Nature

We always love taking a new bike trail in Pittsburgh, and sometimes that can even mean approaching our tried-and-true trails from a different perspective.

So when we saw River Life promoting a combination of the Three Rivers Heritage Trail with the Great Allegheny Passage and others that run along our city’s three rivers, a 15-mile combination aptly named The Loop, we knew we had to check out the recommended route.

It was so enjoyable we rode it a second time a few days later.

So in this one, we thought we’d take a look at what The Loop is, what all you can see when riding, and share some tips we picked up from biking this one a couple times ourselves!

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Fall is a special time in western Pennsylvania. Our normally green part of the state starts to explode with vibrant colors just about everywhere you look between early-to-mid October and the start of November. 

We’ll be upfront in saying that nearly any Pittsburgh park could make for great fall color viewing during this time of the year. But when we get out to chase pretty leaves, we have to admit, we like to go to places that are large and give us a chance to truly explore in the beauty of nature.

Part of this is because color change may be gradual over the various tree types found in any given park- peak color is truly a relative term. But the other part is that when colors are at their peak, we simply want as much as we can get. So the parks we wanted to feature in this fall foliage guide are just that- big parks that tend to be color explosions in the fall!

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When it comes to parks in Pittsburgh, hiking trails, and other green spaces, we certainly have a lot to choose from.

In fact, it seems like you can pick any direction, drive a few minutes, and find yourself surrounded by beautiful nature. So if hiking near Pittsburgh (or even in the city limits) is on your radar, you are really in luck here!

In this guide, we wanted to share some of the best Pittsburgh parks, trails, and hiking options nearby for those who want to get out and enjoy the great outdoors!

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Although Pittsburgh and southwest Pennsylvania is quite hilly, we are fortunate enough to have a number of fairly flat trails to go biking. Many of these trails are found on former train lines (rail trails), which thanks to their restricted grade makes for prime biking conditions.

In this one, we wanted to share a few of our favorite spots to bike in and around the city. So whether you’re simply wanting to take a quick ride around the North Shore River Trail, ride the GAP, or go out for a few miles on a rail trail, this one is for you!

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One of our favorite activities on a nice day in Pittsburgh is hitting one of our many area bike trails.

Naturally, one trail we ride on the most is the famous Great Allegheny Passage, which spans 150-miles from Pittsburgh to Cumberland, Maryland, where it subsequently connects to the C&O Canal Towpath and continues on to Washington DC for a roughly 335-mile total ride.

For many years, we would ride the GAP in short segments, tackling 20-40 mile round-trip rides here or there. But we always wanted to do the entire bike ride from Pittsburgh to Washington DC, and finally made our dream a reality with a fun, six-day ride in September 2025.

So in this one, we wanted to go down the rabbit hole of everything you need to know when planning to bike from Pittsburgh to DC. Buckle up, because we do mean everything here!

Note: Most of the commentary in this article is based on our experience biking and staying in B&Bs along the way. While we will discuss camping options briefly, our itineraries are built around staying in dedicated accommodations every night.

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