission to complete every SF stairway. No views, the houses are okay, no mosaics. Just nothing that makes this a necessary stairway.

My husband and I are on a mission! We hope to venture into the city to see as many staircases as we possibly can before we move next year. I’m sure that if you are reading this that you may have a similar agenda. Let me help!
Visit this beautiful website for a full list of the Stairways of San Francisco. Prepare to be amazed!
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We sectioned off stairways by location, and the Vulcan Stairway/​Saturn Street Stairway were next up on our list since we were heading into the Castro. We also wanted to experience all the glory that is the Seward Street Slides. Obviously.
These stairs were are lovely; very peaceful. They aren’t as long as some of the other ones in the city, but I really love the secluded and quiet nature of their location.
Start out early in the morning if you can, though, because the heat and direct sun can definitely be an anchor that pulls your energy down. Bring a camera and some sunscreen and get to hiking! This is an experience of a lifetime.

We were on a day of SF exploring and for some reason, my friend really wanted to come here. It’s literally a bunch of stairs in between a row of houses. I do admit that it’s pretty serene since there’s pretty much no one there and it’s surrounded by a lot of greens and pretty flowers. It’s pretty nice to just walk up the steps and check out people’s homes and gardens.
Overall, it’s really a bunch of stair, but it’s a really quiet place and it does have nice plants/​gardens surrounding it.

This stairway and numerous others in San Francisco are part of why the city is so charming. Beautifully maintained green landscaping keeps the trail cool in temperature, though I start to poor sweat halfway up!
Surprising that so many people still don’t know about this gorgeous street!

Great set of stairs to truly start to see the type of hidden gems San Francisco has to offer. There are so many steps that it’s easy to lose count as your engulfed with awesome architecture of hidden homes. Although it’s a great little «shack» of houses to live in I would assume it’s difficult, if not physically draining, to reach your home there. Check out the stairs.

I scheduled a stair day during my recent SFO trip, and this stairway was on my list. I had just come from the mosaic stairway, so it was hard for me to be impressed after coming from that stairway. But overall this one was pretty and I loved the cat that lives near the stairway. He followed me around each time I went up the steps.

Fun little urban hike, if you do both the Vulcan Stairway and Buena Vista park, but not really worth a trip here just for the stairs. If you really want to do a fun stairs hike, try the Filbert Stairs up to Coit Tower.

Clandestine… hidden… so ‘local’… did this and Saturn on one semi-​rainy day… It’s wonderful to climb and appreciate the secret spaces of this special City, offering something for anyone.
Bit steep? yes… Bit narrow? oh yes… bit rustic and out of the way? But of course yes! and it’s all worth it too… check out that great website a kind lady put together of all the stairways of SF… ticking them off. .slowly!

It must have really sucked for the residents to get their couches up here. I’m sure it was worthwhile though, since this may be the most picturesque staircase I’ve ever had the pleasure of stumbling across.
Fruiting blackberry bushes were a plus, although I can’t say I feel great right now, post-​ingestion. Could be from having jogged/​slogged my way up this staircase though.
To find it, simply get lost near Buena Vista park and then wander in desperate concentric circles while you attempt to find a street you’ve heard of. Worked for me.

This here is a more decorated version of the Saturn Street Stairways. Running parallel to the aforementioned, these neat steps are maintained and actually make it an experience walking through the «forest» that unfolds halfway through. This secret has been well-​kept and hard to find. A great place to test your endurance. The stairs also serve as an entrance to adjacent homes so one can’t be loud and disturb the peace.

Want a good workout and a tour of SF’s quirkiest charm? Leave behind the hordes at the Filbert Steps and head up from Castro Station to the Vulcan Stairway. Steep steps, beautiful gardens, and cozy Victorians so sweet they’re bad for your teeth.
When you get to the top, keep going uphill and see if you can find the mysterious Olympian monument at the top of Upper Terrace and the following other nearby stairs:
Bottom of Saturn to Ord
Top of Douglass to States
Ord Court
End of Museum to States or Flint
Top of Flint
De Forrest at Beaver
Top of Henry
Win a prize if you find them all!

As I was driving home one day, I saw two exhausted women at the top of the Vulcan Stairway who looked like they just got a good work out. So, I asked Ryry to show me the way since he used to walk these steps everyday after school.
We walk around Lower Terrace, down a short flight of stairs, continued going down while passing by quiet houses. It’s sunny, we’re holding hands, enjoying the scenery and it’s really nice. We walk along Ord Street which has some pretty sweet looking houses. Then…
We come to the bottom of the Vulcan stairway. I didn’t realize how ominous looking it was until I was peering up from below. But we attack the stairs, two at a time.
We pass by beautiful gardens, walkways, and houses. I have to take a break midway because I am having slight bouts of invertigo. My Ryry takes my hand and helps me the rest of the way. =)
In the end, I am completely out of breath. But am glad I had a nice walk with Ryry and finally got to experience what the people of Corona Heights have known about for ages.

I don’t know if I’d ever want to live along the Vulcan Stairway – not being able to easily access my house could prove difficult – but this is about as charming as it gets. Cute little cottages run along the steps and the whole staircase is sheltered by beautiful trees and flowers and has an otherworldly feel that is hard to find in the City.
The Vulcan Stairway is not the easiest to find or get to (part of it’s charm), but it’s well worth your time to wander around the planets (the streets named after them, that is) and see Vulcan and all of the other charming alleys and staircases the neighborhood has to offer.