West End Overlook to Chaykhana: A Pittsburgh Steps & Dine Hike
By Charleen - June 15, 2025
Take a fun city steps hike in the West End - Elliott area, stopping at the West End Overlook for amazing views of downtown Pittsburgh's rivers and bridges. I designed this route as a Father's Day gift for my husband, who enjoys climbing city steps with our dog. Walk up high along scenic Harker St. and Marlow St., discovering new views at the end of concrete or wooden steps. At the end of the hike, enjoy delicious Uzbek cuisine at Chaykhana on S. Main St. This 3-mile loop features over 700 ft of elevation gain and multiple staircases, with only two uphill stair climbs!
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| Kerr St. steps |
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| Straight portion of Planet St. steps |
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| View from West End Overlook |
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| Beef Do'ner kebab sandwich in a split round bread |
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| My first time up lower Balfour steps on a snowy March day |
Sometimes referred to as "vertical bridges," roughly 800 city staircases connect Pittsburgh neighborhoods separated by elevation, with surprising discoveries just around the corner or over the ridge. A few years ago, my husband introduced me to the joys of climbing the famous Pittsburgh city steps. It is his ambition to climb all of them -- although he would not be the first. That honor goes to authors such as Bob Regan or Laura Zurowski (aka mis.steps).
Initially, I was skeptical -- and I admit ill-prepared for a summer hike that began on River Ave with a planned ascent to the top of St. John's Lutheran Cemetery with its nearly circumferential view. With no water, I had to bail near the top of the Lappe Lane steps due to nausea. But the feeling of accomplishment, when I was able to summit the cemetery for an expansive view of the city that I love, was followed by long hikes over the West End Bridge to the top of Mount Washington, up Rising Main for a "Fineview," or trying to hit all the steps on the Southside Slopes beginning with the Mosaic Steps.
I took note of restaurants, coffee shops and other places to eat that we would walk past on explorations of various hilly parts of the city. The Pittsburgh Steps & Dine hikes were born out of a combination of his passion for steps with my own passion for food.
The best part is that we are not alone in our fascination with these important concrete and wooden structures, so critical for mobility between homes and work through much of Pittsburgh history. After joining an active Facebook group, we have made new friends and discovered new steps hikes to enjoy.
Today on Father's Day, I had the pleasure of introducing my husband (and kids) to steps he has not yet taken in the West End-Elliott region. This three mile loop passes through the West End Overlook with its iconic views of Pittsburgh and the three rivers. And the best part is finishing with a delicious meal at the Uzbek restaurant Chaykhana.
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| Father's Day Steps & Dine Hike |
Steps and Sights
The Kerr St Steps and Harker St
Walk west along S. Main St and cross Route 60 onto Walbridge St. On the right, take a small set of 7 sidewalk steps and then cross the street to admire the base of the Kerr St. steps (A, on map below).
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| Looking up Walbridge with base of Kerr St steps on left, June 2025 |
Depending on your tolerance for greenery, these steps may appear more attractive in the winter when you can see further up.
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| Base of Kerr St steps in March 2025 |
Today, we found the bottom section to be rather overgrown.
While this created some trepidation among the t-shirt and shorts attired members of our group with high sensitivity to poison ivy, a close examination revealed no "leaves of 3."
After the first short segment, the rest of the stairs opened up without risk of brushing against plant life.
At 199 steps, these are the longest stairs that we will ascend after our clockwise start. My watch told me I had ascended 139 ft as I continued along Kerr St. looking for the first right, followed by another right back onto Walbridge.
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| What I thought was a rusty Loch Ness Monster yard sculpture turned out to be plants. |
As pointed out by the kids, one could bypass the lovely Kerr St. steps simply by staying on Walbridge, but what's the fun in that?
Take a left onto Harker St. and start walking uphill. For the steps enthusiasts, be sure to walk on the sidewalk, which dips below street level in places, so you can take several short sets of sidewalk stairs.
After a bit, you will see some attractive city steps with their iconic metal railing to the left at Elbon St (1), but unfortunately, these steps are closed.
Beginning around Elbon St., be sure to look to the right/east, over your shoulder if necessary, to take in the views of the valley and West End Bridge.
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| View from Harker in June 2025 |
While these views are more expansive in the winter (below), we found them to be quite pleasant in the summer as well.
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| View from Harker in March 2025 |
Another opportunity arises to enjoy a section with lower level sidewalk stairs. Then keep a sharp eye out for the path to the Lorenz Ave Steps on the right.
Lorenz Ave Steps to Amherst via Crucible St.
It is easy to walk right past the top of the Lorenz Ave Steps (B) to find yourself at Steuben instead. The key is to look directly opposite to the clearly marked part of Lorenz Ave to see a small overgrown paved walkway to the right, which extends between a parking area and a house.
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| The easy to miss public path that leads to the Lorenz steps. |
We passed it right by and saw it when we turned around and came back. Maybe it's easier from that direction. This path gives way to a partly overgrown wooden boardwalk with still no steps in sight.
Keep going to find the Lorenz Ave steps. From Harker St, thirty one or so wooden steps will take you to Neidel St, followed by a longer segment of 55 steps to Steuben St.
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| Lorenz St steps between Niedel and Steuben |
Keep going in the same direction to cross Steuben St., and look for a solidly built Romanesque church with its squat square tower. This is the Emmanuel United Methodist Church.
Turn right onto Crucible St and follow it past the large pale brick structure that once housed the Thaddeus Stevens School. Built in 1939 in the Art Deco style, note the bas relief embellishments on the walls. The school was named in honor of a PA Congressman and abolitionist.
After passing the school building, turn left on Amherst St and take 90 steps (C) down to Chartiers Ave.
Marlow St. to the West End Overlook
Turn left on Chartiers and the right onto Marlow St. Proceed uphill on Marlow.
Beginning around Uvilla St., take a peek to the left at each cross street, and be glad you are not taking the steep downhill only to head back uphill past Lorenz Ave at the base.
There is an attractive and colorful stretch of row houses going up Valonia St. from the low point at Lorenz Ave. It looks like they are redoing or replacing the cobblestone street in this section.
My favorite view of the Valonia St. houses is actually from the next intersection over at Cameron Way and Marlow.
As you reach the end of Marlow St., check out the tractor in the last house to the left.
In the winter, look for the Grinch in a santa hat.
To the right, you will see a ramp lined by metal railings that lead up to a winding arbor. Follow the arbor, which provides a beautiful wisteria-shaded path to the West End Overlook.
Be sure to walk the entire length of the overlook to see different angles to the view.
Some of the posts in the grassy part behind display plaques celebrating Pittsburgh arts.
As you round the corner of the path, walk along the low decorative wall in the grass for another view of downtown, perfectly framed by trees.
Whether cloudy or sunny, the view from the West End Overlook is one of my favorites in Pittsburgh.
There is a building that can be rented out for parties or occasions. Apparently, the only way onto the roof of that building is through the inside.
Follow a set of 16 steps down to street level, and continue back along Fairview Ave.
Down the hidden Fairview Ave Steps back to Steuben
As you walk west along Fairview, you may see a set of nice looking stairs at the end of Valonia St. to your left (4). However, while these do lead down to one of the "orphan" houses that is accessible only via steps, further down the staircase is impassable.
So instead, continue down Fairview, enjoying the optional dip down the sidewalk stairs before returning to street level.
At the very end of the street, there is another set of public stairs (F) that will lead down from Fairview to Furley St. It will look like you are entering a person's yard at first, but just go down the steps, and turn left to stay on the main paved sidewalk.
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| The start of the public steps is in the shade of that low hanging tree. |
Go past the small set of 3-4 steps to the home's porch and you will find a pathway lined by the classic Pittsburgh city-maintained metal banisters.
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| Paved upper portion of Fairview steps under the tree canopy. |
This public city path gives way to the top of the hidden Fairview steps.
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| Hidden Fairview St. steps |
When you get down to Furley, turn around a look back the way you came. The Fairview Steps can be hard to find going back the other way as well.
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| Bottom of Fairview steps |
Turn left on Furley and then right onto Attica. This will lead you to a short segment of street with an elevated grassy "sidewalk" on the right, separated from the street asphalt initially by a low wall and then a less passable iron fence.
You want to be on that path, which will take you to the steps that lead from the end of Attica down to Steuben.
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| Upper portion of Attica steps to Steuben |
Note that the Attica Steps continue on the other side of Steuben Street (5), descending 51 steps to a grassy area off S. Main St. If you are feeling tired, you can take these steps and walk along S. Main St. back to the restaurant. Or, if you are a true steps aficionado, you can go down and come right back up.
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| Lower Attica steps from Steuben to S. Main St. |
Next up on the route is one of the most impressive sets of stairs, and only the second with an upwards climb on this route. Turn left on Steuben St and then make another left on Planet St. Where Planet St. starts to bend right, you will see steps that rise dramatically up a steep cliff (G).
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| Base of Planet St. steps |
After a walking up a few turns of the Planet St. staircase, you can look up the straight portion, but will not be able to see the top of the stairs until you climb up a super high step.
At the top after climbing 133 steps, turn right on Attica St. and follow it as it becomes Balfour St. Be careful on this stretch of road with no sidewalks.
An unusual number of cars head up the road, only to turn around in an expanded area to the right, just before the bottom part of the closed Valonia St. steps that once led up to the overlook area (4).
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| Base of Valonia St. steps |
Down Balfour and Sanctus steps to S. Main St.
At the end of Balfour, where it joins with Angle St. to the left or Lander St. to the right, jog right along Lander to find stairs that go straight down the hill.
The first segment, from Lander St. down to Elliott St. has 109 steps. The top of it was a bit overgrown, but not as bad as Kerr steps.
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| Upper Balfour St. steps. |
The second segment heading down from Elliott St. to Steuben St. features 123 steps for a combined total of 232 steps.
Turn right on Steuben St., go past the red brick Jerusalem Baptist Church and take the first left down the yellow trimmed sidewalk steps of Sanctus Street.
Then, turn right on S. Main St. and get ready for a great meal! There are two restaurants nearby. Café 412 sits on the corner of Sanctus St. and S. Main. It is a cute little shop that is open for breakfast and lunch, but closed on Sundays.
A few doors down is our destination, Chaykhana. Closed on Mondays, they are open from 11 am until 10 or 11 pm the other 6 days of the week.
Chaykhana (formerly Pizza Bella Monte)
We fell in love with Uzbeki food, before the pandemic, the minute we tasted this incredible "meat bread" at Kavsar up on Mount Washington. Being a dumpling aficionado, I was immediately struck by the lovely dumplings, so similar in appearance and concept yet different in flavors from Chinese dumplings. So I was thrilled when Nodine in our Pittsburgh City Steps Facebook group planned a snowy hike that ended at Chaykhana. At the end of our meal, the server brought out complimentary cups of kompot flavored with raspberries, cherries and apples. I enjoyed the food so much that I resolved to bring my family back.
Once you taste the bread, it makes total sense that the owners of several local pizza places hail from Uzbekistan.
I am so glad that more and more Pittsburgh restaurateurs have become comfortable showcasing their home cuisine. This trend started with Sakura Teppanyaki and Sushi, a Japanese restaurant run by a couple from northern China. Through word of mouth that the chef Feng Gao knew how to cook specialties from Shaanxi and its capital Xi'an, I discovered the delights of knife cut noodles (a less common skill compared to hand-pulled noodles). It was amazing to see their restaurant renamed Amazing Dumplings, putting the focus on delicious, creative and beautiful dumplings handmade by the owner Fengping Geng. Likewise, while you can still get cheese, pepperoni or chicken pizza from Chaykhana, it is the Uzbek menu that really shines.
Before ordering bread, note that some of the entrees come with it. For example, the delicious plov featuring slow-roasted lamb over rice comes with both Uzbek bread and a fresh tomato salad.
The tiny beef dumplings in the Pelmeni soup were absolutely delicious!
The huge fist-sized Manti are filled with a tasty beef-onion mixture, and delicious with the thick yogurt dip. The first time I was here, I ended up eating just 3 of these and having a nice lunch the next day.
The beef cheburek came with a tasty spicy tomato sauce, but the pastry itself was too greasy for my taste.
On my second visit, we tried the beef samsa, which was perfect.
My son ordered the labneh and pita for the table, and we all agreed the dill and other herbs made this the appetizer winner. We held onto the extra labneh and samsa sauce to enjoy with the Uzbek bread and entrees when they came.
I did not taste the slow roasted lamb shank that Nodine ordered, but have been eying the Beshbarmak, a brothy version of lamb shank. So for our Father's Day meal, I ordered Beshbarmak, while my son got the roasted lamb shank.
As far as the meat goes, I cannot decide which one I like better. They were both fall-off-the bone tender. The roasted lamb and braised lamb had somewhat different flavors, but were both delicious.
While the fries were well seasoned, it is the delicious broth of the Beshbarmak that will have me coming back for more.
Finally, my daughter ordered the do'ner beef, sandwiched with herbs, tomatoes, onions, and garlic sauce between two halves of a sesame-studded round bread.
Again, everyone greatly enjoyed the meal, and 4 of the 5 of us had leftovers to take home.
Route Map and Logistics
Parking
This hike starts and ends on S. Main St. in West End Village. On Sundays and after 6 pm, parking on this street is free. Alternatively, there is street parking along Wabash St, opposite to the West End Carnegie Library. According to Zurowski et al. in City Steps of Pittsburgh (2024), this branch of the library, which was opened in 1899, was the site of the very first children's story time reading. There is also a parking lot near the West End Overlook.
Map 🐾
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| Park on S. Main St. itself, or along Wabash St. and then head west on S. Main St. Stairs going up are shown in red and going down in green. A. Kerr St; B. Lorenz Ave; C. Amherst St; D. West End overlook Fairview entrance; E. Fairview Ave; F. Attica St.; G. Planet St; H. Balfour St; I. Sanctus St. Pink sites of interest: 1. closed Elbon St steps; 2. scenic stretch of Valonia St; 3. West End Overlook; 4. closed Valonia St steps; 5. Optional down and back steps, or bailout back to S. Main St. |
For a greater challenge, the same route can be taken counterclockwise. Head east on S. Main St and up Sanctus St. to ascend, instead of descend, the longest set of stairs up to Balfour St. Going in this direction involves climbs up 6 staircases ranging from 28 to 232 steps, coming down the impressive Planet St. and Kerr St. steps.
🐾 Love2Chow Tips
🍃 Be sure to bring water, preferably in re-usable water bottles.
🍃Bring a light backpack with sunscreen, rain gear if appropriate, and take out containers. Chaykhana servings are large, and reusing your own containers means less waste to go into landfills.
WHAT ARE YOUR FAVORITE WEST END STEPS AND WHY?
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