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Outdoors

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With so many places to play, getting outdoors in the South Side is easy. You can choose from parks, playgrounds, swimming pools, trails, city steps, and more.

PARKS AND PLAYGROUNDS

  • South Side Riverfront Park, entrance at 18th Street near the Monongahela River. The park features a picnic area, public boat launch, canoe launch, and a riverfront trail. Used for biking, walking, and skating, the trail extends to 9th Street to the east (with plans for a connection to Station Square) and nearly reaches Homestead at a turnaround to the west. (No parking or access is available at this terminus).
  • South Side Park, reached from Quarry Street (18th Street to St. Patrick to Quarry). The park features 65 acres of ballfields, walking trails, a playground, and a former ice arena. South Side Local Development Company and South Side Slopes Neighborhood Association recently convened a task force to plan park improvements.
  • Armstrong Playground, 12th & Sarah Streets.
  • Cobden Playground, on Cobden Street in the Slopes 
  • Eleanor Street Parklet, located at Sierra & Eleanor Streets in the Slopes.
  • Mission Street Field, on Mission Street in the Slopes
  • Monongahela Playground, off of Josephine Street between Beagle and Northview in the Slopes
  • Ormsby Recreation Center Playground, 22nd & Sidney Streets
  • Winters Playground, Huron Street in the Slopes

SOUTH SIDE RIVERFRONT TRAIL
You can hike, bike, or blade the South Side Riverfront Trail. The five-mile trail begins in the South Side Riverfront Park at the end of 18th Street. The trail extends to 9th Street to the east (with plans for a connection to Station Square) and nearly reaches Homestead at a turnaround to the west. (No parking or access is available at this terminus). South Side Riverfront Park also features a picnic area, public boat launch, and canoe launch. 

POTOMAC HERITAGE NATIONAL SCENIC TRAIL CORRIDOR

The network of communities and attractions in the Potomac Heritage National Scenic Trail corridor celebrates the history and heritage of the Potomac and upper Ohio River basins and offers endless opportunities for outdoor recreation. For some ideas on ways to experience the Trail corridor, go to www.potomacheritage.net. For more on the Potomac Heritage National Scenic Trail, go to www.nps.gov/pohe.

SWIMMING POOLS

Ormsby Recreation Center
79 S. 22nd Street
Pittsburgh, PA 15203
(412) 488-8377

Oliver Bath House (indoor)
38 S. 10th Street
Pittsburgh, PA 15203
(412) 488-8380

Both swimming pools are temporarily closed. For more information, contact Citiparks 
at (412) 594-4645.

BOAT AND CANOE LAUNCHES
Take a voyage on the Monongahela and begin right here on the South Side! Both motorized and non-motorized boats can be launched into the Monongahela River at South Side Riverfront Park. The City of Pittsburgh manages a public boat ramp accessible from 18th Street. Non-motorized boats can put- in upstream from the ramp in an area where the park gradually slopes to the water’s edge. The launch has plenty of parking and portable facilities.

CITY STEPS
Do some urban exploring by climbing Pittsburgh “city steps.” The steps lead to the South Side Slopes and impressive city views. A local favorite is the German Square area, which can be reached from the 10th Street footbridge on the South Side Flats.

Pittsburgh is known for its collection of public stairways, built into hillsides across the city. Known simply as “city steps,” South Side’s 5,000+ steps are the largest collection in Pittsburgh. Mill and factory workers and their families used to climb these stairs every day.

If you want to give it a try, be sure to wear your walking shoes before you venture into the Slopes. For a more informative hike with specific routes, take part in the Pittsburgh StepTrek, held each year in the fall.