New Ways to Get Outdoors in Pittsburgh

Dust off those New Year's Resolutions. Pittsburgh is getting outside this Spring and Summer and coming soon there will be even more opportunities to do so. Frick Park and Schenley Park are the classic great outdoor city amenities of Pittsburgh. However, lately, they've had to make some room for the newcomers.

6 Up-and-Coming Outdoor Activities

1. Grandview Park - Last year, this under-utilized park celebrated its 100th anniversary. The Mount Washington Community Development Corp. is in the process of mapping its trails and future plans for the park.
2. Three Rivers - Point State Park has been under-going a renovation plan, and it's starting to look gorgeous. You can bring your own kayak and float along the rivers (or rent one from Venture Outdoors).
3. Grandview Staircase - The developer of a hotel on Mt Washington is planning a grand staircase which parallels the incline. I can just imagine Rocky Balboa training on that staircase.
4. South Side Park - This is a 65-acre park in the heart of the South Side Slopes which is largely ignored by everyone. The South Side Slopes Organization is trying to remedy that by focusing their efforts this year on cleaning up and publicizing this park. You can help by heading to the March 27 Reclaim and Revitalize the park event.
5. Urban Hiking - Once again Venture Outdoors is the go-to group for urban hiking in the city of Pittsburgh with their activities for folks of all ages from cookie hikes to soup hikes. Another, more informal, option is Urban Hike, a group of Pittsburghers who get together on a monthly basis during the warm-weather months to explore a new neighborhood of the city.
6. Biking - Bikes have been around seemingly forever, but it's only recently that bike lanes and bike parking have started popping up all around the city. Thanks to groups like bike-pgh, biking in the city is safer and easier than ever.
   

The resounding theme throughout this list is community involvement and initiative. Without a strong community group (run by local residents like you and me), most of these options wouldn't exist or would be continuing their slow decline. It's up to us to make Pittsburgh what we want it to be, and I'm pretty pleased with all these new initiatives. Keep up the good work.