It’s time once again for Silver Lake’s world famous Sunset Junction Street Fair. That means lots of great people, great food and drinks, and of course, great music. If you don’t live in Silver Lake and are just visiting for Sunset Junction, it’s also a great time to take a walk up some of the amazing Silver Lake stairs and hills. The climbs up Micheltorena St., Golden Gate Ave. and Maltman Ave. all provide amazing views of the city and a nice leg workout. Just remember to wear a comfortable pair of walking or running shoes, and have a great time!

I wrote about some of my favorite stairs to climb in Silver Lake a few months ago, and now the Los Angeles Times is taking an interest in the subject. A few days ago they ran a story about “hiking the stairways of Echo park, Silver Lake“. The Times article links to a website that features a pretty extensive spreadsheet and map of routes in the area. It’s a really great reference for anybody looking for new routes.

My absolute favorite walk in Silver Lake starts with a climb up Micheltorena Street from Sunset. There is a view of the reservoir from the top of the hill and the walk unfolds at a gentle yet vigorous pace after the initial push up the hill. It’s a great workout and a great way to see the city from Downtown to the Hollywood sign to Glendale.

Silver Lake has a fantastic network of stairs scattered throughout its hills in lieu of sidewalks. Walking hills like Micheltorena Street is a great workout by itself but when you add the stairs that face Micheltorena at Sunset, your workout goes to a whole new level. Here’s a list of my favorite stairs to climb in Silver Lake:

• On Redcliff St., below Effie St. If you are walking up Redcliff, the stairs are on the right. This is a relatively short set that connects to the cul-de-sac end of Cicero Dr., but it is a nice warm-up to take on the hill at N. Dillon St. I’ve seen an older dude (not the Silver Lake Walking Man, sadly), doing push-ups in the middle of the stairs on two separate occasions so look before charging up the stairs or you may trip over him.
• Go straight up Redcliff St and turn right on Landa Street. Landa Street is dead end for cars, but there is a staircase that connects it to Redesdale Ave. This staircase provides one of the best views of Silver Lake Reservoir.
• My absolute favorite set of stairs to climb is the set that begins from Redesdale Ave and hugs the side of the hill that connects it to Rotary Dr. The set continues a few feet away and climbs up the hill to where Swan Place and Webster Ave. merge. On days when I was feeling ambitious, I’d continue across Swan Place, climb the top of N. Dillon Street and follow San Jacinto St. back down to Swan.

I spent 8 months walking the hills and stairs of Silver Lake and the only reason I haven’t done it recently is because I now live clear across the city. I am still walking as much (around 4 miles a day) but it’s mostly on flat terrain and it is not nearly the workout as I got from walking in Silver Lake. I made some mistakes when I first started stair climbing in Silver Lake, which is why I am listing the essential items below:

• A good pair of walking shoes. I cannot underestimate the importance of this; your knees will thank you. I used my ratty old pair of sneakers for a few weeks and will never be so foolish again. (And that lesson has taught me it’s already time for an upgrade, even for walking on flat terrain. Check out these Keen shoes. I am thinking about getting the Wasatch Crest Trail Running Shoe. I really love the colors and how versatile the appear to be for all kinds of terrain.)
• A good, large yet easy-to-carry water bottle.
• A good camera for the amazing scenery (optional but recommended.)
• A good leash for an old, stubborn yet irresistibly cute 90 lb. mutt (optional*)
  • A ridiculous number of puppy pick-up bags for an old, stubborn yet irresistibly cute 90 lb. mutt

*My dog the best walking partner and motivator I have ever had, even when he is being stubborn, so I highly recommend adopting a cutie like mine or borrowing one from a friend.