I finally got my hands on a copy of the latest Sunset Magazine (the September issue) and sure enough, there is in fact a three-page spread dedicated to Queen Anne.

Our neighborhood hill has – count them – 121 hidden public stairways. And for the “Inside Seattle” city scape feature, writer Kathryn True highlights four can’t-miss routes for urban hiking up and down Queen Anne’s historic staircases.

For those of you who aren’t able to pick up a copy, here are True’s top picks:

The Galer Traverse: a nine stairway, 225-step (QA’s longest!) route beginning at the East Queen Anne Greenbelt and ending at the Galer Crown, the highest stairs on the hill.

From Kinnear Park to Kerry Park: soaks in the views from Kinnear to Parsons Gardens Park to Wilcox Wall and finally Kerry Park, where you can catch a view of the whole city.

The Garden Route: Start at Soundview Terrace Park and make you way over to the Interbay P-Patch Community Garden for a tour of colorful gardens with a view of the Olympic mountains in the background. (P.s. Keep you eye out for pick-able blackberries along the way).

The Romantic Walk: Begin at the Comstock Grande Dame and make your way down the “kissing” staircase just a hop and a skip away from Queen Anne Avenue.

Back in February True did a longer piece about Queen Anne’s hidden stairways for the Seattle Times. Read that story here.

For a hand-drawn (and waterproof!) map of Queen Anne’s historic stairways, check out the “Map of the (Oft) Pedestrian Public Stairs of Queen Anne Hill”, created by Thomas Horton, an architect and cartographer who lives on Queen Anne Hill. You can pick one up at Queen Anne Books for $5, or order it online from the Queen Anne Historical Society.