OHIO RIVER TRAIL COUNCIL
Great Allegheny Passage – Pittsburgh (Southside), PA to West Newton, PA
Great Allegheny Passage 62-Mile Bike Ride (Metric Century)
Come out for a ride! This is part of a trail ride series sponsored by the Ohio River Trail Council (ORTC) intended to bring awareness to the wonderful trails in our quad-state region (Maryland, Ohio, Pennsylvania and West Virginia). All cyclists are welcome for this rails-to-trails, moderate-paced ride.
Join us, as we visit the Three Rivers Heritage Trail, Steel Valley Trail, and Youghiogheny River Trail of the Great Allegheny Passage. This scenic ride is an out and back pedal that departs from Pittsburgh's Southside and travels south to West Newton, PA for 31 miles. Roudtrip is 62 miles.
Do not forget your camera!
Trailhead
Southside Riverfront Park Trailhead -18th Aly, Pittsburgh, PA 15203 (under the Birmingham Bridge)
GPS: 40.431878, -79.974795
Map
Trail Mileage Chart:
Features and Points of Interest:
The Great Allegheny Passage (GAP) is presently the longest rail-trail east of the Mississippi River and the crown jewel of the Mid-Atlantic Rail Trails. The GAP spans two states in its 150-mile course along scenic rivers and across mountain passes. The greenway connects with the 184.5-mile C&O Canal Towpath at Cumberland, Maryland to create a 334.5-mile route between Pittsburgh and Washington, DC. The Montour Branch links McKeesport to the Pittsburgh International Airport and Coraopolis, Pa.
The proposed Ohio River Trail beginning at Coraopolis links the Montour Trail to the 110-mile Great Ohio Lake-to-River Greenway in Ohio forming approximately a 500-mile contiguous trail from the Great Lakes Region to our nation’s capitol!
This portion of the Three Rivers Heritage Trail includes the Hay's Eagle viewing area. A pair of Bald Eagles are now nesting within 5 miles of downtown Pittsburgh, along the Monongahela River near where the famed Carnegie Steel Homestead site once existed. Industrialization beginning in the 19th century led to extensive unregulated pollution of the rivers, which decimated fish populations that eagles feed on. As efforts to clean the waterways took effect over the past 30 years, 76 species of fish have been found in the Monongahela. Experts say it has probably been more than 250 years since Bald Eagles last nested along Pittsburgh's three rivers. As recently as the mid-1980s, there were just a few remaining nesting Bald Eagles pairs anywhere in Pennsylvania. With the help of the Canadian government, several agencies brought bald eagle chicks back to their states to reintroduce Bald Eagles. Today, Pennsylvania boasts more than 250 nests.
A live video feed is available here, which has been granted a Special Permit by the Pennsylvania Game Commission for educational purposes. The Game Commission's mission is to manage wild birds, wild mammals and their habitats for current and futures generations.
The Steel Valley Trail traverses lands once dominated by the steel Industry. The US Steel Homestead Works sat on what is now the Waterfront, a shopping and entertainment area, and is the site where the infamous Battle of Homestead took place. The Duquesne Works and National Tube Works which are now industrial parks are also traversed by the trail. A section of the trail between Duquesne and the Waterfront follows the location of US Steel's Coke Gas pipeline which once distributed coke gas from the coke plant in Clairton to their other mills in the Mon Valley. For more information of the sites and history along the trail, click here.
Social
At the midpoint. a social gathering will be held at Trailside restaurant in West Newton, Pa.
Trailside Restaurant, 108 West Main Street, West Newton, PA 15089 724-872-5171 (GPS: 40.211322, -79.770740)