Climb 239 Steps to the Top of Duke Chapel for 'Beautiful' Views

Staff and faculty can schedule a Chapel climb for team-building or other approved university activities

People on the roof of Duke Chapel.
Groups can reserve times to make the 239-step climb to the top of Duke University Chapel. Photo courtesy of Duke University Marketing & Communications.

Bartley Adams often walks from his workspace in the Medical Sciences Research Building to West Campus to marvel at Duke University Chapel, which rises 210 feet above the heart of campus.

Over his 25 years at Duke, he often heard about students climbing to the top of the Chapel tower as a senior-year tradition. He always assumed the experience was reserved for students, not the wider Duke community.

That changed last May when Adams joined a Chapel tower climb organized by LIVE FOR LIFE, Duke’s employee wellness program. Step by step, he wound his way up the Chapel’s narrow, 239-step spiral staircase and emerged onto the viewing platform, greeted by gothic stone spires, open sky and a view that took his breath away.

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“It was amazing,” said Adams, a Research Project Manager for Duke’s Department of Surgery. “I’ll never forget the views and just how far you could see.”

Staff and faculty can schedule a Chapel climb for team-building or other approved university activities. Reservations, which are dependent on weather, are available in 30 minute blocks on weekdays and open to three-to-15 people.

During 2024-25, around 3,400 people climbed to the top of the Chapel. LIVE FOR LIFE often organizes climbs for employees in May and October, alerting would-be climbers through its mailing list.

David Schaad, Professor of the Practice in Civil and Environmental Engineering, always looks forward to when he can take his students to the top of Duke University Chapel. Photo courtesy of David Schaad.

David Schaad, Professor of the Practice and Director of Undergraduate Studies in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, has organized climbs for his students since 2003.

“It’s just so peaceful up there,” Schaad said. “You get to see Duke Forest. You can look over to East Campus. You can see how Chapel Hill is actually on a hill.”

Those making the climb are rewarded with a sweeping view of Duke and beyond. Below, the orderly quads of West Campus unfold. In the distance, the clustered buildings of the medical campus, downtown Durham and Duke Regional Hospital rise above a vast canopy of trees that stretches to the horizon.

“It’s so beautiful,” said Lily el Naccash, Duke graduate and Fuqua School of Business Master of Quantitative Management Program Coordinator. “In the fall, it’s like the whole landscape has been painted.”

Duke Chapel Visitor Relations Assistant Larry Efird is one of a handful of people who guides the flow of climbers. Before visitors begin the somewhat strenuous ascent, he briefs them on what to expect. When they return, he’s one of the first faces they see.

“Usually, when they’re done, they’re just giddy,” Efird said. “They got a break from the stress of their work, or their studies, or just life in general by going up there and seeing those views. It’s something they’ll always remember.”

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