La Mesa Public Stairs

Parked on canterbury near windsor. 1^st flight of stairs in which various street cut through in the hill was 259 steps. the longest of the 3 stairways on this hill. Nice view of the city even halfway up.
When u reach the top of the hill, Go downhill and find another staircase on left side going downhill which ends on Beverly (near Acacia Av) 185 steps.
Then walk downhill on acacia and turn left on Fairview. Stairs on left side past Alta Ln. This one was pretty short. From here we went back to where we started turning right (on vista), left on summit, right on Pasadena, left on windsor.
All the homes up here look different, probably built during different times. Nice neighborhood. good walk.

I came and did these this morning and they are definitely a nice break from the normal routine. I consider myself to be in pretty good shape and by the time I was done, I was an unattractive sweating post-​workout mess! The stairs themselves are much steeper than I thought they’d be which I liked. The area around the stairs is super hilly so I did hill sprints, then went up to the top of the steps, back down, hill sprints, and back on all the way up for about 45 minutes. I am a little scared to wake up tomorrow to see how my legs feel 0₀ But I will be back! I only saw 3 people at 6AM on a Thursday morning which was really nice!

Super cute, slightly hidden, stairs surrounded by nice homes and nice people! Love coming here

New to the area and was looking for things to do that would double as a workout. Oh my goodness!!! I’m in good shape but halfway up the first set (the longest set), I was puffing air and my legs were already burning. Absolutely loved it! I did two sets in about 20 minutes. It doesn’t take long to get a great workout in. Be sure to look up as you climb and at the cross streets. The views are amazing!

I happen to live right where the stairs are located in La Mesa and absolutely love them! Such a great workout and it mixes up your standard workout routine. It’s a fun outdoor workout. Highly recommend.

Great set of stairs! Nothing fancy but a great workout nonetheless. I suggest running to the spot for a more intense workout. There are amazing hills surrounding the steps and something you should consider.
Neighbors are nuts about noise. Just be forewarned. However, they’re public stairs on public property. No one can make you ‘not talk’ as the signs say.

I became super sweaty walking up and down the stairs. Probably should have gone early in the morning or late in the evening but it was a great experience. I didn’t realize it was so close to my place. If I can I would want to go every week at the very least. The views are really cool and I’d love to see a sunrise or a sunset here.

Love the stairs, good workout especially if you do them more than once. I like that they are not over crowded and there is room to exercise freely, you can walk down the spiraling hill from the top. You can do squats and run up sections of the stairs. Also it has some shade so it is nice in the warmer times of year.

Don’t let these pictures fool you! Unilocalers were right! The stairs kicked my butt! The picture don’t look bad… wait until you get here the stairs are steep!!! You’re pretty much going up the stairs and going up blocks of the streets. Not sure exactly how many blocks. I did about 3 flights up and down in 30 minutes. The great thing is there wasn’t a lot of people on a Sunday mid morning. So put your headphones on, enjoy the views, breathe in some fresh air and get ready for a sweat :)

It’s A Struggle. I never get any better at these I’m always short on breath by the top. It’s great for those legs. Definitely would recommend this if your looking to be challenged.

Love, love, love these stairs. The neighborhood is beautiful & everyone i have come across here has always been so nice and make it more enjoyable & just another reason to keep coming back. Im very sure that im probably the slowest person who comes here but everyone is always so encouraging & gives me the extra motivational push. A few times all the way up & down & be prepared to feel it for a couple days!

Let me tell you something… With all the craze with hikers doing mountain trails all around the county, this is really good urban workout that will definitely work your calves, quads, and glutes, and the sets of stair flights offer wonderful views over the City of La Mesa!
For the most part, the stairway condition and handrails are in good to very good condition. These stairs aren’t easy, but the level of difficulty can be easily increased or decreased by either going up faster or slower depending on each stairclimber’s fitness level.
We parked at the intersection of Canterbury Drive and Windsor Drive and climbed what was discovered to be the longest and greatest number of steps out of the 3 different legs in the nearby vicinity. We then traversed 2^nd stair flight set connecting Summit Drive and Beverly Drive. This leg was not quite as challenging as the 1^st one, but it was also far from easy to do (1^st time we walked down these stairs, 2^nd time we had to go UP these stairs… Very tiring to do towards the end of your stairclimbing workout) Finally, we did the stair flight connecting Vista Drive and Fairview Avenue. That 3^rd stair flight was the shortest of the 3 and almost a chance to catch your breath when comparing it to the other 2
If you just wanted a quick stairclimbing workout with very little «in-​between» walks around the neighborhood, you can also just do only the 1^st flight 2 – 3 times! I guarantee you if you don’t do a lot of stairclimbing or hiking, that even one trip up the 1^st set will have you breathing hard, and your heart rate up to a level you don’t normally bring it to very often.
This was me and my 18-​yr old & 12-​yr old’s first time doing these La Mesa public stairs. They were a lot of fun, the views were awesome, they’re FREE, and you can get a pretty good lower body workout in a relatively short amount of time. This definitely won’t be our last time we do these stairs. 5 ½ Stars for this review if you ask me.

Great workout ! Loved it. Definitely the best stairs I’ve done. It’s a pretty quiet neighborhood, I liked the area. Very easy to find. Will definitely be doing these again, something different than the normal exercise routine. Loved how I felt my calves and thighs the next day.

I like the stairs because they’re a break from the routine hills that comprise this area of La Mesa. Some people refer to them as the «hidden stairs», so I guess they’re cool in a speakeasy kind of way.
They could be better though. There’s no drinking fountain nearby. There are houses on both sides, and keeping noise to a minimum is always requested. Additionally, the stairs go through about four blocks and you have to cross three streets to get from the top to the bottom, and unfortunately, there are no crosswalks.

I’ve been coming beta few times a week for the past three weeks. what can I say… they kick ass (literally)!! There are apparently two sets of stairs, I’ve only test driven one. If the back set is anything like the front ones, they’re intense. 248 stairs, including the curbs next to the streets. Although there are a bunch of trees and bushes lining the stairs on both sides, it can get pretty hot anytime after 10:00am.
I usually go around 8:30 am and I see the same few women. Not that many people there and stairs are good for all levels.
Hint: stairs are thee only exercise that you can do at whatever speed and burn the same amount of calories. So if you sprint them or walk them, you’ve burnt the exact same amount of calories when you reach the top. In other words, don’t knock the old ladies you’re flying by cause she’s doing the same amount of work you are. Have fun!!!

I love these steps! You can make them easy or impossible to do its up to you how fast or slow you go. I take all my clients on them! Its mandatory…

This place is completely hidden. Please be respectful of the people who live right along these stairs (damn, those houses are nice!). These stairs are located in the residential area– there can be a few other people using the steps to workout, but it’s not annoyingly crowded.
They have several sets of steps with short walks in between. It goes up to 4 separate blocks within this neighborhood. My sister and I pushed hard to do 4 sets of going up and down. For each set of steps we tried to do jumps, skipping steps, etc. Really got my heart rate going. Felt the pain in my thighs and calves. I got a good sweat and workout out of it. Great suggestion by my cousin and would love to do again. It is kind of quick depending on how you step and how many times you do it.

When I heard about these flight of stairs I was excited to take on this challenge. I am always looking for ways to change up my workout routine every now and then.
Like a few other Unilocalers have mentioned, the Unilocal directions will take you right to the set of stairs off of Windsor. Very easy to find and easy to find parking. The neighborhood is older, established and quiet. The neighbors are also very friendly as I had to ask them a few questions regarding the flight of stairs.
According to the reviews there are three sets of stairs. My workout buddy and I were only able to find two out of the three. If you park on Windsor, the first one is off of Windsor that ends at what I believe is Summit Dr. Then if you make a left and follow that road, it’ll lead you to another set of stairs and you’ll end up on Beverly and Acacia.
Good quad and glute workout! Did the flight of stairs quite a few times. Still on the lookout for the 3^rd flight of stairs. Gonna incorporate a short run in between the sets of stairs next time!
Luckily, I work close by, so I can work this into my weekly workout routine. Otherwise, it’s a bit of a drive and out of the way if you don’t have any business out In the East county.

Decided to finally give this place a try, considering its so close to where I love. It’s a pretty good place to go for a quick stairs workout, its not to busy like the convention center stairs, there is plenty of shade and you can rest after intervals of stairs. Pretty cool old staircases, defintely worth of a visit if you’re in old La Mesa city.

I’ve heard about the majestic stairs a lot after I moved to La Mesa. I finally found my way there after the parking lot at my gym was full.
You can park exactly where the Unilocal directions lead you. There was only 1 other set of people doing the stairs once I got there.
I am hardly in shape, first time up and back my legs were a bit sore but I knew I could make it one more time. OMG 2^nd time was brutal. Once I got to the top my legs were shaking, I was afraid I would fall down the stairs coming down!
1 time up is 250 stairs, plenty of places to take breaks as long as there aren’t too many people doing them. Bring water with you, you will want it at the top, or at least leave it in your car.
Great work out, can’t wait to try it again!