Best Bike Trails in Pittsburgh
The City of Bridges boasts beautiful rolling hills, verdant summer flora, and excellent mountain trails within spitting distance of the city’s three rivers. The Pittsburgh Off Road Club (PORC) does an excellent job building and maintaining high quality singletrack throughout the region.
North Park
If you only need a single recommendation for mountain biking near the city of Pittsburgh, look no further than North Park. Not only does this zone claim more than 40 miles of singletrack trails, the park is also known for having some of the highest quality singletrack in all of western Pennsylvania. Riders can easily get in a mostly smooth, 20-mile ride, with a few technical features sprinkled here and there for added excitement.
Roaring Run
Roaring Run is located far northeast of Pittsburgh and serves up 800 feet of elevation change between the high and low points within the system. The climbs are steep and the trails are mostly rocky and rooty, making this an advanced-level ride.
Frick Park
Visitors staying downtown will love the convenience of Frick Park, located just a few miles from the city center. The trails are notoriously difficult to follow but the upshot is, riders are never far from a park entrance or exit. Somehow the park manages to squeeze in what feels like a dozen miles of variable trails.
White Oak Park
Six miles of trail might not seem like a lot, but in the case of White Oak Park, it’s a matter of quality over quantity. The trails at White Oak Park are well-maintained and offer up a rideable, flowy experience inside the metro area.
Boyce Park
Boyce Park is a bit of a haul (40 minutes or so) from downtown Pittsburgh, but if it’s beginner to intermediate XC trails you crave, Boyce Park is the place to find it. With about 20 miles of trails to explore, Boyce Park is a good place to burn off some energy, though the trails themselves may not be quite as entertaining as other trails in the area.
Great Allegheny Passage
If riding singletrack trails isn’t your thing, or if you just want to put your head down and ride off-road for a while, the Great Allegheny Passage is a scenic option. The un-paved former railroad route stretches about 100 miles to Cumberland, MD where riders can then pick up the C&O Canal path and ride all the way to Washington, DC!
Next up: Providence, RI.
