Canton Avenue is the steepest public street in the United States with a 37% grade. That means for every 100 ft. of horizontal distance traveled, the elevation changes by 37 ft.
This street beats all others in grade (even the steep streets of Los Angeles and San Francisco, with the possible exception of Prentiss Street, which is unofficially measured at 37%). The steepest street in the world (According to Guinness) is New Zealand's Baldwin Street in the city of Dunedin. But this claim has been challenged due to an error recorded in the Guinness Book of Records. In fact, other than Canton Avenue, there are three streets in San Francisco, CA that beat Baldwin Street. If this mistake is corrected then Canton Avenue will be the steepest (or tied for the steepest) street in the world.
Canton Avenue is one way going uphill. Don't try it in the snow; you won't make it. It is possible to go up Coast Avenue and around back, but those streets are pretty steep as well. You can park at the bottom on Coast Avenue and walk up the steps for the full effect of the grade, but that is very limited. I have supplied coordinates for parking at the intersection of Hampshire and Canton Avenues, up at the top of the hill. Either way, just don't grab the cache and run. Try to walk down then back up while you are here. It's pretty neat! There are also a set of steps that go down and around back. There are lots of ways you can explore the area around here!
Be careful walking around back there, especially at night - there are a lot of obstacles. Also, bring a bag for a little CITO - It could use it!
So, enjoy your walk and/or drive on the steepest street in the United States and possibly the world!
Links For More Information
Some Stats for all of you Stats people!
| Street |
Location |
Grade |
| Canton Avenue (entire length) |
Pittsburgh, PA |
37% |
| Prentiss Street (between Chapman and Powhattan) |
San Francisco, CA |
appx. 37% |
| Baldwin Street |
Dunedin, New Zealand |
35% |
| Fargo Street |
Los Angeles, CA |
33% |
| Filbert Street |
San Francisco, CA |
31.5% |
This cache was made possible by SVC, who did all the original research and placed the original cache, GC1G9ZH - Canton Avenue (now archived). In his archiving log entry, he gave full blessing to use his material, so here it is! Thanks for bringing me here three years ago to find it. I hope that it will bring many more people here and take our fellow cachers to yet another example of why Pittsburgh is truly the best place in the world!