+ Pittsburgh 101 (click to open)
About Pittsburgh
- Walk Score: 61. Walk Score measures the walkability of any address based on the distance to nearby places and pedestrian friendliness.
- Transit Score: 54. Transit Score measures how well a location is served by public transit based on the distance and type of nearby transit lines.
Bike Score: 40. Bike Score measures whether an area is good for biking based on bike lanes and trails, hills, road connectivity, and destinations.
Maps
Pittsburgh Bike Map (PDF or Hard Copy)
Transit Map (PDF)
Healthy Ride bike share Map (Web Map)
Pittsburgh sits atop the heights overlooking the Allegheny and Monongahela rivers as they combine to form the mighty Ohio River, and it is surrounded by hills full of valuable minerals, useful for the production of metals and glass. And thus, once it was formally incorporated into a borough in 1794, it turned in fairly short order into an American industrial center with few rivals. Steel and petroleum production swelled with every major war, and cheap labor came from all quarters of the globe, drawn by innumerable low-skill industrial jobs. But all things change eventually, and by the 1970s steel production had largely left the United States. The city has never fully recovered in terms of sheer population numbers, but it has recovered in other important ways. All those busy furnaces over the centuries created pollution bad enough for biographer James Parton to describe 1868 Pittsburgh as “hell with the lid off,” and the problems only grew from there. Finally, following WWII, the city declared a “Renaissance” effort to clean up its air and rivers, and met with some success. Again in 1977, they renewed this effort with “Renaissance II,” but sadly nothing was more effective at cleaning up the air and water than losing all those mill jobs… And thus in 2016, we find a city successfully redefining its economy, but also one with good air, good water, 466 bridges (holycrap!) from which to behold its scenery, and the kind of decadent bones mixed with open space that one only seems to find in places that used to be industrial headquarter powerhouses. The urban decay porn here is amazing -- there are industrial relics lying about almost everywhere. Giant kettles and furnaces, rail cars, empty warehouses, and disused large-scale infrastructure of yesteryear are your constant companions. Pittsburgh has consistently been ranked at or near the top of The Economist’s livability index over the past ten years, and when we visited, we immediately understood why the likes of Google and Facebook have opened offices here. It’s an incredibly easy place to live, and we were immediately smitten with it.
+ Biking in Pittsburgh (click to open)
Etiquette
Other than downtown, we didn’t observe much in the way of hand signaling, but then it’s not often congested elsewhere. It remains a good idea, especially downtown in the cycle tracks and bike lanes, to let folks around you know what you intend to do with those signals, of course.
Safety
Helmets required for anyone under 12 years old, and after dusk a front white light is required, along with both rear and side reflectors, interestingly. We don’t often see the side reflector requirement. You get to place your own bet on how many local law enforcement officers actually know about that stipulation, if you so choose.
Security
We heard tales of normal bike theft, and our gracious hosts were eager to let us store our bikes in their locking garage at night. Thus, the usual rules seem to apply: bring it inside overnight if at all possible, and if not, use a proper u-lock or similar – not a combo chain, and likely not anything that was cheap.
Pittsburgh Culture
Pittsburgh is technically Northeastern, but it’s too close to “Pennsyltucky” to really feel much like it. The vibe is almost uniformly blue collar, with downtown being a bit dry and the hipper neighborhoods offering a healthy dose of well thought out food and beverage choices. Good beer is alive and well here, as is top-notch public art and museums.
+ Best Bike Rides in Pittsburgh (click to open)
These routes were curated by local Pittsburgh folk who wanted to share their #BestBikeRide with you. Print off the map for free!
If you live in Pittsburgh and love food, music, art or just being outdoors? Curate a route for us by inquiring here.
+ Bikes (click to open)
Rentals
BIKE SHARE
- Healthy Ride (bike share)- $2 per 30 minutes for sturdy city bike with front basket, lights, fully enclosed chain guard and skirt guard.
RENTALS
- Bike the Burgh- $7+/hr or $28+/day for a bike, a helmet, lock, bike map and free appetizer coupons from their Downtown restaurant partners
- Golden Triangle Bikes- $8+/hr or $30+/day for hybrid, mountain, road, tandem, kids, trailer bike or kids trailer
Tours
- Bike the Burgh- $25 (Bring Your Own Bike) for tours of "Burgh Best of", Glass & Steel, Oakland and famous film scenes
- Bike the Gap- $700 (Bring Your Own Bike) for self-guide tour of the Great Allegheny Passage trail and C&O Towpath. Includes map, lodging, luggage transfer and one-way shuttle
- Golden Triangle Bikes- $20+ for tour of Pittsburgh highlights, beer scene, happy hour. Includes bike rental.
Bike Shops
- Kindred Cycles- the Brompton and Brooks purveyors, as well as an all around kick butt shop.
+ Eats, Drinks and Sights (click to open)
We're constantly updating this list of our favorite local shops, restaurants, cafes, scenic vistas and other nooks and crannies in Pittsburgh.
- Foursquare List- this is the better app for on-the-go exploring
- Pinterest Board
South side Traveler’s Rest is an oasis for hikers and bikers at one terminus of the Great Allegheny Passage Trail.
+ Hotels (click to open)
THE MAVERICK BY KASA
Reservations, (412) 361-3300, 120 S Whitfield St
Amenities: 1 block from bike share station (S Whitfield St & Baum Blvd)
FAIRMONT PITTSBURGH
Reservations, (412) 773-8800, 510 Market St
Amenities: BMW city bikes for Fairmont Club members
KIMPTON HOTEL MONACO
Reservations, (412) 471-1170, 620 William Penn Place
Amenities: complimentary Public bikes
TRAVELER'S REST HOTEL
Reservations | (412) 623-9343 | 27 S 6th St, Pittsburgh, PA
Amenities: an oasis for bikers, hikers, and other travelers looking for comfortable, safe lodging. Located at the start/finish of the Great Allegheny Passage with indoor bike parking, fix-it station, tools for guests and a community of fellow bike travelers. private rooms $80-$400
Taking in the view of downtown Pittsburgh from accommodations at South side Traveler’s Rest hostel.
+ Transportation (click to open)
CITY TRANSIT
- Port Authority (Map) - $2.50+ one way. "You can travel with your two-wheeled, non-motorized bicycle using Port Authority buses, light rail (T) vehicles and the Monongahela Incline for no additional charge."
TRAIN
- Amtrak Capitol Limited (Washington, DC - Pittsburgh - Cleveland - Chicago) - $20 for roll-on bike service
- Pennsylvanian (New York - Pittsburgh) - $10 for checked bike ($15 bike boxes sold at station)
bus
None at this time.
cars
AIRLINES
- Delta- $150 to check bike
- JetBlue- $50 to check bike (folding bikes in container under 62 dimensional inches and 50 lbs are FREE)
- Southwest Airlines- FREE bike check in place of one piece of luggage
Support Local Advocates
Bikabout donates 25% of annual revenue to local advocates. You, too, can power better biking in Pittsburgh by donating to Bike Pittsburgh!
7-10 mile bike route. Pittsburgh is known for its Three Rivers (the Monongahela, Allegheny, and Ohio). Long before the rivers were lined with the multi-use Three Rivers Heritage Trail, the plentiful water access contributed to Pittsburgh’s industrial growth.