StepTrek Route: Black Route 2021

Make a left and walk to the stairs built in 1947. As you climb these 96 steps, each 4-ft wide, notice the ruins of stone or brick foundations perched over the hillside on the right. At the top of the steps is Leticoe St. and the back side of St. Josaphat Church.

Turn right and continue up Greely 75 yards to Eola Way Steps on the left.

At the corner of Josephine & Greeley is the first of six gardens maintained by SSSNA members. Part of an effort to put a green face on the Slopes, the garden was first planted in 2002 in conjunction with the Western Penna. Conservancy.

Make right and walk east toward S. 22nd St. Continue to Greeley St.

Efforts continue to reclaim a 64 acre park that extends from Josephine St. below to the heights of the Slopes. In this wooded hillside are streams, ball fields and pathways. Volunteers have removed invasive knotweed and vines that choke the park and built its trails. With funding from The Brashear Association, SSSNA partnered with Pittsburgh Parks Conservancy, Landforce and the Student Conservation Association to create this neighborhood asset. Friends of South Side Park manage its ongoing work.

You are standing at the top of S. 21st St. in South Side Park. From StepTrek Marketplace and registration in South Side Park, walk down S. 21st St. to Josephine St. and make right.

To help celebrate StepTrek’s coming of age, five different bands will perform at various venues throughout South Side Slopes. Four of the bands boast members who live on the South Side Flats or Slopes. Performance locations and times are listed within the route narrative. Take time to enjoy a breather and some music!

If joining from the Gold Route, begin here. * Denotes history or significant site.