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    Monongahela Incline

    4.5 (157 reviews)
    Open 9:00 am - 12:00 AM (Next day)

    Monongahela Incline Photos

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    Matthew U.

    For all the years that I lived in Pittsburgh, I never once road the inclines. I have rode the incline in Johnstown, but never in Pittsburgh. And I lived on the South Side for years and would constantly go up to Mount Washington. Silly me, why did I never ride this thing? Because I drove everywhere and had no need to use the inclines. On this visit to the city I decided to take it in during a few vacation days. Not here, pay attention to where to cross to get the station off of Carson, I didn't. Jaywalker here, but I made it across to go inside. There are several ways to pay for your fare to use the incline. I opted for the three hour round trip fare. Same price as paying by cash. You can buy a pass in the station if you do not have a ConnectCard. You only seem to scan the card at the top instead of the bottom. I was confused by this, but if you are doing round trip it makes sense. The incline runs every 15 minutes and is quite on time. Both stations serve as small museums for the incline. Which could easily be much bigger since this has a storied past. The Monongahela Incline was built in 1870 and served to take workers up and down Mt. Washington for work. It still runs today and serves as the oldest continuously operating funicular in the U.S. There were 17 total inclines in Pittsburgh, but only two survive, this being one of them. Placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1974. Now the incline is operated by Pittsburgh Regional Transit and can be utilized as part of your commute. Or just to take yourself up to Grandview and find yourself on Shiloh to grab a bite or do some shopping. Why it took me so long for this, no idea. It's a great way to see the city, a cheap way to get around, and honestly quite beautiful to ride. The cars are original and reliable.

    Hubby
    Diane W.

    Beautiful area, but there were no staff members to guide/ assist us at all. Sat in the car for about 20 minutes waiting to go up; doors repeatedly opened and closed. Beautiful again, but no personal guidance.... A neighborhood awaits to explore ( ice cream, bars...) but we didn't go. Several viewing areas to take photos. Approximately 1 mile walk to the Duquesne Incline if you turn right ( west), but it is uphill!

    Savannah R.

    Took some time this weekend to be a tourist in my own city. And naturally the first thing all tourism guides say to do is try out the inclines! I chose the Mon incline because it is less busy due to its location. It's a super simple concept as well. Go in, get your connect card, and ride the incline. Sometimes there can be a wait if both cars are moving or at the other station, but both stations give you plenty of history and pictures to look at to help you pass the time. No AC in the stations though or in the cars, so if you're packed in close, you're going to feel it. It is such a cool concept that I wish more cities utilized as well.

    View from outside the station
    Will W.

    Great outing to travel up the bluff just like Pittsburgh residents during the Industrial Revolution. Get an ice cream at the top of the hill.

    Waiting for the incline (spiders included)
    Anna C.

    Arachnophobia warning! The incline was infested with over a dozen spiders inside the incline in July. They were minding their own business in the high edges of the incline, but still gave me the heebie-jeebies. Even if you don't mind spiders, summertime really is not a great time for the incline since it's a very enclosed space with a few ventilation holes and no climate control. All the sweats and smells! I also went on the incline during fall before, and it was perfect then. Definitely an experience in Pittsburgh. The perfect view from Mount Washington at the top, and lots of fun restaurants and shops in Station Square at the bottom. You can purchase tickets from the station at the top. If you're traveling down, you'll swipe your ticket then. If you're riding up, no ticket swipe until you exit at the top.

    Phil Y.

    It's one of the things to do while in Pittsburgh. It's a tram car ride up the hill. This tram ride is more for commuters than for tourists. If you are an out of towner, you probably should go northwest 0.8 miles to the Duquesne Incline. The view of the city was great. Tickets for this were confusing. We didn't know whether to purchase them at the bottom or if we should pay at the top. We were told that they make you pay at the top. It was a fun way to spend an hour.

    J E.

    These historic inclines are beautiful at night and after visiting this area many many times, I finally got visit the Monongahela Incline recently and it was fun. It's very touristy, but also very historic and kept up quite nicely. The staff that works there is friendly too. The way it works - If you're at the bottom and want to go up, there wasn't anyone down there, so you use the machine to buy a ticket. It's cheap, only $2.75/pp. When the car comes down and doors open, hop on - There are different rows and each row is at a different level of the stairs in the lobby area. Once at the top, you scan the paper ticket you just got printed from the machine down below. The paper tickets are NFC type, so you swipe them on a sensor. When you get back, you scan again and go through to ride back down. There's no AC, so when it's hot out, it'll be hot in these cars too. Regardless, it's fun and nostalgic - Definitely worth doing!

    The downtown view from inside
    Rich S.

    Don't miss the inclines! For an out-of-towner, it's a quaint inexpensive treat to ride the old tram-car to the overlooks and restaurants and bars up in the heights. We chose to ride up the further-southeast Monongahela Incline with the nearby parking lot and garage across Carson with a crosswalk. And we dropped off the less-mobile of us in the employee parking lot next to the station. You can get a ticket in the lobby before or after the ride, $3.50 or less. Free for seniors and for accompanied children 5 and under. The machine accepted credit cards. It's first-come self-directed boarding, with some stairs. Folks are moderately friendly, so speak up if you need less stairs or first boarding. Many people use them to commute, so avoid "rush hours". We saw long lines of tourists on a holiday, so we waited a day, rode mid-day, and had an easy time. They seemed to run every 15-minutes or so. 24 can ride at a time, in three sections of eight, on simple wooden benches. There are windows on all sides, and you get amazing views of downtown, and of the Monongahela River and bridges. It's about 5-minutes up or down. At the top, there are overlooks for unblocked views and photo ops, with a few of those pay-telescopes, and there are restaurants and bars near each incline. When we rode the Monongahela, we walked half-a-block up Shiloh from the overlook, and the nearest was an ice-cream stand with made-to-order sandwiches and hotdogs, with a pub across the street. There's around a dozen bars and restaurants within a couple blocks. If we were up for a 20min walk, we would have reached the further-northwest Duquesne upper station, with some nice restaurants and bars with views. (Instead we drove up to that area another time, because parking seemed to be under construction at the end of Aug 2024 at the lower station of the Duquesne Incline :-). We loved it! Our guest loved it! We got some great photos!

    Melanie C.

    I did my research before I did this so I knew about having cash and what to expect. If someone went blindly into this I can see there being some difficulty as there was no ticket person but machine only. We went at 8:30 pm. We chose this incline because it had more to see/eat at than the other one though the other one has better views. This is a must do.

    Historic photo
    Victoria G.

    My first visit after living here many years went well with the help of the group I walked with. We were happy 1 machine did day passes and other didn't do that. One of the inclines had half the seats unavailable. The views were stunning going up and down. We learned only while there that there is an app to purchase tickets which is not advertised much.

    Brianne C.

    Short ride up and down Mt. Washington. Great views of Pittsburgh from the top point and a quick way to get to the bottom. There were commuters and tourists when we rode. The person at the top station was very helpful as we were buying tickets - there's an unlimited 3 hour option for all of Pittsburgh's public transit for only $2.75. So that covered our round trip and also worked at the Duquesne Incline. At the top there's cheap or free street parking as well as cute shops and eateries. We started at the top and ended up eating lunch at the bottom before returning then doing the other incline (all within the 3 hour ticket).

    Art J.

    A fun experience. The Monongahela Incline is a piece of history. The experience made me wonder what commercial traffic was like in the early days of the incline. You get an interesting view and a fun ride. It is a quintessential Pittsburgh experience.

    Lynn R.

    We wanted to see some well known landmarks while visiting Pittsburgh. This incline car is pretty cool. It's near Station square and has lots of cute shops and places to eat. We enjoyed the views and the ease of parking nearby. It's self pay and the prices are minimal.

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    Bucket list item for anyone who visits Pittsburgh. Great view of the Burgh from Mt. Washington.

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    Review Highlights - Monongahela Incline

    A Pittsburgh landmark that has a great location near Station Square and is a good way to spend an afternoon.

    Mentioned in 26 reviews

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    Monongahela Incline - landmarks - Updated May 2026

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