So yes, expect some labored breathing, but it also takes you through some serene and majestically green neighborhoods, great ocean views and — quite unexpectedly — a tiny stream during our dry-as-dust summer. There are lots of stairs — at 976 steps, it’s one of the most stair-intensive — but the sights are so transporting it’s easy to forget you’re near a city center, and that makes all the effort worthwhile.

1. Park alongside the beach at Will Rogers Parking Lot No. 1, where Entrada Drive spills into Pacific Coast Highway (PCH). Parking here is $9, and it’s safest to bring cash, since the machines don’t reliably accept debit cards.
2. Walk north a half block along PCH to where Chautauqua Boulevard and West Channel Road merge into PCH in one massive snarl of traffic. There are no crosswalks here, so don’t try to cross PCH aboveground. Instead, find the entrance to the Little Tunnel, descend the 17 steps and safely cross under PCH to the other side, walking up 17 steps and emerging into the sun on the south side of Channel Road.
3. Walk south on PCH, past Patrick’s Roadhouse and a gas station, along the sidewalk until you come to your first set of stairs, a colorful set of 48 steps that climb to Ocean Way. A note here: The start of this walk wasn’t nice. The traffic is thick on PCH, the sidewalk is narrow and there was a glassy-eyed man smoking a small pipe as we slipped past him on the stairs. But it gets better, I promise.
4. At the top, head left, down the hill, until Ocean Way merges with Entrada. Walk up Entrada just past 278, a tall, white modern structure with a corner so sharp it has a surreal M.C. Escher feel. Look right to find your second set of stairs. These start as a path through sprays of bougainvillea, towering eucalyptus and tropical greens to a stair that climbs 79 steps to Mabery Road.
5. Turn left on Mabery and follow the road down to East Ocean Avenue (also known as Ocean Avenue Ext. on Google Maps). Cross carefully to the other side of Ocean and head left, downhill, to the base of the 4th Street Stairs. (Note: There is a smaller set of stairs on the right just before the 4th Street Stairs, which you should ignore. The 4th Street Stairs are just past 358 Ocean, and are pretty easy to recognize since they zig and zag 189 steps to the top and have a fair number of panting, dripping athletic types running up and down them.
6. Luckily, the 4th Street Stairs have several landings along the way where you can catch your breath, enjoy the gorgeous views behind you and, in my case anyway, try to ignore the fact that the same runner has passed you three times already up and down and up again. Just be careful to hug the rails as you climb these stairs because these runners aren’t shy about asking you to move.
7. At the top, past the water bottles left by the runners as they exercise, you emerge at the corner of 4th Street and Adelaide Drive. Here are some truly breathtaking views of the ocean, Rustic Canyon and many gorgeous homes, with plaintive signs asking people to please refrain from doing calisthenics in view of their windows.
8. Turn left on Adelaide, walking uphill, and savor the views until you reach 526. There on the left are the Santa Monica Stairs, 166 weathered wooden steps, thankfully heading down. You’ll soon understand that this is a continuation of the workout regime, with some runners charging up the 4th Street Stairs and then down the Santa Monica Stairs again and again in a sweaty circle. Anyway, be sure to stay right so they can speed past (unless you are fit enough to join their ranks).
9. At the bottom of the stairs, you’re back on Entrada, where you should cross the street and turn right, heading uphill a short distance, past 525 and a tall jagged concrete wall to find your next stairs on the left, about 25 steps down to the cul-de-sac end of Attilla Road.
10. Walk straight on Attilla past Dryad Road to East Channel Road, where you turn left. This is a serenely beautiful neighborhood, full of majestic trees, quiet birdsong and children playing safely in the street.
11. East Channel Road dead-ends, becoming impassable for cars, but we foot travelers can continue forward following a path through a wide gate on the right of the road to the other end of East Channel Road. Keep walking straight, past Amalfi Drive and Canyon Elementary School, until you see a crosswalk and a pedestrian bridge crossing the Santa Monica Canyon Creek bed on your right.
12. Across the bridge you emerge on Sage Lane, where you should walk straight until Sage bends left and you spot your next stairs on the right, rising 14 steps and then turning right up another 64 steps through what appears to be a tall grove of bamboo.
13. At the top, you’ll emerge onto Amalfi Drive. Turn left, and stay left when Amalfi runs into Sumac Lane.
14. Follow Sumac about a block, until it curves to the right. On your left, at 323 Sumac, you’ll find another set of steep stairs, 124 steps climbing straight up to Amalfi again, where you turn left, past just one house, and take a semihidden set of stairs along a steel fence that plunge you down again — without handrails — a very steep 124 steps to Mesa Road.
15. Turn right on Mesa, heading uphill to 475, a stark, hyper-modern-looking home built in 1937 by Harwell H. Harris for John Entenza, editor of Art & Architecture magazine. This 850-square-foot house looks like a circle attached to a square with some very cool (and private) steps leading to a rooftop patio. We must, however, carry on to our public stairs just beyond 491 Mesa, a few doors down on the left.
16. Be careful as you descend because the 61 steps are uneven and broken in places. At the bottom, you’ll emerge onto West Rustic Road, my favorite part of this walk. It’s so quiet, green and yes, rustic, it feels magical, especially when you cross the bridge in front of you, over Rustic Creek (which actually has a small trickle of water) and follow West Rustic Road to the left.
17. At the first corner, turn right on Hillside Lane and follow the narrow street as it bends left, so quiet it feels like a deserted movie set of tall, lovely homes. Just as Hillside bends left again, look straight ahead for your final set of stairs, 85 steep, narrow steps that climb up through green shady yards to Vance Road at the top.
18. Turn left on Vance, walking downhill past the magnificent mosaic of a guitarist and dancer at 390, straight and then right, as the road curves back, alas, to civilization. Along the way, there are some fine views of Santa Monica and Rustic Canyon, a small consolation. Suddenly, far too soon, you’re back in the real world amid the jarring traffic of Chautauqua Boulevard.
19. Turn left on Chautauqua and follow the road down to where it converges with West Channel Road at PCH. The traffic is fierce here, so use the crosswalks from Chautauqua to the south side of Channel to get back to the tunnel that will take you down 17 steps to cross under PCH and then back up 17 steps to your car.