Stairway Walks in San Francisco [Paperback]

Adah Bakalinsky (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: December 6, 2006

This is a fully updated and expanded edition of a best-selling Wilderness Press classic. Now with additional walks and 16 pages of full-color photographs, Stairway Walks in San Francisco contains step-by-step route descriptions that include notes on historical background, architecture, and other points of interest. Accompanying each of the 27 walks is an easy-to-follow map with corresponding numbered walk directions and public transportation information. Locals and tourists alike have used the book for over 20 years to explore San Francisco’s beautiful neighborhoods.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Adah Bakalinsky is the poet laureate of San Francisco's stairway streets. Her book "Stairway Walks in San Francisco" has just been reissued in a seventh edition. Her new edition explores more stairways - ones she's discovered in the Bayview, in the Excelsior and in the Sunnyside neighborhood, where the hills are steep, the streets are narrow and some are only steps."
—San Francisco Chronicle

"In the 24 years since she first wrote Stairway Walks in San Francisco, Bakalinsky has become something of a stairway evangelist. She designs her walks carefully, letting serendipity and instinct guide her until she achieves what she calls a 'walk's' rhythm."
—The Washington Post

--This text refers to the Kindle Edition edition.

From the Back Cover

Adah Bakalinsky is the queen of San Francisco's majestic and quirky stairways. Walker nonpareil and veteran guide, she explores the hidden corridors and cul-de-sacs of San Francisco, charting neighborhood changes by gathering stories from residents, gardeners, and shopkeepers.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 232 pages
• Publisher: Wilderness Press; Sixth Edition edition (December 6, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0899974295
• ISBN-13: 978-0899974293
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.6 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (44 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #561,739 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #17 in Books > Travel > United States > California > San Francisco

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

26 of 26 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars A must for people visiting or LIVING in SF September 11, 2002

By William P. Dingell

Format:Paperback

I completed maybe 12 of the walks from the earlier edition before I moved away from SF. I reget not completing them all. My advice for anyone living in SF or visiting it, buy this book and spend a few hours taking in one of the walks. You'll see neighborhoods that even long time residents don't know about. And, you'll be away from the crowds who flock to the usual places. Buy it and do it!

21 of 23 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars A Fascinating Adventure Guide August 22, 2000

By The Poet

Format:Paperback

I found the first edition of this book while I was attending college, in the college bookstore. At once I said to myself, "Yes! Cheap, er, I mean creative dates!" , as one knows, most college students don't have much money. But this book was a treasure. Each walk is a fascinating adventure through an already fascinating City. The City becomes even more alluring after one traverses these walks. Especially with a friend, loved one, or just someone you wish to impress. The walks are full of discovery, surprises and beautiful scenery. I only completed about 6 of these walks, and partially completed 3 others. (I've repeated some of these walks up to 3 times) But merely reading about the other walks sounds exciting enough to keep me trying more and more. Now that I have a good job and don't need to be quite as frugal on dates, I still enjoy going on these amazing "mini-adventures" with my friends, and now my wife. And you will too. It's a shame this is out of print. You, dear reader, had better try to find a copy so you can enjoy these exciting walks with someone you love to talk with, impress, or simply take a romantic stroll with.

13 of 14 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Heaven... and good exercise too! September 27, 1999

By A Customer

Format:Paperback

My partner and I stumbled upon this book several years back and haven't stopped using it since! Ms. Bakalinsky takes you on some magical journeys in San Francisco, where stairways seem to appear out of nowhere, full of charm and elegance. We are long-term residents of that fair city, yet this book manages to render afresh neighborhoods with which we thought we were long familiar. Filled with lots of fascinating points of interest and written in an engaging, conversational style, you won't be disappointed in this selection. We've made outings of these walks with friends and family and they continue to rave about them years afterward.