I recently drove out to Harrison Hills Park, which is in Natrona Heights, for a guided hike put together by the local park rangers. The particular hike I went on ultimately had more talking than hiking, so my mother (who had invited me) and I left the group early to walk on our own. With that in mind, my visit here was relatively brief, but I loved what I saw! Harrison Hills Park itself is a 500 acre park, so needless to say, my mom and I did not trek through much of it at all. We started out by wandering some trails overlooking the river; and after a while, we drove to a different parking lot so we could venture down other trails and visit a pond. Since it was the fall, we primarily saw lots of gorgeous autumn colors while walking; not only that, but we got lucky and a pair of bald eagles flew past us when we were above the river. That was a stunning sight I won't soon forget! As mentioned earlier, some guided programs are offered here by various groups, which I think are a great, especially for families. And during my visit, we also passed a playground and soccer field, which is more great news for families! I also want to mention that according to the park website, "Along with the usual walking, jogging, hiking and biking trails, there is a paved trail that is wonderful for wheelchairs." It's not often that I see accessibility like that in nature parks, so kudos to the volunteers and group in charge of this area. The website is worth checking out in general, as this is a surprising versatile park. The site has information about everything from a learning center to a list of popular seasonal sports and activities. Very helpful for planning future visits. I look forward to visiting Harrison Hills Park again in the spring and summer. Between gorgeous wildflowers and seasonal birding and wildlife activities, those seasons are sure to be even more delightful times to experience this beautiful area! read more

Harrison Hills Park - Hiking Near Me - Harrison Township, Pennsylvania

The playgrounds are great and the dog park was really big with shaded places to sit. The Rachel Carson trail starts here as well.

This is an underrated park! There are so many trails with a wide range of difficulty. Several of the trails have great look outs too. Most of the trails are well marked but I still got lost a few times since the trails will split randomly. You could spend hours here and not cover the whole territory. There is picnic seating and a playground. Plenty of parking in various locations. read more

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Thanks to park rangers Clay and Rachel one afternoon, I went on a private guided hike of Harrison Hills Park. I'd never been there before but was very impressed with both the rangers and their knowledge and the park itself. Harrison Hills Park is one of the smaller parks in Allegheny County but makes up for it with well maintained blazed trails including several breathtaking overlooks. Harrison Hills also has an environmental center where they hold educational events that are open to the public. There are several shelters/groves and a lovely playground for kids to enjoy. It's not the closest park to me, but it's also not far from the city and is very family friendly. I'd recommend it for a nice afternoon outdoors. read more

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I visited Harrison Hills Park for the first time today. The park is 500 acres, and it has hiking trails, pavilions, sports fields, and outhouses. I enjoyed the views of the Allegheny River from the trails and the Watts Memorial Overlook. The weather was hot, but the trails were shaded by trees. One thing to note is that the park used to be a trash dump, so you see pieces of glass in many places. I appreciate the two anonymous groups of friendly people who confirmed that we were walking in the correct direction for our destination. We had planned on going bird-watching near the pond, but we did not quite make our way there. We will return in the future to complete that activity. read more

This summer I was on a mission to get outdoors and explore my area. Despite growing up near this park, I never went. The park is broken into two main sections one with fields, one with a traditional park. I went to the park area and discovered this great overlook. There is a bench there. The park is good for both kids and adults. There is playground equipment as well as a paved path for biking, rollerblading, walking, and jogging. read more

Harrison Hills Park - The view from the overlook - Hiking Near Me - Harrison Township, Pennsylvania

My husband and I come here often. We always have a ton of fun. They have a lot of stuff to do for all ages. Beautiful landscape as well

It's a really nice park that has lots of hiking trails,playgrounds and picnic areas. The best part is it's free and it's a safe place to enjoy the weekend. I'm surprised more people don't use the park it has a great view of the Allegheny river and is easy to access from RT 28. It's also clean and well maintained read more

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Great park! They have very nice soccer fields and a lovely soccer team. There is also an amazing playground located there. I love going here to see the soccer and great sights! read more

Situated in the far Northeast corner of Allegheny County, Harrison Hills Park is part of the Allegheny County Parks. At 561 acres, it's slightly smaller than Frick Park, but it boasts an extensive trail system, an environmental center, and a scenic overlook, which provides great views of the Allegheny River Valley. Harrison Hills Park was created in 1958 via land acquisition from Harrison Township. Funding for the Allegheny County Regional Parks came from a program called Project 70. The largest parcel was that of the Tarentum Sportsman's Club land and the others were made up of several farms and land owners, now totaling 500 acres. At that time the county parks were not yet named but were referred to by their numbers. Harrison Hills was Site No.4 of the Regional Parks System. Harrison Hills Park was formally dedicated in 1961, however it would not officially open for another 10 years. Harrison Hills Park is one of the few county parks I'd never been to before. So as part of our wellness program at work, I headed out here with some of my colleagues plus a couple of friends for some hiking. The trail system here is some 16 miles long, so while we obviously didn't cover it all, we did get a good mix of different terrain here. The trail system here is blazed, meaning that they're marked with color signs along the way. Each trail has its own color and if hiking in a group, it's best to do some orienteering before setting out on the trails. Also a good printed map from the website is a must. The skill levels on the trails vary from easy to difficult. Most of the trails are loops except for the Rachel Carson Trail. We met up at one of the parking lots off of Woodchuck Drive. Here we had picnic benches and restrooms, so it was a convenient place to start. We began by hitting the Pond Loop Trail, an easy loop of about 1.4 miles. Along the trail we saw woodlands, conifer groves, a wildlife observation area, and the pond. Part of the trail parallels a stream, making for a nice peaceful walk. We then picked up a portion of the Rachel Carson Trail. Carson was an American marine biologist and conservationist whose writings are credited with advancing the global environmental movement. Her best known work is "Silent Spring", which helped start the environmental movement. The book was a rallying point and according to environmental engineer and Carson scholar H. Patricia Hynes, "Silent Spring altered the balance of power in the world. No one since would be able to sell pollution as the necessary underside of progress so easily or uncritically." Her most direct legacy in the environmental movement was the campaign to ban the use of DDT. Those who believe that the Environmental Protection Agency should be eliminated and/or that private business would regulate their own pollution "because it's in their self-interest" should read the book. Wait, how did I go off on that tangent? Ah yes, the Rachel Carson Trail. In its entirity, the Rachel Carson Trail is a 35 mile hiking (but not biking) trail in Allegheny County. In Harrison Hills Park, the scenic highlights include the Rainbow Bridge stream crossing just above Rachel Carson Falls, and a spectacular view of the Allegheny River Valley, some 400 feet below. We paused for a bit on the Rainbow Bridge, then headed up to THE scenic highpoint of the trip, the Watts Memorial Observation Deck. The deck is named for lifelong area resident Michael Watts. Watts monitored pollution of the river and reported problems to the state environmental agency. When he was given one half of all the fines collected by identifying polluters, he returned his share to the county with the request that they continue his efforts to keep our rivers clean. The view from up here is absolutely incredible. You can see Allegheny, Butler, Armstrong and Westmoreland Counties. It's also one heckuva vista looking up and down the Allegheny. From this point, some of the more novice hikers decided to call it a day and head back. O'but not Susan and her hardcore hikers. From this point we set out west along the Carson-Scouts Overlap Trail. Here we were treated to more views of the Allegheny and some beautiful woodlands. I believe this segment connects with the rest of the Rachel Carson Trail. From this point in, we kicked it in a notch. We turned east onto the Scouts Trail, which is about 5 miles in length. Its difficulty level varies from moderate to difficult. We passed by the community soccer fields and saw more woodlands and a couple of ponds. Parts of the trail are quite undulating and we good our heartrates up on this one. We then took a detour on the Wetlands Trail, which meanders through some wetlands, meadows, oak stands, and various other woodlands. This trail too becomes difficult in spots. I'd have to say that all in all, our group did about 10 miles of solid hiking. read more

On a cold day in December we drove out of the city to get some hiking/waslking in. Harrison Hills Park was deserted. I think we saw a single other person in several hours of walking between the trees and on cliffs overlooking the Allegheny. read more