Things to do / Travel Guide
Southwestern Pennsylvania provides a veritable feast for the eyes with its spectacular views and scenic overlooks. Dramatic waterfalls, giant boulders, and the gorge-ous 1,700-feet Youghiogheny River Gorge in Ohiopyle State Park are just a few of the images you'll want to photograph. Pittsburgh's dramatic skyline and Three Rivers are best appreciated from the city's newly-refurbished scenic overlooks.
Scenic Overlooks around Pittsburgh
The 370-foot Mount Washington has spectacular views of Pittsburgh's architecturally unique downtown and the Monongahela, Allegheny and Ohio Rivers, with their many bridges all nestled within Pittsburgh's gently rolling hills. There are four scenic overlooks (concrete platforms that jut out over the cliff) along Grandview Avenue that will afford you excellent views - day or night. The easiest and most interesting way to get to the top of Mount Washington is by cable car. The Monongahela Incline (West Carson Street near Station Square) and the Duquesne Incline (West Carson Street west of the Fort Pitt Bridge) will both take you slowly up the side of Mount Washington at about a 35-degree angle. The Inclines are open year-round from early morning hours to beyond midnight, and cost less than $5 for the ride.
Another beautiful place to see the city's geographical features is at the revamped, 500-foot high West End-Elliott Overlook west of downtown Pittsburgh at the south end of the West End Bridge. West End-Elliott Overlook provides a unique, slightly-distanced perspective of the city, as if you were approaching the downtown from the Ohio River. At the West End-Elliott Overlook you can walk along newly paved pedestrian paths, or simply stand and look out at the city from a beautiful observation deck.
Three new architectural claims-to-fame offer great views of the Pittsburgh cityscape and rivers: Major League Baseball's Pittsburgh Pirates' PNC Park (especially from behind home plate), NFL's Pittsburgh Steelers' Heinz Field, and the David L. Lawrence Convention Center just near the 10th Street Bypass, were all built to showcase the city's beauty.
Scenic Overlooks around Ohiopyle State Park
Baughman's Rock, located at over 2,000 feet high, will have you craning your neck to see Laurel Ridge looming 900 feet above you and then peering down to the now diminished Youghiogheny River threading its way through the flats. It's located 100 yards from Sugarloaf Road and offers the best view of the Youghiogheny River Gorge.
Ohiopyle State Park has several waterfalls that offer beautiful views - on these scenic overlooks just make sure it's the water that falls, and not you. Near the Meadow Run Trail are the Cucumber Falls, a 30-foot bridal veil waterfall surrounded by rocky cliffs and dense, green foliage. Jonathan Run Trail (just before it meets the Youghiogheny River Trail) offers views of several small waterfalls plunging over rocks amidst brightly colored Rhododendron and Mountain Laurel. Ohiopyle Falls is a 20-foot wall of water surging over sheets of bedrock, crashing amidst boulders. Ohiopyle Falls is considered the park's central attraction and can be best seen from the observation deck in the Falls Day Use Area in the center of Ohiopyle State Park.
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