Why is Eureka Springs Called “The Stairstep Town?”

Before Eureka Springs even had a name, it was already drawing crowds. In 1879, health-seekers poured into the area after word spread that a woodland spring held healing waters. Hundreds of people made the journey to the spring, and a small town began to grow around it. Irish stonemasons came to the new township to build stone retaining walls, staircases, foundations and buildings. The dramatic mountain setting and unusual street layout–with twisty streets stacked on top of one another–required many steep staircases to be constructed. 

Irish stonemasons worked day and night, building the backbone of the town out of stone. 

It is said that the stonemasons often worked all night long, under lamplight, stacking stone as quickly as possible. The early town residents  would wake up in the morning and a new staircase would give them access to another layer of Eureka Springs. The nickname “The Stairstep Town” quickly took hold as the new town became infamous for steep stairways. 

The Stairs Today

Everywhere you look, you see staircases climbing up hillsides, and sometimes disappearing out of sight. Many of the stairways are still in use today–locals have their favorite steep shortcuts for moving quickly between layers of town. Crumbling or overgrown staircases are not uncommon, as nature reclaims those that are no longer used or maintained. Modern-day stonemasons never run out of work, constantly repairing old stairways and building new ones.

Explore These Stairs and Get Your Steps In

The stairs up to Basin Spring are a must-do–its the birthplace of Eureka Springs. Checkout Jacobs Ladder on North Main, behind the Grand Central Hotel. This iconic staircase rises three levels into the upper “stories” of town, and takes you up near Little Lake Eureka and a scattering of springs that are off the beaten path. The stairs at Sweet Spring, built by three brothers in 1912, leads to the Gnome Trail that connects to Harding Spring, and is a delightful path through the woods. And, of course, climb our two sets of rainbow stairs.

Walking up the famous Rainbow Stairs - that are an actual street!