The Steepest Roads In The United States

At a staggering 45% grade, Waipio Valley Road in Hawaii tops this list of the steepest roads in the United States. These are not the longest or the most scenic roads in the country. They share one feature: an incline steep enough to make drivers, cyclists, and pedestrians gasp. "Steepest" can mean a few things, so we ranked these by maximum grade, steepest first. Fair warning to anyone with a fear of heights: most of them sit in California.

Waipio Valley Road (Big Island, Hawaii)

Most visitors to the Waipio Valley on the Big Island of Hawaii head to the famous Waipio Valley Lookout for the wide views of the valley toward the Pacific Ocean and its black-sand beach. The steepest road is impossible to miss. From the lookout, Waipio Valley Road drops down the green valley wall, falling about 800 feet in elevation over roughly 4,100 feet in just 0.6 miles at an average grade of 25%, with one section reaching 45%.

Until recently, the road was open to hikers, horseback riders, and other outdoor enthusiasts, but it is now closed to pedestrians for safety reasons, including falling rocks and the risk of landslides after heavy rain. You can still admire its dramatic descent by driving Highway 240 to the Waipio Valley Lookout. Access to the road itself is restricted to Hawaii County residents and authorized tour operators using low-range, four-wheel-drive vehicles.

Bradford Street (San Francisco, California)

Bradford Street runs up through San Francisco's Bernal Heights neighborhood, where visitors navigate the steep streets to reach Bernal Heights Park atop Bernal Hill, a rocky summit that rises to over 400 feet at its highest point. The park is a popular spot for watching the sunset and taking in 360-degree views of the city, San Francisco Bay, and the Golden Gate Bridge. Considered one of San Francisco's few remaining natural refuges, the park is home to over 40 bird species, reptiles like Pacific gopher snakes and California alligator lizards, and coyotes. Among the neighborhood's steepest streets is Bradford Street, which reaches 41% at its steepest section, a 30-foot stretch above Tompkins Avenue.

Canton Avenue (Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania)

Canton Avenue is often called the steepest "officially recorded" public street in the U.S., but it's safer to say the Pittsburgh street consistently ranks among the top three on lists of the steepest streets in the world. The street is 630 feet long, with its steepest section spanning about 213 feet and reaching a maximum grade of 37% over a grueling 21-foot stretch.

Canton Avenue is famous for its inclusion in Pittsburgh's annual Dirty Dozen bicycle race, in which cyclists attempt to conquer thirteen of the city's most punishing hills over a 50-mile course. A few friends started the ride in 1983 to tackle the steepest hills, and it has grown into a fixture of the fall cycling calendar. Unlike a traditional bike race, you win the Dirty Dozen by accumulating the most points, not by finishing the 50-mile course first. The rider with the highest total score across all 13 climbs takes the win.

Eldred Street (Los Angeles, California)

Eldred Street is in the hills of the Highland Park neighborhood in northeast Los Angeles. Dating back to 1912, the street predates the city's current regulations governing road grades. At a grade of 33%-33.3%, the incline far exceeds today's 15% on local streets, making Eldred Street a striking holdover from a long-gone era. The steepest stretch of roadway runs for more than 400 feet, making it one of the longest and steepest inclines in Los Angeles. The street is so steep that the U.S. Postal Service no longer delivers mail to residents on the hill, instead dropping it in a community box at the bottom. Special mini rear-loading garbage trucks are reported to drive backward up the hill on trash day.

Baxter Street (Los Angeles, California)

Despite San Francisco's reputation for its photogenic steep hills, Los Angeles has several streets that can give the City by the Bay a run for its money. Baxter Street ranks among the city's steepest alongside Fargo Street, with a reported 32% grade at its sharpest point.

Drivers have tackled Baxter Street for more than a century, since it was laid out in 1872 and paved decades later. One section of the road between Allesandro and Alvarado streets has a sharp crest where drivers can barely see the road ahead. Carmakers also used Baxter to show off engine power, and one famous stunt sent a four-wheel-drive truck loaded with 4,300 pounds of hay up the hill for the cameras. In 2018, the city made the sections on either side of the crest one-way because of visibility and safety issues.

Filbert Street (San Francisco, California)

Filbert Street is one of San Francisco's most recognizable streets, running from the Embarcadero waterfront up Telegraph Hill, reaching a 31.5% grade at its steepest point between Leavenworth and Hyde streets. Unlike a lot of the other roads on this list, Filbert Street is a walkable street, where you can stop, turn around, and take in the views of San Francisco Bay.

Another way to experience the steepness of Filbert Street is to climb the Filbert Street Steps. While nowhere near as famous as Hawaii's Haiku Stairs, the Filbert Street Steps are a series of around 400 steps that take you on a memorable hike past planted gardens like the Grace Marchant Garden, colorful houses, and outdoor art, all the way up to the Art Deco Coit Tower.

Steep Streets Worth the Climb

With many of the steepest roads located in California, you don't have to plan a cross-country scenic drive to see many of them. But these streets are more than numbers on a grade chart. They run through residential neighborhoods, end at hilltop parks and viewpoints, and test drivers, cyclists, and walkers alike. Some are famous, while others are little-known residential streets. Whether you tackle Filbert Street on foot or get behind the wheel to navigate the crest of Baxter Street, these inclines are a reminder that the steepest roads make you work for the view.