Featured image credit: Matsujima
At first glance, most people would agree that LA has nothing on San Francisco’s hilly streets. In parts of San Francisco, the streets can feel a half-step removed from a roller coaster. While you may think you’re plunging down the steepest street in the world as you hurtle down Frisco’s 22nd Street, you’re not even traveling down the steepest street in California. In actuality, the four steepest streets in LA are also steeper than any others in the Golden State. And the steepest of all these LA streets isn’t Baxter Street.
(4.) Fargo Street
Grade: 32%
No, it’s not Fargo Street either. To anyone who partook in one of the Fargo Hill Street Climbs of yore, this may come as a surprise. But the Echo Park road is actually the fourth most severe of the steepest streets in LA, even with its staggering 32% grade (a measure of a hill’s steepness). Yet, plenty of Angelenos erroneously believe Fargo Street holds the crown as the most arduous hill in Los Angeles. This likely owes a lot to the Fargo Hill Street Climb which was held annually by the LA Wheelman Club. At least until 2018 when LA changed Fargo to a one-way street. It seems that navigation tools kept directing motorists to Fargo Street without the slightest indicator of its hazardous heights. When the Wheelman Club sought a permit for 2019’s event, they were summarily denied.
(3.) Baxter Street
Grade: 32%
Believe it or not, local legend Baxter Street only secures the third spot of the steepest streets in LA. In more recent years, Baxter Street has served as a silent dare to skateboarders and other thrillseekers. Death-defying pro skater Don “Nuge” Nguyen notoriously blew up Baxter Street when he successfully bombed the unforgivingly arduous hill. We’d like to say he made it look easy, but you could tell it was a start-to-finish struggle.
But decades before Nguyen, Baxter Street was already luring auto manufacturers with its brutal 32-grade drop. The hill became an unofficial testing ground for the auto industry, measuring the mettle of its creations against Baxter’s relentless angle. In 1916, manufacturers even directed a four-wheel drive truck to be loaded to the brim with over 4,000 pounds of hay before surmounting Baxter Street.
As with Fargo, Baxter Street was relegated to a one-way road in response to navigation apps directing traffic to it without indicating its intimidation factor. But its legend lives on, if not in our words, then in our YouTube videos.
(2.) 28th Street
Grade: 33.3%
Meet the red-headed stepchild of the steep hill gang: San Pedro’s 28th Street. Yeah, we hadn’t heard of it either. But it’s sort of a controversial entry in the list of steepest streets in LA. That’s because it stretches for only about 50 feet.
Now, what it does with those 50 feet is impressive. A 33.3% grade? Wow! But since it’s not really considered a drivable street at just 50 feet, people have put some pretty strong arguments forward that 28th Street should be stricken from the list. Either way, Fargo and Baxter still aren’t bringing home the gold.
(1.) Eldred Street
Grade: 33.3%
Yes, technically it’s the same grading as 28th Street, but Highland Park’s Eldred Street keeps that severity up for about eight times 28th Street’s length. Perhaps you’ve never heard of Eldred Street, but the steepest street in LA (and California) has plenty of loyal fans… some of whom live on it! Proud residents have even adopted the name “Eldred Street Highlanders.”
At the terminus of Eldred Street (assuming you make it there in one piece), you’ll find another landmark: the city’s oldest staircase. With 196 wooden steps, its a challenge atop a challenge for any fitness enthusiasts. But most would agree that Eldred Street is a bit more challenging for tires than feet. It’s common to see visitors braking at various points of the steepest street in LA, wondering how to safely turn around.
So, what does Eldred Street win for beating out the other steepest streets in LA? Besides civic pride, Eldred Street is blessed with its own mini garbage trucks, specially designed to handle the severe grading without tumbling head over wheels. Residents also have a post office box at the bottom of the street since postal workers can’t face its arduousness.
The Full List of the Country’s Steepest Streets
While there is always some debate as to the accuracy of these lists, we default to a popularly shared list of the 10 steepest streets in the U.S. per remodeling hub Fixr. According to their data, the steepest streets in the country are as follows:
10. Filbert St. (San Francisco, CA) – Grade: 31.5%
09. 22nd St. (San Francisco, CA) – Grade 31.5%
08. Dornbush St. (Pittsburgh, PA) – Grade 31.98%
07. Maria Ave. (Spring Valley, CA) – Grade 32%
06. Fargo St. (Los Angeles, CA) – Grade 32%
05. Baxter St. (Los Angeles, CA) – Grade 32%
04. 28th St. (Los Angeles, CA) – Grade 33%
03. Eldred St. (Los Angeles, CA) – Grade 33.3%
02. Canton Ave. (Pittsburgh, PA) – Grade 37%
01. Waipio Rd. (Honokaa, HI) – Grade 45%
Uhhh, more like “Wipeout Road”, riiiiight? LA really dominates this list, which may not be a stellar achievement considering our drivers. But hey, if you’re tired of driving up to Six Flags to wait in line for roller coasters… yeah, we won’t even finish that sentence.
The Steepest Streets in LA… Forever
Since the devil-may-care days that brought us the steepest streets in LA, city planners recognized the inherent danger of precarious peaks and limited roads to a 15% grade maximum. That’s great news for the Eldred Street Highlanders. They get to keep their crown in perpetuity!
