Category Archives: Parks

Blue Slide Park = BEST PLAYGROUND EVER

You may have noticed some buzz on the internet about Mac Miller and his new song and album Blue Slide Park.  Mac Miller is a hip hop artist who is from Pittsburgh and has recorded a few songs about the area.

Especially because it is the featured album in this weeks iTunes email:

Thanks to Mac Miller for putting Pittsburgh and this park on the map.  While we were excited to see Blue Slide Park gain such national attention – a quick search of google revealed that there isn’t much online about the actual Blue Slide Park. For those of you who are new to the area or haven’t heard of the place – Blue Slide Park is a real park and any kid that grew up in the Sq. Hill area will tell you this is THE BEST playground around.

While Pittsburgh has lots of great parks and playgrounds – I think most people who have been there will agree that Blue Slide Park is the best.  Yes, there is a giant, blue concrete slide that is built into the hillside.  Ok, to an adult, giant might be an exaggeration but it looks giant to kids and yes the slide is blue.

Where is Blue Slide Park? Blue Slide Park is park of Frick Park, located on Beechwood Blvd right by the entrance to the Off-Leash Exercise Area

Here is an image of the Blue Slide from Google Street View:

Please share your stories (and photos) of Blue Slide Park in the comments below.

You can listen to Mac Miller’s song Blue Slide Park on YouTube here – so far no music video for this track yet.

But if you are looking for more Pittsburgh scenery – check out Mac Miller’s video for the song Frick Park Market, which was filmed at the actual Frick Park Market – which is located on the other side of Frick Park from Blue Slide Park.   Th

Like Blue Slide Park, the Frick Park Market is an actual place – check out the reviews on Yelp here.  If you are looking for a sandwich or to pick up some milk – you should definitely stop by the Frick Park Market on Reynolds in Point Breeze.

You can read more about Mac Miller and his Blue Slide Park …

New Mini Golf Course Opens in Schenley Park

As if you needed another reason to love Schenley Park.  The parks, oh the parks.  One of the reasons Pittsburgh continues to be rated as an awesome place to live is our parks.

Schenley Park just added more fun for the summer season – today, June 16 – the mini golf course opens at Schenley Park.

Schenley Park Mini Golf Course Website

  • Location: Schenley Park Skating Rink
  • Schedule: Tuesday-Friday, 4-9 p.m., Saturday-Sunday, 1-9 p.m.
  • Cost: $4 adults/$3 children
  • Information: 412-422-6547

The mini golf course idea was the result of an audit of the Schenley Park skating rink audit from Controller Michael Lamb’s office in 2010.  The idea is to come up with a way for the facility to be used year round.  Read more about the audit from the Post-Gazette here.

Trillium Trail & Salamander Park

Trillium Trail (Photo by Andrew)

The trails themselves might be officially dubbed “Xen’s Trail,” “Upper Trail,” and “Falls Trail,” but locals refer to the collective nature area off of Squaw Run Road as “Trillium Trail,” and indeed, maps recently posted at the site are headed with the moniker “Trillium Trail.” There are two parking lots available; both provide access to the ends of Xen’s Trail, so neither lot is inherently preferable; it all depends on how crowded they are (and apart from, say, the first few days of warm weather in March, the lots are rarely so crowded as to preclude finding a spot).

Xen’s Trail is the “main” trail, a level walk beneath a gentle hillside. The trail crosses a creek multiple times; this used to be more of a problem, particularly during rainy months, but recent redirections of the trail and new stepping stones placed in the creek have made this a relatively painless procedure. Be aware, though, that crossing will still be difficult when the creek is particularly high, and unfortunately, the stepping stones (particularly beneath the stairs across the street from the larger parking lot) do not offer optimal traction. This aside, Xen’s Trail is a very easy and relaxing trail.

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