I’m surprised nothing in San Francisco made the list…
http://www.sfcvb.org/travel_media/press.asp?rid=98&cid=5

It’s not on the list, but at least they were sensible enough to build a bicycle lift:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trampe_bicycle_lift

There’s a road in Harlech, Wales, that’s 40% — I drove along it a few weeks ago.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oY1_wEjL0×0

Steve

Heh, I live in Seattle and I’ve still never seen anything quite like the steepest of these - quite a collection, I’ve be nervous to even walk up one or two of them!

I am sorry, but I have seen some that are steeper than those driving through California, especially when you are getting closer to the beach.

Aww c’mon LA isn’t all that bad! I’m also surprised that San Fran wasn’t on there. Walking across that city isn’t for the weak!

I thought that my driveway was steep, but it is only 26% not even in contention

Here in Branson, Missouri there we have Billygoat Hill (it is on Cliff Drive). It is so steep they close the road when it rains. I don’t know the grade but I will try to find out.

Cycling up a smooth 37% grade can make your legs and lungs burn. Canton Avenue’s cobblestones rattle your brain and multiply the pain. If you make it to the top, it’s exhilarating. Here’s a story about the hill when it snows:
http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/05030/448976.stm

there’s a few streets in Astoria Oregon that seem pretty darn steep, I scraped a ton of metal from my car where it levels out at the cross streets.

Pestalozzi in Tell City, Indiana is a 37%+ street; though not as long as those shown above.
It too is closed when it rains hard, and is closed nearly all winter, for obvious reasons.
1st gear on a mountain bike is a good climbing gear for this street (on the larger front ring); though 2nd is nearly impossible, at least for me…

That top street, Canton Avenue, here is Pittsburgh is one of twelve other maddenly steep street that are featured in an annual Thanskgiving weekend psycho-bicycling event; the Dirty Dozen. That photo of the bicyclist was from a recent Dirty Dozen. Imagine getting to the top of Canton & saying to yourself, “Great! Let’s do this another 12 times!”

Welcome to Pittsburgh. By the way, the folks who live at the bottomm of those hills have a source of constant amusement in watching idiots try to drive up ‘em in their brand new SUVs, only to come sliding back down uncontrollably into a tree. Cheap thrills, so long as they don’t hit your house!

a mentalist is a mind reader, not a guy who rides a bike.

There is a key underneath the “Caps Lock” key, to the left of “Z” and right above “Ctrl” on your keyboard. Learn how to use it.

Useless post. Probably you haven’t been to other countries too (eg. Greece).

cheers capitalist. it’s been really fucking bugging me for a long time.

I was surprised to see SF not on the list but after some quick searching and C&P:

The Steepest Streets in the City
1. Filbert between Leavenworth and Hyde (31.5% grade)
2. 22nd Street between Church and Vicksburg (31.5% grade)
3. Jones between Union and Filbert (29% grade)
4. Duboce between Buena Vista and Alpine (27.9% grade)
5. Jones between Green and Union (26% grade)
6. Webster between Vallejo and Broadway 26% grade)
7. Duboce between Alpine and Divisadero (25% grade)
8. Jones between Pine and California (24.8 grade)
9. Fillmore between Vallejo and Broadway (24% grade)

Bootjack Hill Road on US 219 in PA.

http://www.gribblenation.net/penna/north/elk/bootjack.jpg

The hairpin turn at the BASE of the mountain is a killer… your brakes will be completely melted by the time you get there, so you better hope there aren’t any deer in the road when you swing around.

Yeah, almost all the steepest streets in the world are located in USA… I can see how far this research have gone

alexandros - show me a street (usable by cars) that’s above 32% and i’ll add it. otherwise stop whingeing.

lint - it’s a selection of the steepest roads in the world. and you do realise that the u.s. is quite large don’t you? it’s not really that shocking.

The streets of the north-east city of Shillong are located near the himalayas and are the steepest I’ve seen.

I can’t find pics, but Vicksburg Mississippi is called ’san fransisco of the south’

it’s built on a bluff overlooking the mississippi river. downtown streets are as steep as most of the pictures on this page.

If you want to see some of the Steepest Streets on the world go to Monterrey, but not in California, I’m talking about Monterrey Mexico, there you can see what I’m talking about.

Well, I’d be surprised if there were many roads in Europe with grades like that- if you’re starting from a road that used to take ox and horse-drawn carts, your grade isn’t going to be very steep.

I would guess that the steepest roads in the world would fall into two categories- US roads from the early part of the 20th century, before regulations put an end to them, and roads in South America and Asia that were simply thrown onto hillsides willy-nilly. You’d have to have a combination of motor power and a lack of government regulation to get these roads.

Of course, I just pulled that theory out of my bum, so feel free to take potshots at it.

Note, in Pittsburg and the other Appalaichian areas where the raods are steep the temperature frequently drops below 32F. It’s pretty nutty! They just carry on.

The steepest road in the World is in La Paz, Bolivia. 72% grade. You can only go done. There are a couple that are even steeper, though cars don’t circulate on them.

The hill at 3rd St. in Laguna Beach is pretty steep. Its short but I remember my girlfriend spinning her tires about halfway up when it was raining.
Here’s a map here. http://local.live.com/default.aspx?v=2&cp=pkqcm455jg0x&style=o&lvl=2&tilt=-90&dir=0&alt=-1000&scene=2729008&encType=1

And a page I found with a couple pics.
http://www.pbase.com/honda/3rdstr

Here’s a pic from flickr
http://www.flickr.com/photos/thejonjones/491519820/

Zoopanda, you’re a genius. The ‘mentalist’ comment was sarcasm. Just like my first sentence. Get it?

That dork on the segway has an amazingly annoying accent. Plus, he’s a dork…riding a segway…. No hope for that fellow.

There psotage is unfair as it’s mostly places only the author knows about or has vistied…these are not the steepest streets.

What about Closes in Edinburgh’s old town?

http://www.undiscoveredscotland.co.uk/edinburgh/pubguide/images/jinglingeordie-x-vert.jpg

Wilhelmina rise in Hawaii is pretty steep. Great view form just about anywhere on in also.

seloth - c’mon. if you’re so sure then give me some alternatives. just saying ‘these are not the steepest streets’ is a pretty easy form of attack.

Nice Prelude.

What about the streets in Peekskill, NY? They used to informally refer to themselves as the SF of the east! Some are awfully steep!

Wow! I would say that the last video, with the bicyclist, is probably the most awsome. THAT LOOKED PAINFUL!

imagine trying to learn stick shift on one of these hills lol.

You have not been to San Francisco.

We have some at least that steep in St. John’s, only covered in snow and ice 8 months of the year.

Dunedun is a great example of town planning gone wrong. An award winning town planner from England was asked to draw up plans for the Dunedin. He did so without knowing anything of the topography of the town. Consequently streets were laid right up the side of a bloody huge mountain

I don’t understand what the big deal is with that guy riding that scooter up the hill in New Zealand?? I mean it’s a power scooter, it’s not like he rode a bike up it.

There is an ancient city in Brazil called Ouro Preto (Black Gold), once upon a time it was the capital of my country (some 300 years ago).

The city was built around gold and silver mines, so, it is full of hills (very high ones).

I was there last year, and they keep the city as it was in the past, including the hills…

Check here (in portuguese): http://www.ouropreto.com.br/index/index.php

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Hardknott_climb.JPG looks pretty steep to me

Constitution Hill in Swansea is a killer, I`m not sure of how steep it is, but it is an absolute killer to walk up, let alone anything else.

The Tour de France went up it one year and I recall watching riders having to get off as it was too steep, crazy steep

i wouldnt wanna live near those streets …
i dont have the knees for it … hehe …
those streets look like they are for the fit and healthy …
wonder why they ever made it … hehe …
good collection here … enjoyed the list …

I’m sure Euclid or Spring street in Marietta Ohio has got to be in the top of the list somewhere. I’ve yet to see any bicyclist EVER make it to the top. I have no idea what the grade is but I’m sure it’d be in the 30% range.
http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&geocode=&q=Euclid+street+marietta+ohio&sll=39.418956,-81.435857&sspn=0.007476,0.014462&ie=UTF8&ll=39.419121,-81.436007&spn=0.007476,0.014462&z=16&iwloc=addr&om=1

wat denkt u van Valperaiso Chili

The road down into Waipi’o Valley on the big Island of Hawaii is only 25%, but I swear it felt like more.

Woooow!!! not realistic street!!!

Cool!

I stayed at a condo on Oahu, Hawaii and the road was the steepest road I’ve ever been on. I’m not sure what the grade was, but it was insane! Definitely out of breath before even getting halfway up.

well, there is a street near my house which i think could break the current world record…..its less than 100 meters though…..its name is king st, taringa, queensland, australia…….do check it

though i don’t have access to the % grade of the street, i can say that at least one street (carampangue street) in Valparaiso, Chile,is steeper than the ones showed here.
as a last comment i can tell you that in Valparaiso are streets that when you start walking down, is harder to stop….
http://valparaisoenfotos.blogspot.com/
see for yourself!!!

As always when its about “the worlds most/best/biggest/strongest” etc, and its an american site, they totaly forgot about the rest of the world, outside there own boarders.
I dont really think the 10 most steepest streets in the world would be found in america.

mr jenneteg - your comment is utterly useless.

i’m english. i live in england.

you say ‘i don’t really think the 10 steepest streets in the world would be found in america’ but slag the post off with the conviction of someone who knows it as fact.

Wow! That’s a good recopilation! No way I’d walk on those streets without crying.

I did Fargo Street earlier this year with the group of “psycolists” you mentioned. I only tried it once, made it to the top. Believe me, once is enough. You can read about my adventure here: http://awildermode.blogspot.com/2007/03/fargo-street.html

Thanks for posting this, I am going to New Zealand in December, I might just try Baldwin Street. At least just walk up it.

Bedwellty Hill in Aberbargoed Wales, UK - it is steeper than the price of food in a little chef.

However steep the hill is. Be sure and ride up with HIGH SECTION AERO WHEELS. Makes control going down much easier.

Cote-des-Neige Street in Cap-Chat, Quebec, Canada is one of the steepest too but not mentioned here.

http://maps.google.ca/maps?f=q&hl=en&geocode=&q=cap-chat,+quebec&ie=UTF8&ll=49.095944,-66.690584&spn=0.001489,0.003648&t=k&z=18&iwloc=addr&om=1

Somehow you guys all missed Lombard Street - it’s the crookedest street in San Francisco, and perhaps if it were straightened out, it would be the steepest!

The “Westernport Wall” in Westernport, MD is 31% and is included in the bike course of the SavageMan Triathlon. There are many funny clips of people falling off their bikes trying to get over it here: http://www.savagemantri.org/WW_video.html

Greetings from Astoria, Oregon, where, when you go up 8th street in your kid-friendly minivan, you feel as if you’re about to go tumbling ass-over-teakettle backwards into to the Columbia River. Every year, when there’s ice, they just shut it down. Even attempting to keep it open is utterly pointless.

I know it’s steeper than 16th street, which is only a 16% grade and way more subtle than 8th. Of course, every so often, we have landslides and lose streets altogether, as in many parts of 5th, so I guess those got too steep!

Until it was closed to traffic, Duncan Street in San Francisco had a grade of 55%. Although the steepest section at the top has been turned into park space, there is still pavement between the shrubs. A really crappy picture I took a while ago:
http://phlog.net/entry/507522
and a 1935 picture:
http://webbie1.sfpl.org/multimedia/sfphotos/AAB-3427.jpg

How about all these challengers doing a little homework before blurting out thier favorite steep hill. Canton Avenue in Pittsburgh has been measured several ways including level and ruler method and topgraphical map reading. It is straight up, no curves, so the grade is honest. No way to take the long way around curves. The cobbles are so rough that tacking back and forth is likely to land you bouncing back down head over heals. I have won this hill multiple times during the infamous Dirty Dozen as one of its founding fathers and the trick is to sprint straight up it with at least a 42 X 28 gear.

Some rules for measurement should be defined since one can easily find the inside of a tight hairpin to locally measure off the charts, but riding up it is much easier on the outside of the curve. Perhaps the mean grade accross the width of the road should be used as standard for curvy roads.

How about some actual measurements for the 40% claim in Wales (my ancestral homeland) or the 72% claim (vehicles would be in danger of tipping over backwards)? We are talking hard surface public streets and roads for these records, not personal driveways or ski slopes. From experiece, everyone thinks their hill is the biggest, baddest, steepest until they actually measure it. Remember that by definition, a 45 degree slope would be 100 feet up for every 100 feet forward, thus 100% grade. Nobody could ride a normal bicycle up this due to laws of physics. Only a cable or cog tram could ascend such a grade.

dude…..rather die then walk these streets..imagine rolling down one of those streets.

nice,nice….but i was ectually looking for paintings of René Margritte,so i dont know how i ended up here….weird

The climb up Fiddler’s Elbow Road near Belvidere, New Jersey is .96 miles long and climbs 607 feet, averaging 11.5%. However, half that elevation gain is in the last .19 miles, averaging 34%. This hill is usually featured in the Hillier Than Thou 100-Mile Time Trial, often at the 80 mile mark. And there are several more that are close in difficulty immediately following it.
Fiddler's Elbow RoadFind more Bike Rides in Belvidere, New Jersey

This is suposed to be the steepest domestic road in europe!
Ive walked up it.
Its a proper fucker.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/48028479@N00/1313946806/in/set-72157600076235937/

THAT CYCLIST IS ME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Pittsburgh rules.

There’s a road in Scotland that feels like it’s going uphill when it’s actually going downhill, creating the strange sensation of being able to roll down an uphill slope. My Dad was there once. He says it’s really uncanny.
http://www.mcintyre.demon.co.uk/local/electbrae.htm

Hi I do not know the grade or name of the street, but in deadwood south dakota there is a street that goes up the side of a mountain to a cemetary where wild bill hickok is allegedy buried. I would guess the grade is approx. 40-45% or more.

I grew up in Pittsburgh, lived in Ohio, Massachusetts, Maine, Conneticut, Queensland (Brisbane-Taringa, AUS), and been to Colorado, California, Idaho, Wyoming, Vancouver, BC (CAN) and overseas to New Zealand, Bermuda, and travelled all over Australia. Pittsburgh has some of the most and best hill climbs around per square mile. They may not be long, but they can be very steep.

Patrick’s Hill in Cork, Ireland is very steep - the footpath is mostly steps.

I’ve gone up hills that are probably steeper than that on a bike, but they’re shorter.

shame no pix of constitution hill Swansea South Wales has steps cut into the pavements in places

The definition of street i’m pretty sure involves public, governmental upkeep. There are definitely steeper things that one can drive on, but they aren’t official streets.

In any case, my friend and I recently did some exploration of Canton Ave:

http://aphilotus.blogspot.com/2008/03/canton-avenue.html

Creepy.

Lots of great comments & claims to be found here!

I’m claiming that Monroy Street in Tenerife has the steepest *average* gradient.

Monroy Street descends from 638 to 430 metres in a length of only 740 metres. Therefore, the average gradient over the entire street is 28.1% (a slope of 1 in 3.56) compared to Baldwin Street with an *average* gradient of only ~22.3%.

Check out this photo; it’s ~40% slope at the top. And unlike a lot of other photos taken of steep streets, this one is actually level.

http://tenerife-training.net/Tenerife-News-Cycling-Blog/wp-content/uploads/2008/05/calle-monroy-street-la-corujera-tenerife.jpg

Some of the streets being quoted here don’t count… being up and down roller coasters, if you average the gradient over the whole street, you could find it might even come out close to zero! hehehe

Neither does it do any good to quote parts of the street between one block and another. That’s effectively cheating. It’s either all or nothing in my opinion… LOL

Thanks,
Les from http://www.Tenerife-Training.net

Sorry,
I forgot to add the main link:

http://tenerife-training.net/Tenerife-News-Cycling-Blog/2008/05/spanish-island-life/the-steepest-street-in-the-world-record-disputed/

Chao.

i recall walking up a steep ass road in urbino, italy - via rafaello ?

That guy with the segway really is a dick…

Canton in the ‘burgh is a destroyer of legs. One of two places I’ve ever crashed (the other being when I got my first set of speedplays). The kick in the nuts is that it is half way into the Dirty Dozen race when you are already beat down.

I no a stree in western chilse wer the gfrad is 89%. no kiddinte ! freget the name of the sity, tho.