How many steps are there at the Lincoln Memorial?
| Figure | Which NPS page gives it | What it counts |
|---|---|---|
| 87 steps | NPS, Lincoln Memorial Steps | From the edge of the Reflecting Pool up to the memorial chamber |
| 57 steps | NPS, Lincoln Memorial Myths | The memorial’s own flights of stairs |
Why two numbers is not a contradiction
Where you start counting decides what you get. Start at the water and you are counting the whole approach, terrace by terrace, up to the chamber floor: that is the 87 on the Park Service’s steps page. Count only the memorial’s own flights and you get the 57 that appears on the Park Service’s myths page. Both are the Park Service. Neither is wrong. The mistake is quoting one of them as the number without saying which stretch of stair it measures, which is how a perfectly good fact turns into an argument on the internet.
The four score and seven thing
This is the part that surprises people: the Park Service makes the connection itself. Its steps page reads, in full, “Visitors climb 87 steps – that’s right, four score and seven—from the edge of the Reflecting Pool to the memorial chamber.” Four score and seven is the opening of the Gettysburg Address, which is carved into one of the two side walls of the chamber you arrive at. Whether the 87 was designed that way or noticed afterwards, the Park Service does not say, and neither will I.
The claim that is actually false
Not the count. The claim that the number of steps matches Lincoln’s age. The Park Service’s own myths page uses 57 for the memorial’s steps and points out that Lincoln was 56 when he was killed, so the arithmetic fails whichever figure you pick up. It is the tidiest kind of false fact: nearly right, easy to repeat, and wrong. Four more of them, including the hands and the face in the hair, are on the myths page.
If you are repeating either number, carry its source with it. “87 from the edge of the Reflecting Pool, per the Park Service’s steps page” is bulletproof. A bare “87 steps” will be corrected by somebody holding the other Park Service page, and they will both be right.
If the steps are the problem
They do not have to be. There is an elevator to the left of the steps that goes to the chamber, so the statue and the inscriptions are reachable without climbing anything at all. That is on step-free access, along with the accessible parking and restrooms.
Walking the Mall with someone who knows it
If you would rather hear this sort of thing out loud, on the steps, the sunset walking tour is rated 4.9 across 69 reviews, which is the strongest showing of any walking tour here, and it covers the memorials on foot at the hour the light is worth it.
Related: what to look at when you get up there and the building by the numbers.
Frequently asked questions
How many steps up to the Lincoln Memorial?
The National Park Service gives 87 on its Lincoln Memorial Steps page, counted from the edge of the Reflecting Pool to the memorial chamber, and 57 on its Lincoln Memorial Myths page for the memorial’s own flights. Quote whichever you like, but quote the stretch it measures with it. More false-but-tidy claims on the myths page.
Do the steps match Lincoln’s age?
No, and that is the actual myth. The Park Service’s myths page uses 57 steps and notes Lincoln was 56 when he was killed. The 87 figure from the steps page does not match his age either — what the Park Service does link it to is “four score and seven”. The other four stories about this building are on the myths page.
Is there a way up without the steps?
Yes, an elevator to the left of the steps runs to the chamber where the statue and the inscriptions are. See step-free access for that and for the accessible parking on Daniel Chester French Drive.