Santa Monica Stairs - 4th Street Workout  

Almost any hour of the day, you will find LA's finest grinding out this popular and tough destination exercise in Santa Monica. Here is a map of the stairs.

There are actually two (2) sets of stairs, one concrete and one wooden.  A workout can comprise of up and backs on one set or the other, as well as the popluar 'loop.'  The concrete steps are directly at the end of 4th street, where 4th street meets Adelaide Drive in Santa Monica.  The wooden steps are to the east several hundred feet.  Both sets of stairs connect Adelaide Drive (above) to the ocean-level street below.

• Wooden Stairs -- This set is wider, gives a little (wood), not as steep and is straight.  As such, they are the preferred "down" set by many (safety being a prime reason, I presume). About 175-180 steps, I was told (I haven't counted myself).
• Concrete Stairs -- This set is narrower, steeper, and has a couple turns.  For people doing the loop this is often the "up" set.
• Loop -- whether you go up the down set or down the up set... its about a ten minute loop and a bit more than 1/2 a mile I'm guessing (anyone with a pedometer out there?).

30 mins of any combination of this workout is enough to get your heart pumping.  There is plenty of huffing and puffing and sweating going on, don't be shy or worried.  For those wanting a more strenuous workout take two steps at a time on your 'up' or try running it. 

There is a large grassy island on 4th street where you can stretch, warm up and cool down.

Parking is available on the street during daylight hours.  Restrictions kick in after 6pm.  Be aware of the midday street sweeping restrictions on alternating sides of the street on Thru and Fri (parking even more limited during those times). Parking is often available on 4th south of San Vicente... just a short walk to the stairs.

Please add additional information or comments below. Particularly current information regarding parking. Helpful comments and information will be incorporated into the article main body on our next update.

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