Tag Archives: Hiking

Urban Hike Heads to Garfield

Locator map with the Garfield neighborhood in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania highlighted. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

One of our favorite Pittsburgh activites (and its totally free) kicks off the 2013 season this Saturday with a hike around the neighborhood of Garfield. The Facebook event page for the hike is available here.

Calling all urban hikers …

Are you ready for the first hike of the year? Join us this Saturday, April 27th as Urban Hike heads to Garfield! It’ll be a short, sweet, and steep hike — around three miles in total.

We’ll begin at Artisan Tattoo / Gallery at 5001 Penn Avenue at noon. From there we’ll walk up and down the hills of Garfield, and take in some lesser-known vantage points. Following the hike, we encourage you to join us for a buffet at People’s Indian Restaurant. We expect the hike to take around two hours, followed by an hour lunch or so.

As always, folks of all ages are welcome. There will be some step climbing and unpaved trail walking, so pushing a stroller for younger kids could get a bit difficult in spots. If you have any other questions, post a note on our facebook page, or drop us a line at info@urbanhike.com.

We look forward to seeing you this Saturday — rain or shine!

– The Urban Hike crew

Urban Hike Heads to South Oakland

Urban Hike is one of our favorite Pittsburgh organizations. Every month or so the Urban Hike organizers plan out a hike through a different neighborhood. There is always a great crowd of people and some local experts. The hikes are free and move at a leisurely pace. There are usually some stops for water along the way and those who choose go out for some snacks at the end.

Urban Hike South Oakland

When: Sunday June 5th, 9:45am

Where: Dinosaur Park, Map

What: Urban Hike adventure in South Oakland

Who: Come one and all, and bring friends

Facebook Event: http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=168674839858971

More details on the meeting place:

We got some much appreciated technical help to more exactly pinpoint the meeting location for Sunday’s hike. Check out the Map.
We are meeting at the playground in Schenley Park officially called Anderson Park (affectionately referred to as “Dinosaur Park”). If you look at the crazy intersection between Panther Hollow Road and Boulevard of the Allies, there is a spur that comes off Panther Hollow Road right at that junction. The spur ends in a cul de sac that abuts the Boulevard. There is playground next to the spur (if you go to the satellite view you should see it) and there is free parking along the road there. We will be gathering right next to the playground, where the road meets the cement path leading into the park.

Check out our previous posts about urban hike here.

Blue Run Trail

Until recently, the sign naming “Blue Run Trail” at the entrance wasn’t even there; I only remembered the area being called that from visiting in the 90’s. The Indiana Township website and municipal building simply didn’t seem to have any information about the trail, and until I visited the area the other day to write this article, I was planning to introduce it with an extended musing on the motives for not even bestowing upon the area an official name. I’m happy to report that a (rather weathered-looking) sign now graces the trailhead and makes locating the trail slightly easier (and will hopefully attract more visitors).

Continue reading →

Hilltop Urban Hike – Saturday April 25

Image by michael and anna via Flickr

Woo Hoo! Spring has sprung and the urban hike folks are back with their first hike of 2009. This is one of my favorite PGH activities – totally laid back group – you don’t need to be a hiking expert. I am looking forward to checking out Allentown, Beltzhoover and Knoxville neighborhoods – I may even bring along the dog to enjoy the nice weather on Satruday.

Spring cleaning?! You can do that later. Take a hike with us instead!
Urban Hike is kicking off its 2009 season with a walk on the Hilltop. We’ll see parts of Allentown, Beltzhoover, Knoxville and that enigmatic area called Mt. Oliver (is it a neighborhood? A borough? A province? A state of mind?). Join us April 25th at 11 am under the clock at the intersection of Brownsville Road and Amanda Avenue. Free parking is available on Amanda and several other side streets. The hike should last about three hours; you’re welcome to join us afterwards for lunch at a local restaurant.

Since we’re starting a new season, now might be a good time to answer some FAQs:
What does it cost? Nothing! Awesome, right?
When do I have to RSVP? You don’t! Wow!
Can I bring my dog? Only if he/she can take a bunch of strangers calling him/her the cutest dog in the universe, yes you are! Oh, and sometimes on our hikes we stop at places that might not be dog-friendly. But we usually don’t stop for long.
Other questions? E-mail info@urbanhike.org.

If you want to RSVP here is the Hilltop Urban Hike on Facebook. Continue reading →