Snake Alley.

Snake Alley

Field review by the editors.

Burlington, Iowa

Snake Alley battles San Francisco's Lombard Street for the title of "World's Crookedest Street." Snake Alley's block-long serpentine switchback -- seven curves over 275 feet -- was built by the town's German founders in 1894 as an experimental street design (and as a shortcut downhill to Burlington's business district).

Snake Alley is still paved with cobblestones, with an old timey entrance sign and replica Victorian lamposts.

Scientifically calibrated testing by our team reveals less switchbacks, a more gradual incline, and a much shorter time in queue than Lombard Street.

January 2007: The latest report is that Snake Alley is closed to car traffic during the winter months. There's a chain across the entrance. Just try doing that on Lombard Street...

Snake Alley

Address:
600 Washington St., Burlington, IA [Show Map]
Directions:
Junction of Hwy 34 and 61. Snake Alley is the 600 block of Washington St. next to the Phelps House museum. Between Washington and Columbia on Sixth St.
Hours:
Always.
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