I love hiking in autumn. The crisp air, the crackle of leaves under my boots and the quiet moments…read morein nature. Kane Woods Nature Area in Scott Township is a great place for a hike. Several trail heads with parking. Well maintained easy trails. And super cool that dogs are allowed off leash in this wooded wonderland.

Kane Woods Nature Area is a delightful hidden gem in Scott Township. It's owned by the Scott…read moreConservancy and is made up of at least 5 trails as of today. To be clear, these are not particularly difficult or long trails. If you only visited for an hour, you could probably explore most of if not all of the trails. But hey: sometimes a relaxing stroll is even more rewarding than a difficult trek! Especially in a wooded area like this one. In addition to offering a laid back hiking experience, this little area is absolutely gorgeous. I especially love visiting in the fall, when vibrant colors overtake the treetops and you can enjoy the sound of walking on fallen leaves. Plus, Kane Woods Nature Area is very easy to get to for those of us in the South Hills. Sure, places like Frick Park or Settlers Cabin Park are bigger and grander green spaces, but on those days that you really don't feel like dealing with I-376, it's good to have a local option too! I definitely recommend visiting this spot at least once, no matter how experienced of a hiker you are. Dogs are also welcome, so I also recommend bringing your best friend along on your walk!

I discovered Thornburg Conservation Park earlier this year, when I was searching for a new place to…read morego for regular walks. I now really love coming here for a quick dose of nature during my week! Finding the parking lot ended up being my first adventure here, because Google maps kept taking me to a residential street on the other side of the railroad tracks that sit above the park. The actual entrance is behind the Thornburg Public Works Building; easy to get to once you know where you're going, but boy did the GPS make it hard initially. The park itself is apparently thirty-eight acres (so says the borough website), and it has interconnecting trails that are very easy to navigate. The terrain is fairly flat overall, although if you walk further up the creek it can get bumpy in spots. It's definitely worth stopping by throughout the year to see the changing colors and the seasonal blooms come and go. I even saw a hummingbird during one visit this summer - not sure anything will top that! Note that dogs are allowed in the park by permit only, although I tend to see a lot of folks walking with their four legged friends so I don't think it's hard to get a permit. All in all, this is a peaceful and beautiful place to visit, and is especially nice on days where a shorter and easy-paced nature walk is needed. Here's to my next stroll at Thornburg!

I just took a venture over this way for some very light hiking. I usually bring my hiking boots,…read morebut this time I just wore regular shoes and that was a bad choice. There is grass covering the main trails that is very wet and kind of like a bog. My shoes and socks got very wet romping through here. There was multiple species of butterfly including cabbage white, silvery checkerspot, pearl crescent, hackberry emperor and a hawk moth. I also saw some white tailed deer and squirrels. There were two sets of wooden steps that looked very dilapidated. The wood is rotten and uneven. If I was not more agile I would have fallen trying to walk on them. This didn't make me want to walk on the rest of this trail. Besides the fact that some of the park is in a sad state of disrepair and there is very thick grass covering a good portion of the trails, it is a nice place to explore and very picturesque scenery. The Chartiers Creek is a nice big body of water that is relaxing to enjoy. There is beautiful wildlife to experience and it is quiet and peaceful. The trails are of a very mild difficulty for hiking as it is mostly pretty flat. Not too bad.

Boo...Green Tree...Boo! Seriously!?! I have never seen a dog in this ridiculously secured dog…read morepark...which is located in the middle of the Green Tree Municipal Park... where dogs are not allowed. Could you not think of any other way to prevent dogs from actually enjoying this space? Not a great use of community resources!!! The Green Tree dog park has annoyed me for a while now but also, I think I'm still a little angry that my buffalo wings were sad and soggy last night.

Worst dog park ever. I think the photo says it all...no wonder there was no one there. If you…read morelive next door, have an approved breed, and your dog completes a full medical and psychological evaluation, you might be able to get through the gate. I don't have pits, but my dogs' best friends are bully breeds. I'd boycott this place for rule #7 alone. And it's not even very big. You suck, Green Tree Dog Park.

Theyre undergoing some considerable renovations so for now I would say I do not recomend. The dog…read morepark seemed to be an old basketball court. I took my kids here to play Pokemon Go and it was a nice open space but for now thats pretty much it.

The Dormont dog park is a repurposed tennis court. What a great idea!!! This park has both a large…read moreand small dog play area and is just lovely tucked amongst the Dormont trees. I always love visiting in autumn when the foliage is changing colors. My dog likes to visit but gets bored really fast.

Nice park to take my son. The zip line is cool. The bathrooms when opened are clean…read more The trail has gotten much better.

Very nice playground, well maintained and with unique features. Nice walking trail, although made…read moreof dirt it's okay for strollers. There's a very big parking lot plus additional parking by the playground. The place is surrounded by a beautiful neighborhood. Down the walking path the view of the hills and the city in the distance is lovely. They have places several benches along the path to stop and enjoy the view.

We didn't get far as it was a family affair and some of us walked and some of us rode our bikes but…read moreall of us stopped at the creek. It was such a beautiful unexpected trail and creeks make everything better for my kids.

As of late-Summer 2017, the trail is now paved for 18 of the 29 miles starting at the Washington…read moreCounty Line to the Pennsylvania/West Virginia border. The beginning of the trail in Allegheny County is still a gravel base, as is the West Virginia section, leaving 11 miles unpaved. There is a new bike shop opening up right along the trail in the town of McDonald, in case you need repairs (or some Ice Cream). Still one of my favorite trails in the area (and it intersects with the Montour Trail providing even more options). P.S. Did I mention that Helicon Brewing is conveniently located along the trail in Oakdale if you get thirsty while using the trail?

What have we here?…read more There's a playground, a ballfield, two electrical towers, rusty fences, a basketball court, ripped up padding for the swing sets and see-saw, a pavilion, a dek hockey rink, and not a whole heckuva lot else goin' on up here but Little League games and lounging parents. Methinks this park could use some funding and a sprucing up. Why'd we come here, then? We found another fuzzy wuzzy critter in the house, and we let it go here after humanely apprehending said intruder. Then Kay started swinging. And swinging. And swinging. I couldn't get her off the danged thing! I can't swing.

It's not a bad park and is pretty relaxing. It just needs some TLC. And yes, I like swing sets. I'm…read morea big kid. :)

Nice park to visit they have an organic community garden only wish more people would take care of…read moreit. Also the pool is ok very small it's good for little kids.

They charged us 150 dollars to get in and then the manger got a attitude because we tried to use a…read moreFAMILY MEMBERS CARD and told us they will be taking those cards and not giving them back. Manger sucks

This is such an incredibly cool space! I've been here to use…read morethe library, to attend performances, to participate in performances and attend special events in the event space. All of the experiences have been wonderful. The library portion is fantastic. A large kids section with friendly and helpful librarians, a great area (with a fireplace!) to relax, computers and an overall great selection of books. The music hall portion is wonderful as well. Seats are pretty comfortable with a decent amount of room and you can see well from basically anywhere in there. The backstage area has two large dressing rooms with lighted mirrors. The only downside is that there is fairly limited parking, so if you are attending an event, you need to get there early enough to grab a spot or hope for nearby street parking.

I couldn't imagine walking up the street or steps from the main street in Carnegie to the Library…read more Let's hear it for automobiles. Built high on the hill, I am sure it witnessed a lot of Pittsburgh history. The kind staff allowed us to see the theater. It is very similar to Carnegie Library of Homestead. The lower level seats have been adopted and refurbished with nice padding. The Library is still raising funds to refurbish the seats on the 2nd floor. The fireplace on the main floor of the Library is enormous from floor to ceiling (at least 20 ft ceilings). The Civil War Nurses exhibit brought us to the library. Very enjoyable. We will be back to experience other events at the Library and theater. Ample parking during Library hours. Not sure enough parking onsite for theater events. Street parking available.