Category Archives: Outdoors

Urban Hike Heads to Allegheny Center & Deutschtown (Jane’s Walk Pittsburgh)

Urban Hike is a free guided walk around one (or several) of Pittsburgh neighborhoods. The guided hike is led by a group of volunteers who carefully research each route and invite experts from the neighborhood to come speak to the group on local history and neighborhood development. If you like history, exploring or you are looking for a way to learn more about Pittsburgh, then Urban Hike is for you.

I have attended many of the past Urban Hikes, which has led to discovering all kinds of secrets about Pittsburgh. The John Woods House, aka the 2nd oldest house in Pittsburgh which I posted about earlier this week was a find from the Urban Hike in Hazelwood two years ago.

The first Urban Hike of the 2017 season will be exploring Allegheny Center & Deutschtown. If you aren’t familiar with these neighborhoods, they are on the Northside, just North of the area where PNC Park is located.

Urban Hike = Jane’s Walk Pittsburgh

English: Mrs. Jane Jacobs, chairman of the Comm. to save the West Village holds up documentary evidence at press conference at Lions Head Restaurant at Hudson & Charles Sts. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

This Saturday’s Urban Hike coincides with Jane’s Walk. Jane’s Walk is an annual event in celebration of Jane Jacobs, author of the book The Death and Life of Great American Cities (Amazon affiliate link), which many consider this book to be the bible of urban planning. Jane’s Walks are free walking tours talking place in cities across the globe to support walkable neighborhoods and to encourage people to learn more about their communities. Pittsburgh has hosted several Jane’s Walks over the past decade and this weeks Urban Hike is currently the only Jane’s Walk scheduled for Pittsburgh.

Interested in learning more about Jane Jacobs? Pittsburgh Filmmakers will be showing the documentary Citizen Jane: Battle for the City from May 12-May 18, 2017.

Urban Hike: Allegheny Center & Deutchtown

Date:Saturday, May 6, 2017
Start Time: 9:30am
Starting Point: Arnold’s Tea on East Ohio Street

Check out the email from Urban Hike and the Facebook event for more information and parking suggestions.

Follow: @UrbanHikePGH @JanesWalk

Standup Paddle Into Fall with Surfsup Adventures

I know it is not officially the last day of summer, but labor day sure feels like the last day of summer. I’ve spent the past week trying to check a few more items off my annual summer bucket list.

One of my personal favorite outdoor activities in Western Pennsylvania is stand-up paddleboarding. If you have been wanting to try out this sport, and trust me – it is beginner friendly, this weekend is the perfect weekend.

The weather forecast for labor day weekend is PERFECT – sunny and hot, but not too hot. My favorite paddle boarding outfitter, Surfsup Adventures, is offering a great end of summer discount too – $40 off the normal rate.

Surfsup Adventures & First Waves

When he is not guiding trips at Moraine State Park, Ian Smith is also the founder of the non-profit First Waves that partners with organizations like Big Brothers, Big Sisters to get more kids out on the water to try paddle boarding, learn about conservation and filmmaking. I have volunteered with First Waves in the past and it is an impressive operation. Check out FirstWaves.org for more.

Paddleboard classes focus on fitness (triblive.com)

TUESDAY – City Planning Hosts Community Meeting on Enright Park

Sorry for the last minute post, but just learned about this meeting and wanted to help spread the word. One of the more interesting discussions about public space in the East End over the past few months has been around the future of the Enright Parklet. A small public park located in East Liberty. Google maps shows that Enright Parklet is in the middle of the Penn Plaza green space, from the street, I am not sure if this space looks very green, so it would be easy to miss this little park if you were just driving down Penn Avenue.

Tonight, Tuesday, February 23, 2016, the Pittsburgh Department of City Planning will host a community meeting on the Enright Park.

Facebook Event for Enright Park Community Meeting: http://on.fb.me/21dt2OF.

Read more about the community meeting the Post-Gazette here.

For more information on Enright Park check out EnrightPark.org, Save Enright Park on Facebook and follow @EnrightPark on Twitter.

Urban Hike Heads to Springdale – Sunday 10/18

If you like exploring, then you need to know about Urban Hike. This is a group of volunteers who plan out a fascinating route around a different neighborhood, town or borough. IheartPGH has participated in many of the past Urban Hikes. It was a stop at this church on the Sharpsburg Urban Hike that first got me thinking about church reuse. Earlier this Summer, I was inspired to write about the John Woods House (aka the oldest house in Pittsburgh) after sharing an Instagram photo I took during the Hazelwood Urban Hike.

This Sunday, October 18, 2015, Urban Hike heads up the Allegheny River to the brough of Springdale. There are two things I know about Springdale which are both good reasons to go and check out this hike. Springdale is home to:

Photo I took of Glens Custard in 2008

Glen’s Frozen Custard – this is one of those places you NEED to know about. Glens is an establishment and worth the drive. When I was a kid, we would pile into the family station wagon for a drive out to Glens – I have vivid memories of riding backwards in the way-back seats of our Chevrolet station wagon as we crossed the Highland Park bridge. Many people who live in the East End often claim that if they have to cross a bridge to get there, then the destination is not worth the trip. Glens is one of those destinations that is worth crossing the bridge for.
Rachel Carson Homestead – Rachel Carson is a Pittsburgher whose name you might know because the bridge next to the Andy Warhol Bridge and the Clement Bridge is named after her. She is also the author of the 1962 book Silent Spring about pollution in our environment. Check out our recent blog post on Rachel Carson’s other house here.

The Urban Hike folks have planned a short hike (short means the hike will be over before the Steeler game starts) for Sunday morning. Lucky for you, the hike starts at Glens which has not yet closed for the season and will likely be serving pumpkin frozen custard. Yes, PUMPKIN custard!

Urban Hike Springdale
Sunday, October 18
10:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.
Meet at Glen’s Custard, 400 Pittsburgh St, Springdale, PA 15144
Park on Porter or another nearby street by Glen’s Custard (just not in Glen’s lot!)
Facebook Event: http://on.fb.me/1RNyEXu

Follow @UrbanHikePGH on Twitter for updates.

Race on Water – Standup Paddleboard Race at the Lake Arthur Regatta

Ian Smith of SurfSUP Adventures & Micalla Mikus of Freeport Paddleboarding getting ready to race (Photo Credit: Mike Briggs)

A few years ago when my sister was in law school, she spent a summer working in Hawaii. She returned to the east coast with some legal knowledge, a tan and a love of surfboard sports.

I have become a huge fan of kayaking around Pittsburgh – if you haven’t seen Downtown Pittsburgh from a kayak, you are missing out. And I am now an even bigger fan of standup paddleboarding on the three rivers.

Fortunately for me, there are some great people in Pittsburgh who are helping to get more people on the river and I am no longer the only person who drives around town with a surfboard on their car. Over the past year, I’ve spent a bunch of time paddling on the river and lakes of Western PA with Ian Smith of SurfSUP Adventures.

Last summer I was talking with Micalla Mikus, who is the owner of Freeport Paddleboarding Company. Micalla had just returned from competing in a SUP race in Maryland. I’m not a huge fan of running 5ks, but a paddle board race peaked my interest.

Two weeks ago – I participated in my first race at the Brady’s Run Gear and Cheer Festival. Thanks to Micalla and Ian my first race was a success and a ton of fun.

It was a 1 mile race and it took me 16 minutes to paddle the mile, the winner finishing in 9 minutes. If I can paddle a mile, I promise you pretty much anyone can do this. I would love to see more people try paddle boarding and I think this race will be a ton of fun. If you have questions about standup paddleboarding or the race this weekend. Please leave a comment below.

First Annual SUP Race at the Lake Arthur Regatta at Moraine State Park

This weekend is the annual Lake Arthur Regatta – Surfsup Adventures and Freeport Paddleboard Company are hosting a Stand Up Paddleboard race that promises to be a fun time. You don’t need to have a board or any experience to compete.