Hillside Cable Lift Systems
The most elegant, low-impact way to access every part of your waterfront or hillside property.
If you've been hauling gear up and down a steep slope, watching family members struggle with the stairs, or worrying every season about what the next storm will do to a deteriorating staircase — a cable lift is the solution you've been looking for.
High Bank Elevators builds custom cable lift systems that carry you, your family, and all your essentials smoothly and safely up and down your hillside. No more stairs. No permanent scarring of the landscape. No compromises.
The Problems we solve
Stairs that are becoming a liability.
Wooden staircases on Pacific Northwest hillsides face constant challenges — rain, root intrusion, and erosion silently undermine the structure year after year. What starts as a maintenance issue becomes a safety risk. A cable lift doesn't touch the ground between its two anchor points, so the hillside can shift and settle beneath it without affecting the system.
Sound familiar?
A slope that's cutting family members off.
Maybe it's an aging parent who's stopped making it down to the water. Maybe it's young kids you can't take your eyes off near the stairs. Maybe it's your own knees that are starting to protest. A cable lift or hillside lift changes what's possible for every member of your family — at any age, in any weather, in any season.
Carrying everything by hand. Every single time.
Coolers, kayaks, dock lines, groceries, fishing gear, and building materials. The trip between your home and the waterfront is a workout before you've even arrived. A cable lift or inclined elevator carries all of it — passengers and cargo together — in a single smooth ride.
Every other solution means tearing up your hillside.
Retaining walls. Graded paths. Concrete switchbacks. Every alternative seems to require excavating and permanently altering the landscape you chose this property for. A cable lift is elevated above the slope — two anchor points, nothing in between — leaving the terrain beneath it completely undisturbed unlike many traditional outdoor elevators.
How it works
Elevated Above the Slope. Suspended Between Two Points.
A cable lift suspends the gondola — your car — above the hillside on a cable running between anchor points at the top and bottom of the run. A precision electric hoist moves the car smoothly and quietly up and down the slope. There are no hydraulics, no diesel engines, no supports driving into the ground along the slope itself.
Because the system is elevated above the terrain, ground movement, root intrusion, and erosion don't affect it. The hillside beneath a cable lift is left exactly as it was — no grading, no excavation, no disruption to natural drainage or root systems. For properties near the water or in environmentally sensitive areas, that matters both for the land and for regulatory compliance.
Trips are whisper-quiet — barely audible from a neighboring property — and as frequent as you'd like. From your upper landing to your waterfront in under a minute.
Built for the pacific northwest
Designed Here. Built Here. Engineered for This Landscape.
High Bank Elevator cable lifts are designed and fabricated in-house at our Poulsbo, Washington workshop — not assembled from imported catalog parts. We build nearly every mechanical component ourselves, including the gondola, hoist, safety systems, and control panels. That means we know every system we install inside and out, and we can stand behind every part of it.
Our systems are built specifically for the conditions of the Pacific Northwest — the rainfall, the freeze-thaw cycles, the hillside terrain of Puget Sound, the Kitsap Peninsula, the Olympic Peninsula, and the islands of the Salish Sea. We've completed over 200 cable lift and track lift installations across the region since 1988 — more than any other manufacturer serving the Pacific Northwest. Every cable lift is custom-engineered for its specific property after a full site evaluation. No two are alike.
features and benefits
What you get with a High Bank Elevators Cable Lift
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Two anchor points. Nothing between them touches the slope. One of the most environmentally sensitive access solutions available for hillside and waterfront properties.
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Electric drive, no hydraulics, no fumes. Our systems are virtually silent during operation — considerate of neighbors, consistent with quiet waterfront living, and a world away from the clunk and clatter of aging stair systems.
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Every cable lift is built to meet or exceed ASME A17.1 national elevator safety standards and includes: overspeed governor and safety brake, slack rope safety mechanism, automatically locking deck gates that prevent the car from moving when open, and impact-detecting bumpers. Decades of safe installations across Pacific Northwest properties — without incident.
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Smooth, controlled travel for passengers of all ages and abilities. Whether it's young children, elderly family members, or guests with limited mobility — everyone rides with confidence. Many of our customers install a cable lift specifically because of a family member whose relationship with the stairs has changed.
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A cable lift doesn't just make your property more enjoyable — it makes it more valuable. Waterfront and hillside properties with quality access systems appeal to more buyers and command stronger sale prices. And unlike a staircase that deteriorates with every Pacific Northwest winter, a cable lift is engineered to outlast every alternative — decades of reliable service with annual maintenance and minimal repair.
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We don't install and disappear. Our certified technicians are available for annual maintenance visits and any service needs that arise over the years. Because we built your system, we know it. Service calls are faster, more accurate, and handled by the same local team that put it in.
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Every new High Bank Elevator installation includes a one-year warranty covering all parts and labor, plus two complimentary service visits in the first year. After year one, our annual Routine Service Program keeps your system running smoothly with two visits per year and a 15% discount on any non-routine labor — giving you peace of mind for the life of your investment.
Every Cable Lift is built around your property
Our in-house design process means a direct relationship with you from the first site visit through final installation. We work with state-approved engineers to ensure every design meets safety and regulatory standards — and we handle permitting as part of our full-service approach.
Customization options include:
Car style: Open-air or fully enclosed gondola
Finishes: Cedar, translucent polycarbonate, stainless steel, or aluminum
Canopy: Optional, in polycarbonate, stainless, or aluminum
Color: Powder coating over metal components in any color
Doors: Single or Walk-Thru
Extras: Seat cushions, canvas covers, windows
Detailing: Architectural finishing to complement your home's existing style
Key specs in plain language: Standard capacity of 600–700 lbs (higher available on request) · Speed of 50–75 feet per minute · 15 sq ft interior floor space standard (larger available) · 240V electrical from your existing panel · Hot-dip galvanized, stainless, or aluminum hardware throughout · Anchoring engineered for your specific soil and terrain conditions.
Common questions
Not sure what to call what you're looking for? You're not alone — hillside access systems go by a lot of names. Here's how our cable lift relates to terms you may have come across.
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Essentially, yes. A funicular is any cable-driven system that moves a car up and down a slope — and that's exactly what our cable lift does. The term "funicular" is more commonly associated with large tourist railways or European mountain tramways, but the underlying principle is identical. Our cable lift is a residential funicular, purpose-built for private hillside and waterfront properties rather than public transit.
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The terms are often used interchangeably, and for good reason — both describe a system that carries passengers along an inclined path using a cable and motor. The distinction is mostly in application: "incline elevator" tends to suggest a more enclosed, vertically-oriented system, while our cable lifts are specifically designed for outdoor hillside and waterfront terrain. High Bank Elevators is the only US manufacturer of residential cable lift systems, so whether you've been searching for an incline elevator, a hillside elevator, or an inclined platform lift — you've found the right place.
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Yes — a hillside or lakeside tram is another name for a cable-driven lift system on a private property. Our cable lift is functionally the same thing: a gondola suspended on a cable, moving smoothly between your upper property and the waterfront or lower level below. The terminology varies by region and by how people describe what they saw at a neighbor's place or came across online. Whatever you call it, if it runs on a cable down a slope on a private property, we build it.
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Every system is custom-engineered for the specific property — slope angle, run length, terrain conditions, gondola style, and site access all factor into the final price. Because of this, we don't publish a standard price list. What we do offer is a free, no-obligation site assessment where we visit your property, evaluate your slope, and provide an honest quote with no pressure. That's always the right first step.
Ready to Stop Letting the Hill Get in the Way?
The first step is a free, no-obligation site assessment. We'll visit your property, assess your slope, and give you a clear recommendation and honest quote. No pressure. No surprises.