Franklin Avenue

Steps from Home
While the Santa Monica Steps get all the attention, they're not the only major outdoor staircases in town perfect for exercise.

Right here in Los Feliz, at the base of the Franklin Hills, two separate staircases will take you up to the top of the hills -- and offer up a nice (free!) workout in the process.

Radio Walk: A shady, relatively quick sprint up the side of the hill. Word of caution: Some pretty angry dogs are fenced in right at the base of Radio Walk, and may scare you into simply moving over to the other staircase.

Prospect Walk: The longer of the two, Prospect Walk starts at Prospect Ave. (which is usually a east-west street but curves north at the base of the hills) and ascends all the way to the top of the hill. A much longer, but more fufilling climb than Radio Walk. Plus no scary dogs. On the down side, Prospect is not shaded the way Radio Walk is, meaning you'll likely sweat more. But hell, isn't that why you're climbing these steps anyway?

Either staircase, once you get to the top, you'll witness a great view of Hollywood from above. You'll also see some great homes.

For now, five times up/five times down is more than enough. I'm still exhausted just thinking about it. Maria and I did the steps this morning; we usually travel all the way to the Santa Monica steps. The staircases in Santa Monica offer up great ocean views and a cool breeze -- a nice benefit when you're huffing and puffing up the stairs.

But Radio and Prospect walks more than fit the bill for us eastsiders.