How do you recognize a true San Franciscan? Probably by the fact that he or she knows what streets to avoid on foot to get around hills.

Consider this new map designed by Sam Maurer, a U.C. Berkeley student, your new best San Francisco friend. On the Hillmapper, the colors red and blue show the uphill and downhill areas. The more intense the color, the steeper the hill. And if you don’t want to bother thinking about this, well just stay in the Mission where it’s mostly flat anyway.

Follow Us

Hélène Goupil is a former editor at Mission Local who now works independently as a videographer and editor. She's the co-author of "San Francisco: The Unknown City" (Arsenal Pulp Press).

Join the Conversation

5 Comments

  1. While I appreciate the effort, you left off the Filbert Steps between Telegraph Hill Blvd and Sansome. These are the historic Filbert Steps and are included on every “walking” tourist map. They are considered the steepest “street” in the Western Hemisphere. By using your code, they would be flat. A for effort. D for execution.

    0
    0
    votes. Sign in to vote
    1. He doesn’t appear to have any data on pedestrian-only paths. So he gets a ‘D’ for just crunching what’s readily available? Well, I guess we’ll all wait for your perfect version, then.

      As for the other comments (save for twinpeaks’s)…my goodness. It’s really too much to ask for anyone to read and comprehend before commenting these days, isn’t it.

      0
      0
      votes. Sign in to vote
  2. Neighbor – it doesn’t look like you used map or followed the instructions. the color changes depending on where you are. The colors are relative to your location. Really cool map.

    0
    0
    votes. Sign in to vote
  3. ummmmm….. red for uphill and blue for downhill?
    that is stupid.
    it all depends on which direction you are traveling.
    you can mark a map as to its steepness, but “up” and “down” is not a absolute property.

    really stupid map.

    0
    0
    votes. Sign in to vote
Leave a comment
Please keep your comments short and civil. Do not leave multiple comments under multiple names on one article. We will zap comments that fail to adhere to these short and very easy-to-follow rules.

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *