Exploring The Loop for a 15-Mile Bike Ride Around Pittsburgh

What You Can See on “The Loop” Bike Trail

One of the things we loved about the 15-mile ride on The Loop, apart from finally being able to circle the city in one contiguous bike trail, are the number of unique neighborhoods and views you get to see along the way.

When riding, you will get to pass through the North Side, the Strip District, Downtown Pittsburgh, and South Side to name a few, and the change in scenery as you bike along every shore of the three rivers is nothing short of impressive.

Highlights on our ride around The Loop include the following:

• Views of the city from the Three Rivers Heritage Trail in the North Side
• Passing by Acrisure Stadium and PNC Park
• Shore Thing in the North Side in the summer months
• Views of the city from the 31st Street Bridge
• Passing through the Strip District
• Views of the Sisters Bridges from the downtown side of the river
• Point State Park and the fountain
• More city views when crossing the Hot Metal Bridge
• Color Park in South Side and the Highline
• Even more city views from Station Square
• Crossing the West End Bridge (and, to no one's surprise, even more city views)
• …and more!

In fact, we liked the views of this ride so much that we immediately went out and rode it a second time just a few days later- it is really hard to say no to so many great angles of the city and other highlights in one easy ride!

But the views from your bike are only one element of why The Loop is so great- you could also make a day of it and stop at a number of businesses, bars, and restaurants along the way:

• Along the North Shore and towards Millvale, there is the previously mentioned Shore Thing, East End Popup, the business district near the stadiums, and Redfin Blues on Washington's Landing. (Note: Some of these are a slight departure off the trail.)
• The Strip District is a destination in its own right, and you'll bike by Pizzeria Davide, DiAnoia's, Salem's Market, and so many more great businesses before cutting back over to the river trail.
• At Point State Park, you could easily stop and check out the Fort Pitt Museum while taking a break partway through the ride.
• Then, of course, there are plentiful businesses at South Side Works, breweries along the GAP like Hofbrauhaus and Burghers breweries, drinks at The Finch at the Distillery Complex, or even the opportunity to stop and ride the Duquesne Incline to name a few.

So whether you hit all 15-miles of The Loop in one go or plan to make a day out of it checking out amenities in the many neighborhoods the trails pass through, you really have the makings of an epic ride with this one.

Just be sure to take a bike lock with you if you plan to stop and explore while riding!

Important Things to Know When Biking The Loop

As part of the promotion for The Loop is to get more riders out while highlighting the work that needs done to finish a few sections of the trails, there are a few special considerations to keep in mind while awaiting final infrastructure bits here and there. So let's talk about those so you hit the trail prepared!

Starting in the North Side heading towards Millvale, you will need to branch off of the river trail and climb up the ramp to the 31st Street Bridge near Washington's Landing. This short climb is a shared section of road without a bike lane divider, so you may encounter some vehicles on the brief climb. Once at the top, you'll turn right on the 31st Street Bridge and can bike across the protected sidewalk.

After crossing the bridge, you'll turn right into the Strip District on a partly divided bike lane and take it down to at least 24th Street. From here, you'll turn right on 24th (or lower) side streets and head north towards the Allegheny River (also a shared street with vehicles) to get onto the paved river trail on the Strip District Side. We also turned down 25th once and biked along some cobblestone, so we wouldn't turn right until reaching at least 24th.

From there, you can bike along this protected trail all the way to the Point, loop around to the Monongahela River, and ride the city-side of the river trail all the way to the Hot Metal Bridge. Cross that, take it back on the Great Allegheny Passage towards the city. Instead of taking the Smithfield Street Bridge, instead you'll continue along the trail by the water in front of South Side Works, the Riverhounds stadium, the Duquesne Incline, and towards the West End Bridge.

• Note: When riding the Loop in a clockwise direction discussed above, you'll take the switchback up from the path on the river and end up on the downtown side of the Smithfield Street Bridge. If you turn left, you would cross the bridge and connect up with the GAP passing through South Side (what we'd normally do prior to riding The Loop). If you turn right and go along the sidewalk towards the east, you'll continue on the trail heading towards Golden Triangle Bikes and onward to the Hot Metal Bridge.

The trail ends a half mile or so before the West End Bridge, and you'll likely want to bike either on the road (if there is light traffic) or, more than likely, on the sidewalk if there is traffic (note the sidewalk is fairly uneven at times). The road splits with a ramp for cars to go up to cross the West End Bridge (left) or another road staying at ground level (to the right). Follow the road to the right for a moment or two longer and you will see a staircase to climb up to the bridge with your bikes. (Yes, you will be carrying your bike up some steps if doing this segment- there were no ramps for bikes at the time of publication.)

Crossing the West End Bridge presents beautiful views, although we'd be remiss if we did not note there was quite a bit of broken glass when we rode by. Once you reach the other side, climb down the set of stairs closer to the city-side and you should see a road that cuts across and connects back up to the river trail there as well to complete your ride!

These are all fairly easy and minor concerns overall, but if you are uncomfortable climbing a few stairs to cross the West End Bridge, you could cut out a few miles by crossing back to downtown at the Smithfield Street Bridge, cutting back through the point, crossing the pedestrian path on the Fort Duquesne Bridge, and circling back to reach the trail there too.

Where to Park for Free When Riding the Loop

There are many public parking areas accessible for those who need to drive in to check out this bike trail loop. All of these trailheads are free as far as we can tell, although note that some do have signs on max parking durations (like on River Ave in the North Side).

For us as North Siders, we park in the public parking near the East End Pop-Up and Bicycle Heaven on Oxline Street in the North Side as there are a decent number of spots and can almost always find a space readily available right next to the trail (that said, this part of the river trail is outside the loop slightly so you'll be biking an extra half-mile each way to/from the West End Bridge).

Elsewhere in the North Side, slightly fewer trail parking spots can be found along River Avenue below the Veterans Bridge right on the trail. Millvale also has some public parking in the Riverfront Park, which, similarly to the above parking spot, requires an additional bit of biking to get to the 31st Street Bridge.

From there, South Side also has public parking lots near Color Park by the Highline as well as next to the South Side Dog Park by the Birmingham Bridge.

These are all great parking spots for those who have their own bikes and need to drive in for the ride. But if you are bike-free and want to pick up a rental for the day, park downtown at the Frist Avenue Garage and head over to Golden Triangle Bikes to pick up a rental (note: seasonal operations)!

Overall, we're really excited to see The Loop being promoted as a fun bike trail option and hopefully with more riders and awareness of this one folks at River Life and other orgs (like BikePGH) can help get more funding needed to complete (and expand) The Loop.

We're looking forward to being regulars on this ride, that's for sure!

For more information on The Loop, click here. Looking to take a shorter walk around Pittsburgh instead? Check out our five-mile self-guided walking tour of Pittsburgh here!