Three Rivers Heritage Trail

Located along the banks of the three rivers that run through Pittsburgh — the Allegheny, Monongahela and Ohio — the 35-mile Three Rivers Heritage Trail offers a rare blend of metropolitan adventure, lush greenery and a bit of suburban exploration.  

In 1990, inspired by the national Rails-to-Trails Conservancy, a group that included future Pittsburgh mayor Thomas J. Murphy Jr. and the founders of a nonprofit called Friends of the Riverfront, created the trail with the city, converting inaccessible industrial and railroad sites along Pittsburgh’s riverfront into green spaces.

As a result, the Three Rivers Heritage Trail is an easy way to explore Pittsburgh’s neighborhoods. The trail is open to nonmotorized forms of transportation such as walking, biking or roller skating, and allows scooters and e-bikes that follow the trail’s 15-mph speed limit. (Motorized wheelchairs are allowed.)   

The heart of the trail is Point State Park, where the three rivers meet at the center of downtown Pittsburgh. From there, cross the Allegheny River to find sports stadiums and museums on the North Shore, or trace the path of the Monongahela River to get to breweries, restaurants and shops on the south side of the city. Trail users can also explore the Oakland neighborhood near the University of Pittsburgh and Carnegie Mellon University. Over 40 signs along the trail highlight cultural landmarks, historic figures and the area’s natural ecology. 

Visitors will also see Pittsburgh’s artistic side by way of the murals, statues and memorials that dot the trail, from the Fred Rogers Memorial Statue to steel sculptures inspired by the city’s industrial past. In 2017, Friends of the Riverfront collaborated with local artist Baron Batch to convert an industrial lot along the trail into a graffiti-art zone called Color Park. Point State Park: 601 Commonwealth Pl., Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15222, 412/488-0212, friendsoftheriverfront.org