Mar Vista Stairs

Too busy! and too short, I was bumping into people. No go on weekends.

My friend sent me a link to all the stairs in LA. I was looking for stairs on the Westside and something that is well lit at night. I usually do the SAMO sceney stairs or the Culver ones. I was pretty disappointed by these «stairs».
Why am I using quotations on the word stairs, you ask? Well, yes technically they are stairs but when listed as some sort of workout stairs, they definitely fall short. I think there are 50 stairs tops and I felt like I might get some knee problems before actually getting a workout on these stairs. I think the neighborhood is cute and fun to run around the block and do laps, however these stairs did not provide the workout I needed the evening I went. Maybe if you times the stairs by 5 they could be a good flight to repeat.
Stairs fail.

I’m big on stair hikes and have done all of the stair walks in Charles Fleming’s Secret Stairs book as well as discovered some random staircases on my own. I think the Mar Vista stairs are great if you are in the neighborhood otherwise I wouldn’t even bother because there is nothing else around to make it a stair walk hike. For the stairs alone the Culver City or Santa Monica stairs are much better for a workout. On the other hand those staircases can get very crowded and are more of a social scene so if you want a straight workout that is sparsely populated this might be the place for you.

Exhausted after my training session, I decided to ramp it up by going to the mar vista stairs.
Located smack dab in front of the elementary, I decided to park in proximity of the school. I approached the stairs expecting to be in complete awe. Reality was that these stairs are pale in comparison to the popular Baldwin Hills Scenic Outlook. An easy feat is what these stairs are not, try going up and down 10 times and tell me how you feel.
The stairway is wide enough for three average sized Americans. When this place is packed I can only imagine how nerve wracking the stairs could be. What would usually be a breeze could be an onerous task when confronted with high volume.
Running up the stairs, exerting energy in high intensity intervals kicks ass. It is an overall great way to not only get in shape, it strengthens the corazon and boosts metabolism. To kick it up a notch, I brought along a jump rope to do after I completed my repetitions. Located in a quiet and peaceful spot, this is amazing for the average Joe trying to stay fit. I highly recommend you come here.

This is a nice little hidden spot. Love coming here early mornings to hike up and down these steps. After a good 30 minutes or so, my legs are on FIRE. Great set of stairs for beginners, before taking on the SM or CC stairs. I love when it’s completely empty and I have the whole thing to myself. I just throw on my headphones and go to work!

Great neighborhood stairs with probably ¹⁄₂₀^th of the traffic on the SM stairs. I went on a Thursday morning and there were less than 10 people running/​walking. They’re definitely less steep and shorter than Santa Monica but if you live in the area, they’re a great alternative.
To keep things interesting, vary your intensity to get a solid workout. Do squats at each landing. For even more variety, at the top of the stairs, turn right onto Inglewood and go down a monster hill. Turn around. Go up. Repeat.

I’m almost reluctant to post this review because this place was SO great, I don’t want it to get ruined by crowds. Today was the day for my son to workout on stairs, per his coach. Initially, I decided to take him to the Santa Monica stairs, but I didn’t want to drive that far out, and I couldn’t be sure it wouldn’t be too crowded. My next option was to go to the Baldwin Hills overlook, again the crowd was a concern. Thankfully, this review showed up just as I thought I’d have to settle.
The stairs are divided into 7 sections separated by a landing of about 7 feet. The bottom two sections have 9 steps each, the next three have 11 steps, the next has 22, and the last has 24. There are no spectacular views of the mountains or the ocean (or maybe I missed them as the original poster noted the mountains and downtown), just residential homes. There is ample parking on the street at the bottom of the stairs which are right across the street from Mar Vista Elementary school at the corner of Granville and Indianapolis. Though be wary, there is an enforced 1 hour limit on Granville.
This spot is perfect for circuits or intervals and has little interruption since most people go to the more popular stairs. I was able to sit and read while my son and his friend ran up and down for a good hour.

This is a little known location, used by local exercise enthusiasts, in the very nice residential neighborhood of Mar Vista/​Westdale (a hundred yards from our L.A. house).
The top of the stairway is on the hilltop of Inglewood Avenue, north of Palms Blvd. The landing is directly across the street from Mar Vista elementary school on Granville Ave. There is good parking available on both Inglewood and Granville.
The flight is around a hundred steps. At the top of the stairs, there are great views of downtown L.A. and the San Gabriel Mountains. This location is never too crowded and also has overhead vapor lamp lighting if you want to exercise in the evening.