StepTrek Black/East Route 2026

1. Pittsburgh StepTrek 2026 – East Route - If joining from the West Route, begin here.
2. S. 21st St. - You are standing at the top of S. 21st St. in South Side Park. From StepTrek Marketplace and registration, walk down S. 21st St. to Josephine St. and make right.
3. * South Side Park - 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, South Side Slopes Neighborhood 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.
4. Josephine St. - Make right and walk east toward S. 22nd St. Continue to Greeley St.
5. Greeley St. - Turn right and continue up Greely 75 yards to Eola Way Steps on the left.
6. Eola Way Steps - 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.
7. * St. Josaphat Church - Dedicated in 1916 to serve a Polish parish established in 1901, the Roman Catholic Church was named for St. Josaphat (Josephat Kuntsevych), a bishop and martyr born in Poland in 1580. The building is Romanesque with a Byzantium influence evident in the arches, pillars and bell tower. The main altar held relics of St. Josaphat. In the rear, beneath the choir balcony, hung a picture of the Black Madonna. The church closed permanently after a section of ceiling collapsed about the casket of the last caretaker during his funeral mass. The school was converted into four living units. The church itself is being transformed into a community wellness center. Many Polish descendants continue to inhabit this section of the Slopes. The names of former residents who served in World Wars I & II are seen on the memorial tucked into the hillside across Mission St. from the church.
8. Leticoe St. - Make left and stay right as you descend 5 steps behind the church. Stay right and descend 23 steps past Eleanor St. Steps to rejoin Leticoe. Continue up Leticoe. In the 2500 block, just past the crest of the hill, look left to the houses tucked behind houses. Close quarters! Continue to Kosciusko Way, named for one of the Polish generals who assisted America in its War for Independence.
9. Leticoe St Steps - Located at the eastern terminus of Leticoe St., these 3-ft. wide wooden steps were rebuilt by the City of Pittsburgh in the summer of 2021. There are 69 steps. At the top is Barry St.
10. Barry St. Steps - Turn left, and keeping to the left side, descend 25 steps to McCord St. The next 49 steps on Barry were completely rebuilt this past summer. The Slopes and other neighborhoods depend on the city to both maintain and rebuild public stairs as needed. At the bottom of Barry is a shale cliff on the right where two caves were used by a distributor for beer storage. Cinder blocks seal the entrances, but the brick arches can still be seen.
11. * The Dirty Dozen - Each fall, Pittsburgh hosts a 50-mile bike race that goes up 13 of its steepest hills. Barry St. is the start of one that rises through the South Side Slopes via Eleanor St. The event this year is Sat., Oct. 24.
12. Josephine St. - At the bottom of Barry, turn right. Walk east along Josephine for 50 feet to the Oakley Way Steps on the right, which are opposite S. 27th St.
13. * Oakley Way Steps & Mosaic Public Art Project - Turn right and ascend these steps, built in 1928. The Oakley St. Steps mosaic was completed in 2016. The first of its kind in Pittsburgh, the installation was designed by artist Laura Jean McLaughlin, who led a group of 100 community volunteers in assembling the tiny mosaics on mesh. The finished panels cover 200 square feet and were mortared and grouted onto 77 of the 98 risers to McCord St. The project was community-designed, funded and created. Notice the foundations of long gone houses on the left as you climb over the mosaic. Cross McCord St. and climb another 63 steps to Shelley St. Take a break. You’ve just climbed the equivalent of 12 floors.
14. Shelly St. - On the left are three of eight townhouses built in 2003 by the South Side Local Development Company in cooperation with the SSSNA. The new homes had to be shoe-horned into the hillside between existing homes. Continue walking Up Oakley Way.
15. Oakley Way Steps (Cont’d) - Climb 22 steps to Stella St. and then 98 steps to Mission St.
16. Mission St. - Cross Mission and climb five steps to high sidewalk on uphill side of street. Make right. Ahead lies the scenic St. Josaphat's Chapel and the spectacular view that takes in Mt. Washington, the Liberty, Fort Pitt and West End Bridges, the roofs of the South Side and the City beyond the Monongahela River. A bench was installed through the efforts of a neighbor. Feel free to sit and take in the view! Keep left and descend the 80 steps to Barry St. These 4-foot wide steps were built in 1950.
17. Barry St. Steps - Cross Barry and turn left to climb the 48 steps on right side to the top of the curve. Stop when you reach the fire hydrant on the right. Across are Sumner St. Steps.
18. Sumner St. Steps & Sumner St. - Cross Barry and ascend these 85 steps through a canopy of trees. After the last step, keep right and walk along Sumner St. to Oakley Way.
19. Oakley Way - Make left and descend a short distance to Stromberg St.
20. Stromberg St. - Make right and continue to Northview St.
21. * Company Houses - Coal was mined in this area and transported by incline down the slope to the mills. To house the workers, the coal company built the eight houses on right, which begin at 2904 Stromberg. The first four have traditional tent or sloped roofs and the next four have pyramid roofs.
22. Northview St. - Turn right. Walk up past Flynn Way to Cobden St.
23. Cobden St. - Make left. Follow Cobden as it bears right to join Berg St.
24. Berg St. - Keep right and follow Berg through neighborhood to Cologne St.
25. Cologne St. Steps - Cross Cologne St. Make left and descend 61 steps to Patterson. Though SSSNA lobbies to repair and restore badly damaged steps, the city removed 25 deteriorated steps in 2014 between Patterson and Salisbury streets below you. You can help protect and retain city steps by utilizing the City of Pittsburgh’s 311 system.
26. Patterson St. - Turn right. Walk one long block to Clover St.
27. Clover St. - Make left. Continue down Clover past Salisbury. Ahead lie the Clover St. Steps.
28. Clover St. Steps - Climb these 49 steps to Eccles St. and another 103 steps to Arlington Ave.
29. Arlington Ave. - Turn right. Arlington Ave. runs along the tops of South Side Slopes and marks the division between it and Mt. Oliver. Just before 2405 Arlington is Old Arlington Avenue Streetcar Loop. In this paved lot trolleys once entered and turned around. On the side of 2505 Arlington is a colorful mural depicting the former transit loop. At Eleanor St. is Hilltop Coffee where you’ll find a restroom stop. Continue along Arlington to Sterling St.
30. Sterling St. - Make right. Walk past Fort Hill St. to steps on far side of yellow brick building.
31. Arlington Park Steps - Make left and ascend 13 steps to Arlington Park. You have now reached the highest point of South Side Slopes!
32. * Arlington Ballfield & Spray Park - For all its steepness, there are play and ball fields throughout the Slopes. This ballfield regularly hosts baseball and softball games under the lights which can be seen from the South Side Flats and Oakland. Take in views of downtown’s tallest buildings and Oakland’s medical complex. The Spray Park opened in 2018. Replacing a deteriorated city pool, the spray functions are many and varied. A children’s playground, rebuilt in 2021, completes the park. Keep right and walk past the playground equipment to a set of steps.
33. Eccles St. Steps - At end of park, keep left and descend the 23 steps to Fernleaf St.
34. Fernleaf St. - Make right. Across is the former Engine House #22 which was established in 1894. The view from the roof tower covered several surrounding neighborhoods and provided an ideal lookout for smoke and fires. Ahead at the intersection with Salisbury is the Brashear Association's Kaufmann Neighborhood House. Continue past Kaufmann House to Salisbury St.
35. Salisbury St. - Turn right and walk past Brashear Association and Arlington Community Center to Sterling St.
36. * Brashear Association, Kaufmann Neighborhood House - The Brashear Association was founded in 1917 to honor the renowned, self-taught scientist John A. Brashear and celebrate his humanitarianism. The Henry Kaufmann Neighborhood House was constructed in 1965 as an outreach site. Brashear Association supports and enriches families in a community context to build more vital lives and neighborhoods in South Pittsburgh. The building also houses Arlington Community Center which offers recreational facilities.
37. Sterling St. - Make left and descend past Patterson St. There are 8 steps built into the sidewalk.
38. Sterling St. Steps - Built in 1951, the steps connect to Mission St. below. Take in the view of the Mon River, downtown and the rooftops of South Side. When ready, descend 69 steps past Berg St. Steps to entrance to South Side Park
39. * South Side Park - Prior to its current status as a nature preserve, the park was home to St. Clair Incline, one of 17 funiculars in Pittsburgh. It operated between 1888 through 1932 and counted four fatalities. In addition, the land housed the Sankey Brick Company, which provided the preferred construction of the South Side Flats. Since 2015, the Friends of South Side Park (FOSSP), a local nonprofit, has organized park cleanups, trail building, native habitat restoration and reforestation, with over 3,500 native trees and shrubs planted. Every July, FOSSP hosts Goat Fest, which helps raise funds for goats from Allegheny GoatScape to clear invasive plants from the park.
40. South Side Park & Sterling Connector Trail - Make left & cross upper trail to the overlook. The many trees shielded by plastic guards and the flower gardens are proof of the continuing effort to replant and improve the park, which includes a fruit orchard with apple, cherry, persimmon, pawpaw and peach trees downhill from the Sterling Connector Trail.
41. Overlook - From this expansive landing, you can take in the views of the park and the South Side. When ready, turn around and walk across the landing to join Bandi Schaum Trail, the first trail on right which descends a set of timbered steps.
42. Bandi Schaum Trail - Make right and descend 23 steps. Follow trail as it winds through the woods. Please pay attention to the signs. You will drop downhill and pass along the edge of a ravine to join the Tombstone Trail. Just before the parking lot for the Bandi Schaum Community garden, you will see the trail rising to your left.
43. Tombstone Trail - Turn left and climb uphill to a plateau overlooking the garden and South Side. Follow the trail through the woods. You’ll cross a small bridge and see a couple of small cascades on your left if there has been a recent rain. Follow to Quarry Field & Saber Way.
44. Saber Way - Continue walking forward. A parking lot for the field is to your left. Stay close to the parking lot guard rail on your right. The Serpentine Steps are ahead. From here you can pick up the Gold/West Route. Please see map and directions.
45. Serpentine Steps - Make a right past the end of the guard rail and descend these 72 serpentine steps, grouped together in sets of three, to top of S. 21st St.
46. S. 21st St. - Follow paved road on left down to the staging area where you started.