---
title: "How many steps up Lincoln Memorial? 57"
description: "57 steps up Lincoln Memorial in Washington DC, United States. Open to climb. What that count reaches, the height climbed, and how it compares."
url: https://atoneplace.net/how-many-steps/lincoln-memorial/
site: "At One Place"
---

# How many steps to the top of Lincoln Memorial?

**Steps to the top of Lincoln Memorial: 57**

Reaching the statue chamber, from the plaza at the Reflecting Pool · open to climb

The Park Service counts 57 steps from the Reflecting Pool plaza up to the chamber. The widely repeated claim that there are 56, one for each year of Lincoln's life, is folklore — he was 56 when he died, the count is 57, and the two facts have been welded together by repetition. The eighteenth step from the top is where Martin Luther King Jr stood to deliver the "I Have a Dream" speech in 1963, and it is marked. The memorial is open 24 hours a day and is free.

## The numbers

- **Steps:** 57
- **Reaches:** the statue chamber, from the plaza at the Reflecting Pool
- **Public access:** Open to climb
- **Where:** Washington DC, United States
- **Height climbed:** 12 m — 39 ft
- **Average rise per step:** 211 mm

## What the climb is like

A couple of minutes. Shallow ceremonial steps; a lift and ramp serve the chamber for step-free access.

> Published counts for the same structure routinely disagree by five to ten per cent, and nearly always for one of three reasons: whether intermediate landings count as steps, whether the final platform step counts, and where the climb is deemed to start. The figure here says what it reaches.

## How it compares

*Only the ones marked open to climb can actually be walked.*

- Statue of Liberty (pedestal): 215 steps
- The Motherland Calls (Mamayev Kurgan): 200 steps
- Wembley Stadium (Royal Box): 107 steps
- Lincoln Memorial: 57 steps
- La Giralda, Seville Cathedral: 17 steps

*Lincoln Memorial ranks 55 of 56 here by step count.*

| Structure | Steps | Reaches | Access |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Statue of Liberty (pedestal) | 215 | the top of the pedestal, at 47 m — the observation level below the statue itself | Open to climb |
| The Motherland Calls (Mamayev Kurgan) | 200 | the base of the statue, from the foot of the memorial complex | Open to climb |
| Wembley Stadium (Royal Box) | 107 | the Royal Box, where trophies are presented | Restricted — events or permit only |
| Lincoln Memorial | 57 | the statue chamber, from the plaza at the Reflecting Pool | Open to climb |
| La Giralda, Seville Cathedral | 17 | the bell chamber at 70 m — the rest of the ascent is 35 ramps, not stairs | Open to climb |

## Common questions

### How many steps to the top of Lincoln Memorial?

57, reaching the statue chamber, from the plaza at the Reflecting Pool.

### Can the public climb Lincoln Memorial?

Open to climb. A couple of minutes. Shallow ceremonial steps; a lift and ramp serve the chamber for step-free access.

### How high is that climb?

12 m, about 39 ft, which averages 211 mm per step.

## Related pages

- [Monuments](https://atoneplace.net/how-many-steps/monument/)
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## Sources

- Official vendor product documentation — At One Place (/about/)