BIKEPGH MESSAGE BOARD ARCHIVE

It's part if the beginnings of a single track trail system in the park. It's most definitely a mtb or cx trail and doesn't exactly just go around the bottom and to the oval.

This is probably for experienced riders, right. I mean, I am not sure ericf is up for a mtb trail, but not sure. Never saw this trail to be honest and am around there all the time, but usually looking at traffic.

the trail head is actually around the corner on butler. there is a little clearing in the trees just past the light post at the intersection. pretty sure there is a power box and/or signal control box right there too. you head into the woods and just keep making a left and eventually it spits out at the oval. but it goes up first and then around some nice twisty single track.

@cburch, thanks for the info. is there any other single track in the area?

Frick park has a ton of trails. There is a little in schenley and mt Washington . Just outside the city, north park, South Park, Boyce park, settlers cabin. A little further out, deer lakes, kennerdel, Hartwood acres, bavington, Apollo. An hourish away, moraine, seven springs, laurel highlands. That's just off the top of my head. I'm missing a ton of trail systems. Pittsburgh is a vastly under appreciated mountain bike Mecca.

http://www.porcmtbclub.org/ride_locations.php

@gg: I would not call it a trail for experienced riders. It's basically just a contour trail, with a couple of small sections of riding on some big stone blocks to get over drainages (think: path, not boulders). The longest descent is only 100 meters or so, and it's straight and not at all rocky. I'm not suggesting it's perfect for a beginner, but if you live in the area, it's a great place to pick up some skills without getting in too far over your head. You can also access the trail from the swimming pool--there's a thin ribbon of singletrack that drops into the woods (gradually) just before the new steps the city installed. If you aren't on the trail, or go down the steps from the pool, you won't see it. For the most part, it's high enough on the hill side, particularly beyond the HP bridge interchange, that you wouldn't even see someone riding/running on it. Also, requisite public service message: by the weekend, quite a bit of the trail is going to be absolutely soupy, so it's probably wise to stay away 'til it freezes or dries up (here's hoping for the latter).

Yeah, scoped this the other day from the entrance by the volleyball courts. The temperature was hovering around freezing and the trail was rather soupy in places and crispy in others, depending on whether it was the sunny side of the hill or not. The rocks were well placed to guide you over some spots with really poor drainage. It's really going to be better to wait till the ground dries out (or the temp drops well below 30 so things can freeze).