Almost certainly!

http://www.calflora.org/cgi-bin/specieslist.cgi?where-genus=Rubus

Thank you. I should have recognized it.

Edit:

My own thread!

http://forums.gardenweb.com/discussions/2201460/blackberry-not-poison-ivyBeen spending too much time inside with the kids

NEVER TO MUCH TIME WITH THE KIDS ...

you can get back to the garden.. when they are teens.. and reject you ....

ken

Black raspberry, Rubus occidentalis.

really toro.. vine???? .. lol ... bramble is bramble ... any kid who ever walked thru a woods and ended up bleeding should know what it is .... [we are friends from other forums.. dont get all wadded up ]

maybe in dark shade ....

ken

I second the suggestion of Black raspberry, Rubus occidentalis

i am trying to identify what thorny plant/bush that is surrounding mt stairway?

Denise if you start your own post with a photo it will get the attention it deserves. Give us your location as well. If you have trouble adding a photo add it as a comment.

Here are some pictures of some black raspberries for comparison (unknown species, but our neighbors say they're blackcaps). I just ate the pictured cluster (our neighbors said we could eat those on our side of the fence). I love them. The fruit ripens in June or July here in SW Idaho (not everbearing).