Frequently Asked StepTrek Questions
What is StepTrek?
Can I register online?
What is the cost?
Can I register on October 10th?
Why should I pre-register?
What Routes are there to walk?
How long will registration be open?
Is there food?
Where do I go for registration?
Do I need to have money?
What if it rains?
Are the Steelers playing?
It is a noncompetitive walk through the South Side Slopes neighborhood. It is a self guided tour using maps and narratives contained in a book. There are a series of streets, sidewalks and public stairways to walk. There will be several open houses with properties for sale along the way. Feel free to stop in and look. Due to the housing market, not all of the “Open House” locations were for sale when the maps went to the printer, so keep an eye out for signs by the Realtors! This year’s Trek has more access to South Side Park and different routes to show places that we have not taken you, steps that you have not traveled!
Yes at www.Active.com. There are links throughout this website.
There is an additional minimal charge for the convenience of online registration. This is our third year with this option and we have strived to make it more user friendly. We hope that you take advantage of it!
Registration is $12 for the first person, then $10 for each additional person for registrations postmarked before October 4th. After October 4th, all registrations are $15 per person. Children under 12 are free if accompanied by a registered adult. You may register on October 10th at the site. Tee shirts are only guaranteed to the people who pre-register.
Can I register on October 10th?
Yes, you can register for $15 per person [children under 12 are free when accompanied by an adult]. Go to the “Walk Up” table at the registration tent. We cannot guarantee a shirt without pre-registration.
Only pre-registration guarantees a tee shirt in your size. In addition, you will automatically be registered to receive a free raffle ticket for a series of prizes donated by local South Side businesses. Give-aways include gift certificates and “buy one get one free” coupons. Winners will be listed at the staging area at noon. Your pre-registration must be received in the mail by October 10th. If you do not pre-register, we may run out of a shirt in your size.
What Routes are there to walk?
There are three main routes, “Black”, “Gold”, and “Church Tour”. 18th Street separates the main routes and the “Church Tour” is a gentler, more flat walk. Each takes ~ an hour at a leisurely pace. All routes take trekkers past or through South Side Park which is 64 acres in the center of the Slopes. Some parts of the Trek, you’d never know that you are in the City! There are several free water stops along the routes, and new gardens to see. Johno Prascak’s Art Studio is on the Trek. The nearly 150 year-old St. Paul of the Cross church will be open for viewing and quiet reflection.
How long will registration be open?
From 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. you can register and pick up a map. If still available, you will receive a StepTrek tee shirt. If you arrive later, the staging area may be torn down by the time that you return. You can keep the maps and walk another day, as well. However, the walkability of the routes cannot be guaranteed after October 10th, 2010.
Thanks to sponsors, there will be bottled water, oranges, bananas, and watermelon, for free refreshments!
Where do I go for registration?
The staging area is at the UPMC Mercy South Side Outpatient Center parking lot at 21st & Josephine Streets, at the foot of the South Side Slopes. The Registration Tent has two areas, one for pre-registration and another for walk-ups. Please be sure that you are in the right line.
Water and fruit are free refreshments for all Trekkers. If you have reregistered, there are no additional fees. “Walk Up” registration is $15 per person. SSSNA cannot process credit cards. We do sell tee shirts from past StepTreks and SSSNA tees if you are interested. The “Marketplace” at the staging area was so popular last year, that we have expanded it up 21st Street within the entrance to South Side Park. There will be local artists and vendors selling their wares. Cash is appreciated.
We hope that it doesn’t rain, but we will be there rain or shine on October 10th!
NO! And we are grateful that the “Bye week” fell on 10.10.10! Had we tried to pick that date for our 10th StepTrek, it never would have worked out. We schedule StepTrek to happen during a Sunday at a time when the Steelers are not playing. Go Steelers!
