Youghiogheny River Trail

I’m pretty sure the 56C now carries bikes, and will drop you off where its easy to get to the trail. The section near Mckeesport is best viewed in the spring, lots of wildflowers along the 20 miles between mckeesport and cedar creek park.

My favorite thing about Pittsburgh in summer.
The rivers keep this trail cool and breezy. It’s long — you can go all the way to Ohiopyle (the trail is quite pretty out that way), or even, with some interruptions, Washington DC! It’s all very green. The crushed limestone surface is very well-​kept and good for mountain bikes and road bikes alike. There are stops for water, bathrooms, benches, a picturesque old cemetery. In case of rain, there are a number of covered picnic tables and baseball dugouts along the way that you can duck into. There are wildflowers and groundhogs and bunnies and little waterfalls. And snakes. And an ex-​Tastee Freeze that now goes by the name Yough Twister. Hm.
The only real drawback is that you have to drive to the trail with your bike from Pittsburgh. You can’t even take a bus; the buses that run to McKeesport, where the trail officially begins (as of now) don’t carry bikes. There are lots of entrances to the path, most marked with little signs. In the town of Boston, PA there is a big parking lot and some playing fields and rest rooms that make a good place to start.
Remember speedy Pittsburghers, pass on the left and hail when passing! Oh, and like all the great bike paths I love, this one has been the site of some highway robbery…
Because this is a rails-​to-​trails, there is almost no elevation change. If I had kids, I’d take them here. But I would encourage them NOT to stop in the middle of the path if they needed to adjust something on their bicycles.
Much better any day than a trip to Lake Erie. It’s also nice in the fall.