Pittsburgh has much to offer the adventurer. (daveynin / flickr)
Don’t be confined to the rusty urbanscape and high-density neighborhoods of the Steel City, all tucked into those river hills that lord over three major waterways. There’s too much water, too many forests, too much potential for exploration. Check out these options to make Pittsburgh an adventure destination.
SEE IT: Call it the wild jewel of western Pennsylvania. Ohiopyle State Park lives up to its much-discussed reputation for hiking, paddling and cycling. The park encompasses nearly 20,000 acres that hug the Youghiogheny River, and the waterway cuts a deep gorge that full of green-leaf rhododendron and high cliff vistas. Cool off by taking the 2-mile Ferncliff Trail to the Ohiopyle Falls or challenge the Yough’s Class III and IV rapids on a whitewater rafting excursion provided by a local outfitter. Located about 50 miles south of Pittsburgh.
Paddle the rapids of the Yough. (Alaskan Dude / flickr)
BACKPACK IT Ohiopyle State Park is also the starting point of the Laurel Highlands Trail, one of Pennsylvania’s premier hiking paths. The trail blazed with yellow marks stretches 70.1 miles to Seward, Pa., and along the way you can enjoy mixed hardwood forests, patches of rhododendron, quiet ravines and Adirondack-style huts. Much of the trail runs along the ridge lines with a few climbs and descents sprinkled between, making it one of the more moderate backpacking trails in the Keystone State.
PADDLE IT: The city — yes, the city of Pittsburgh — offers up a few canyons of its own – urban canyons, if you will. Three rivers weave through downtown Pittsburgh, and when there’s that much water, someone is going to dip their paddles into it. Rent kayaks from Venture Outdoors, which you can find by the bright yellow 6th Street Bridge, and enjoy a leisurely day meandering past skyscrapers, cargo boats and the city’s famous bridges. It may not be the wilderness, but the trip packs in plenty of scenery.
LINKS: Ohiopyle State Park, Laurel Highlands Trail, Venture Outdoors
