Stairway Walks in San Francisco Paperback – December 1, 2010

This book has descriptions of favorite walks in the city of San Francisco. It has the autograph of the author. Excellent condition for a used book printed in 2002.

The standard tourist fare of Fisherman's wharf, Pier 39, Coit Tower and the Golden Gate Bridge are all worthwhile, but if you really want to see "The City" as only the locals do, then buy this book. For anyone going to San Francisco, I recommend taking a couple of extra days to do some of the walks in this book. Most of them only take a couple of hours, but they will take you to places that otherwise you'd never see. A forest full of parrots? A street that only exists on maps (a paper street), but is a beautiful wooden walkway? A tour along the original shoreline before fill was added to the bay? How about a walk from Lands End to a view of the "other side" of the Golden Gate Bridge? Still not curious? Take the kids on an exploration to find Yoda in the Letterman Digital Arts Center. The book is your way to find the magic in The City.

I grew up in a few of these neighborhoods and had no idea some of these nooks and crannies even existed. I've done half the walks so far and, without fail, everyone of them has provided a new and spectaclar experience.Writing a walking tour book is tough. You don't want to bog the reader/walker down with so much text that they don't have the chance to look up and enjoy the view (and there are a lot of them). Adah Bakalinsky hits it just right.A word of warning: The reason the stairs are there is because of the hills. Like, big hills. Start with an easy walk. Some of these are a real workout. I made the mistake of starting with Walk 17 (the pic on the cover) and was sore for two days. On the other hand, Walk 17 is so cool I've done it twice.If you are interested in the physical and architectual bueaty of the city, and you want to see it close up and get a workout at the same time, you gotta buy this book!

I've lived in the Bay Area for 11 years and I'm grateful to have chanced upon this amazing book this year. I committed to finishing all the walks this year (2012). I started in April (Dolores Hill Hike) and I still couldn't stop using it whenever I get the chance! As of this writing 11/25/2012, I only have 3 walks left (2 Walks in Bernal Heights & Forest Hill). This book made me fall in love with SF all over again. Each walk is unique, and laden with stunning views and marvelous architecture and history. SF is such a world-class city and this book is an awesome way of exploring the area! Highly recommended! What's great is that I've run into people with the same book on hand while doing the walks. If you are staying in SF for over a month or is a local, this is the best way to get to know the city!

Stairway Walks in San Francisco is right up my alley. I love walking in the city, taking photos, and taking in the details. (And getting some exercise in the process.). Adah Bakalinsky's book has great, well-thought-out walks and she points out interesting historic facts, architectural details, the best views, and so many other interesting thing along the way. I was intrigued by the cover photo of the Moraga mosaic stairway so that was the first walk a friend and I took. What an unexpected treasure and what a magnificent view from the top (not to mention the unique ecological environments you'll find there.) I doubt I ever would have discovered this gem on my own. Look forward to doing every walk in the book over time and creating some of my own with Ms. Bakalinsky's book as a starting point. BTW the maps are very good and there are some interesting photos.

This appears to be a in-depth book of places and stories with historical references and deep background into some of San Francisco's most interesting and exciting sites. The book is all that. It should get 5 stars, but........it's not so much fun to sit and read. It has maps and things that are very useful especially if you're hiking around the city. But, I live in Nashville TN and, although I lived in San Francisco for many years, and this book would have been a great help to me at the time, unfortunately it isn't that much fun sitting here on my deck in the backyard looking out an a couple of acres of secluded space. I would recommend this book for anyone living in SF or for anyone who is traveling there intending on taking long hikes to explore and discover many wonderful things. But if you just like to read, well, pick something else.

I haven't used this as much as I was hoping to for walks in San Francisco. Many of the stairways that are really cool, I already knew about and so far, except for some very short out of the way ones, I haven't run into any that I didn't already know about. Its well researched and the author spent some time into documenting even small stairways, that won't make a complete walk. It's good to have around in your library, just to check when planning a new walk in the city. If you are new or visiting San francisco, and want to hit the highlights of stairways walks, this book includes them all.

I live in the North Bay, but make frequent trips into San Francisco expressly to walk and search out some of the incredibly diverse features of this beautiful city. I've already taken a number of the almost 30 "urban jaunts" detailed in the book, and I find that even long-time residents sometimes are not aware of some of these special "stairway-centered" venues. If you are a walker and are a San Francisco resident, or just a frequent visitor, you should definitely order this book.