Reviewing things in 2020 is, well, a little strange. If you're like me, you aren't exactly rushing out to the places we normally review. Instead, Settlers Cabin Park is one of the spots I frequent these days - for exercise, for a literal change in scenery, and to unplug from the current day-to-day of working at home. I want to mention early that part of the beauty of this 1,600+ acre county park is that it was once the site of various coal mines - this gorgeous space has been restored to what you see when you visit it now. Knowing that adds another level of appreciation, at least for me! After its history, the second biggest reason I love Settlers Cabin Park is the number of trails available to use. If you check out their website and maps, you can see an overview of the five or six total trails here. Some of them are on the shorter side, others are longer, and a lot of them directly interconnect at different points. That makes it easy to explore more than one trail in a single visit - one day I started out on the green trail, somehow went far enough to get to the purple trail, and finished the loop back to my car on the blue trail. (I promise, that will make more sense after looking at a map!) There are other things here besides the trails - tennis courts, field hockey, playgrounds, pavilions, wave pools, etc. Interestingly, Settlers Cabin Park is technically also home to the Pittsburgh Botanical Garden, which is another outdoor spot I adore. For the trails alone, I consider Settlers Cabin Park to be my perfect escape these days. I can hike anywhere from 1.5 to 6 miles, at any pace that I want. Bonus points - as long as I don't mind the hilly climbs involved, I can take some time to enjoy the sight and sound of the park's baby waterfall. (Some articles call it a mini waterfall, but given how small it is, I call it a baby!) Any time I spend here is always time well spent, and I'm sure I'll be back again soon. read more

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If you grew up anywhere near Robinson, Settlers Cabin is basically the summer spot to be. I've been hitting up that wave pool since I was a teenager. And honestly, you can't talk about Settlers Cabin without mentioning the picnic groves. I swear, half of my summer weekends over the decades have been spent at a cookout, grad party, or other gatherings with friends at one of those pavilions, eating hot dogs and hamburgers. When my daughter was little I brought her there through her teenage years with her friends. Always a good spot to spend a hot summer day in Pittsburgh. read more

Wave popl The life guards don't do anything there was a kid that wouldn't pull up his pants his parents did nothing the life guards talk and nothing else they don't save people read more

I just love this park and that the township takes care of it. We went today and the grass was freshly cut. Also, I noticed they cut back some of the red trail that was growing in. Beautiful fall day! read more

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I have not done the wave pool, but my son has and he loves it. I have done hiking with my sister and her dog and it was so beautiful. We went to the waterfall and then it started to rain and it was like being in a secret garden. I just love when everything is so lush and green and picturesque. It was like being in a fairytale. read more

Wow, this is a full fledged park, right outside of Pittsburgh. I wasn't expecting much, being that it is just outside the city. I was pleasantly surprised by the nice large trails, wild flowers, wild mushrooms, and a nice little waterfall at the end of one trail. The waterfall is not as grandious as some of the ones I have seen in Pennsylvania, but it is not too shabby by any stretch. I also saw a ground hog milling about and lots of people bring their dogs, very cute. Be wary of the parkway west though. I forgot how jammed it becomes during rush hour and made the mistake of coming back to Pittsburgh on a week day during rush hour, poorly timed! I will make a return visit sometime soon, p.s. - will post pics soon read more

Settlers cabin has a wonderful wave pool, that's all I'm commenting on as I haven't explored the rest of the park yet. The wave pool is clean, well-maintained, fun and nicely landscaped. The waves come intermittently, so you can be swimming or floating one minute, then the waves start rising, it's kind of exciting. I was brought up by the ocean and spent many days in ocean waves, and if not for this pool, I'd HAVE to trek 500 miles or so to enjoy some waves. The very cheapest adult admission is for senior citizens who live in Allegheny County, only $3. Regular adult admission is $6, Kids under 5 are just $1 each. Of course they have bath rooms, lockers, showers n'at. I'm a life-long swimmer, a certified lifeguard and water safety instructor, scuba diver, etc., and I swim as often as possible to stay in shape. This is my single favorite pool in the Pittsburgh area for summertime use. read more

Settlers Cabin Park - Settlers Cabin Wave Pool - Parks Near Me - Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

Last week, a friend told me about the dog park at Settlers Cabin park, and yesterday, Beagle Hunter and I set out to find it. Got lost, had to resort to GPS, and found it. There are several entry points, all double gated to avoid dogs who aren't supposed to escape from escaping, so that's appreciated. This dog park is GREAT! It's divided into 2 areas, one for small dogs and one for larger...but it seems dogs of all sizes prefer the bigger large dog section. It's completely well-fenced. Hunter, being 1,000% Beagle, did a complete perimeter check and couldn't find a breach, so that's a huge relief for me. It's nice and open for the dogs, trees here and there, just an awesome space. There's a picnic table on the upper part of the space, and on the lower, a pavilion with picnic tables for dog parents to hang while the fuzz faces play. There's a water pump, and people seem to fill available gallon water jugs with which in turn, the numerous available water bowls are filled for sharing. The people I met yesterday, and again today, are all dog people and thus, very nice and friendly. I noticed yesterday that a number of dog parents brought dog treats and shared, so I did that today. I became very popular with the fuzz face set. Hunter has had a great time both days, exploring, running and playing with the other kids. I'm going to bring him here a lot!! read more

Great park for hiking trails and peaceful walks. Very conveniently located in Pittsburgh. There is a playground for the kiddo's and pavilions for a nice BBQ get together. There is also a wave pool that I didn't get to visit but there are lots of trails you can hop into. Their park app, called "Allegheny County Park Trails," show all the trails in the park. There's a good amount! Even one that comes across a small waterfall here in Settlers Cabin. The app also works offline in case your signal gets lost. Beautiful greens, flowers, and wildlife! I went by myself and felt very safe. Occasionally, I'd run into a small group or another person on a walk. I like that they signify the trail with the colors of the trail to make sure people are headed the right way too. Simple park with easy trails. No fuss at all. Lots of parking. Great place to unwind. read more

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I really enjoyed my visit to Settler's Cabin Park. It's located in a convenient spot in Pittsburgh, and there are plenty of places to hike, picnic, and enjoy the outdoors in this park. The trails are well-maintained, and I was able to quickly hike to a pretty and calm waterfall area with my dog. Will definitely look forward to coming back again! read more

Settlers Cabin Park - Parks Near Me - Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

Settlers Cabin park is a really neat park and really clean park I would recommend taking your kids and dogs! To the waterfall trail my kids loved it and always had fun there we had so many bday parties there and had sooo much fun I would definitely recommend this place..!!!!! read more

This park has an awesome playground to bring your kids! It's relatively easy to get to with tons of different things for the kids to play on. The ground is a soft mat type of material which will help with any falls. We brought our daughter here to play and she had a blast! read more

TODAY WAS AN ADVENTURE!!!! I am SO glad I took my brother up here for a spontaneous hike. We had no idea how huge and beautiful these woods were- we are pretty tough, we decided even though these trails were longer and higher elevation than we expected, we just kept trucking on and had a blast. 3 trails: green, blue and purple. Don't ask me what's what because we got lost while we were confidently going down the "right" way. The green and blue trails are the closest to the park- the purple trail is a little off the beaten path. Study your map before you go and make sure you have a full phone charge and water. Go have yourself a good hike! read more

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How I ended up here still remains a mystery to me, but I was here at Settler's Cabin Park here in Pittsburgh, PA to just hang around, enjoy the downtime of my vacation, and play Pokémon Go. It was quite an interesting morning. I sort of wandered here by accident, but I was glad I did. Settler's Cabin park here in Pittsburgh PA is one of the most beautiful yet scenic of any major metropolitan parks I've ever been in and I've yet to experience Central Park in New York City. First of all, The park is not very big by any means, but it does have character and the pizzazz of just being a green space that many people would like to come here with their families on any given day to play and have fun. The first thing I noticed is the wave pool, which I thought was pretty neat. Unfortunately the wave pool was closed when I was there in late September 2016. I was kind of bummed but I figured that they would charge money for it. I'm sure that is not free, but the rest of the park is fortunately. The main part of the park is where you can either play tennis at the tennis courts or have a picnic with family and friends. There is also a trail that's about a mile or so deep in. Needless to say, I went in there and had a pretty good time although it was quite hilly. The kids playground was very neat because it was a chance for me to reminisce about my childhood all over again, but without having to hurt myself by playing on the equipment. The overall experience here at Settler's Cabin park can be described as pretty good, scenery, beautiful, and a hidden gem. Pittsburgh is awesome to have this year and you would best believe that we should make it a point to come here once a month because it's awesome! Too bad the wave pool was not available, since swimming on a hot day would have been kind of ideal. Settler's Cabin Park is located at 1225 Greer Rd., Pittsburgh PA. Like most of the parks in metro areas, the admission here is free! Free is basically just too ridiculously awesome! I did see some families roaming around and having fun and that made me smile. Make most parts, there is plenty of parking and be much no one there to bother you depending on the time of day you're there. I was there around 8 AM on Wednesday morning. I had time to kill, so I was playing Pokémon go and waiting for my flight out of Pittsburgh international airport later that afternoon. I did enjoy the peace and quiet, while driving around slowly playing the game. There are plenty of picnic spaces to have lunch and just to relax as they around the day away. I ended up staying here around 2 1/2 hours before leaving to find lunch. I did enjoy the quiet time which was my favorite part of the park, as well as just being in the quietness of the morning and not having to be stuck in the office working my life away. Don't you just love vacations? I would definitely recommend coming here, if you are in love nature, the great outdoors, and just want to get away from the city life. Distressing from every day life is beneficial here at this park, if you can't get to the beach on the East Coast. This is the next best thing, at least in Pittsburgh PA. 5 stars for beauty and scenery. 4 1/2 stars for picnic areas, as well as the tennis courts and the areas for the children. Too bad that the wave pool was closed when I was there, I would have paid money to enter anyway. Support local! A- read more

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This review is for the wave pool, I've never ventured to the actual park and hiking trails. My sister, niece & I often find ourselves at this pool during the summer. We do enjoy regular pools, but Idk the wave pool is fun!! Personally my three year old niece prefers a regular pool to spend all 5 hours jumping, getting out just to Jump again. The waves here are crazy! As another yelper stated, you really feel like you're swimming for your.life. The waves last awhile and they happen often. You can rent a raft for $5. Settlers Cabin also has a diving pool. There are two smaller diving boards, two diving boards a little higher and then a diving "plank(?)" with three different levels. I've never dove off of them but both diving boards are fun.. I actually get nervous on the higher one. There is also a spot under the diving pool with a window to watch your friends while they're underwater.. Smells like pee down there though -__- The food is decently priced and you can use debit cards there and at the front gate. The minimum is $5. Admission is $6 for Allegheny county residents and maybe $8 for non. (adult price) They didn't check IDs even though a memo on the admission gate window says they will. All in all we have a fun time here. read more

Settlers Cabin Park - Parks Near Me - Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

A very peaceful and active park. Great place to throw parties for kids, to bbq, bike rides or any kinds of activities, celebrations and believe it or not also a lot of people come to catch Pokémon. Has 3 huge kids play grounds, trails and whole bunch of parking space. Also has a wave pool right across the street. Thumbs up for this park read more

Settlers Cabin Park - Parks Near Me - Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

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This park for me honestly is hit or miss I mean it's a great park that's big and has a big area for kids to play. I mostly come here alone for the trails to bike and hike. There's a few pavilions for people to host party's at. A hockey ring as well as a racket ball course and tennis area. The bathrooms here always seem to be dirty and not kept up. There's a lot of room for parking, not many stations to feel up your water bottles at. They do have a pool and wave pool connected to this park as well. But as far as the trails go there strictly beginner not to advanced for those looking to have some fun. But the trails can get pretty boring for someone looking for a hard skill level or more challenging stuff. I'll continue to come here but it's never my first choice for riding bikes. read more

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This is a great little park! They have a really good hiking loop. I think the longest extension is about 5 miles. Its easy to knockout in an afternoon. I found it to be very impressive hiking for how close it is to the city. There are also plenty of pavilions around! This is a great little place! read more

We came here today for a birthday party at the Cuyoga shelter. There was a really nice playground for the kids right there. Looked newer with the nice padded floor. My son had a blast. The shelter was a good size and it definitely was great to be under when it poured down rain. This was my first time here and the park was really easy to find. Exit 61 from 376 and then a left and a right and you are there. read more

This is a fun location! We arrived pretty close to their opening time and there was plenty of room on the pool deck and in the wave pool. The kids had a blast! Renting a tube is a must I think for kids. The dive pool was fun as well. The concession stand had an adequate selection and the service was quick and painless. The day we were there their credit card machine was inop but they do have an ATM just inside the gate. I can see where maybe the manager could come off as a little gruff with some but we didn't have any issues. I did notice the tables of lifeguards - at least 20) but they are continually rotating. I assume to keep fresh eyes on all the bodies in the pool. The young girls at the main gate seemed like they would rather be sitting at home playing with their cell phones than working and lacked any type of customer service. Whatever. read more

A brisk, clear November morning. To me there's no better time to go hiking than on a fall morning when that bite is in the air! After a week's worth of concert going and bad for me dinners, my cousin Cindy and I headed out to Settler's Cabin Park for some reinvigorating hiking! Settler's Cabin Park is named after, well, an 18th century cabin found by archaeologists from the Carnegie Museum of Natural History. Settler's Cabin Park has the busiest of the three wave pools operated by the county and also has tennis courts and a diving pool. The park has about five miles of blazed trails. What is a blazed trail? A blaze is a paint mark on a tree next to the trail. That's how you find your way. You follow the blazes to follow the trail. A double blaze indicates a trail intersection and turn or some other point that requires your attention. When you see a double blaze, stop and look for the next blaze. We began our hike on the Blue Loop, which is right next to the tennis court parking lots. Then we headed south and picked up the Green Loop. It's too bad this was the middle segment. It has the best scenery in the park and it would have been great to save the best for last. This trail will get your blood pumpin' on a brisk morning. It's very steep in places and a spring drains into the trail, making it a stream after a particularly heavy rain. Your footing can be very difficult when it's wet. I STRONGLY recommend wearing a very sturdy hiking shoe or boot if you're going on this trail. There's also a small waterfall on the way down the hill. Finally we did the Purple Loop, which the southernmost loop and a far gentler grade. If you walk in a counterclockwise direction, it's a downgrade. It's good for bringing your heart rate down a little after the last steep trail. There are also a lot of other unblazed trails, and we used one as a shortcut on our way back. These trails are not well marked and I recommend you bring a map. All-in-all, that brisk morning hike woke me up better than my normal five cups of coffee. read more

Tried the Settlers Cabin wave pool for the first time in years. It was a typical crowded Sunday but lots of fun. The water was FREEZING cold. Admission is inexpensive. $1 kids under 6, $5 youth, $6 adults, and $3 seniors. It's a few dollars more for non residents but they charged everyone in our group the resident rate even though half of our party was from out of state. In fact, they never asked to see ID. We had one senior citizen in our party who was not swimming and she still had to pay which is kind of dumb if you ask me. Raft rental is $4 and it's so worth it, especially if your kids are little. You can rent lockers for only 25 cents. The facility is pretty clean. Even the restrooms aren't horrible. There is an area designated to smokers which is right in front of the snack bar and bathroom building. You have to walk right past the cloud of smoke in order to get to the pool. So wrong in my opinion. Move the smokers off to the side so they can pollute the air my children don't walk through. The waves are fun and fierce and they go for quite a while. The little kids in my group were happy that they bell signaling the start of the waves wasn't too loud! The parking lot is huge but it does fill up. Even with handicapped parking, the entrance and the pool is quite a hike. read more

Settlers Cabin Park - Snack bar menu - Parks Near Me - Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

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For the picnic side of the house this place is a 5-Star location since it is rarely so crowded you can't find a spot to comfortably set up in. For the tennis side of the house this place is a solid 3-Star offering. Therefore I'm averaging it out to 4-Stars and calling it a day. Settler's Cabin is a big park and as such there's plenty of room to go for nature and trail hiking as well as biking. There's a lot of gazebo areas with grills, so it is certainly cook-out and picnic friendly. And on the less busy days if you get one of the more secluded areas you can let your dogs roam while setting up (all dogs are supposed to be on leashes tho!) without risking too much (maybe the fine). The tennis courts are black-top (meh!) but there is lighting (woot!), however the road to them since they're isolated is a little scary when it gets dark (dun dun daaa!). They do have a well maintained back-board if you're solo and still feel the need to hit. And for the most past there's enough courts (6 at least) that you shouldn't have to wait too long for a court even in the busiest of times. read more

Went on the blue loop trail and got lost. Good project for an Eagle Scout to update signs for the trail. Especially when you exit on Teepee Rd and not a clue of where to continue to get to the tennis court parking lot. Easy walking trail but frustrating without signs. Who knew there were trails behind tennis courts. No signs leading you there. read more

Decent park. There are a lot of picnic areas and playgrounds. I wish there were some paved trails and a dog park. Hopefully they have a plan for this in the future. Be cautious if you plan on hiking and it's rained recently, the trails stay wet for a while. Recently, I've gone a week after the last rain and we were still wading in mud today. I've never gone to the wave pool, so I don't have much to say about that. read more

There are a lot of trails in this park that's good for hiking and mountain biking. Where to start could be confusing for the first time visitors. The direction signs could be more clear as well. But overall, we enjoyed hiking there and happy that we have an outdoor place so close to the city. Will go back to check out the other trails. read more

Beautiful place to spend time, spend every weekend with my friends there. I like this place a lot

Very beautiful, visited 5pm Saturday 4/19/14 the day before Easter it was not crowded. G8 for birdwatchers. Turkey, woodpeckers, bluebirds, red cardinals, etc... everywhere.Nice flat roads for walking/jogging. The hiking trails were not clearly marked BRING A TRAIL MAP FROM WEBSITE. Alot of random picnic tables here and there some have grills some dont. The picnic shelter areas have restrooms buildings otherwise, Porta potties here and there. Dog curbing stations, horseback riding trails, wavepool. Close to ROBINSON MALL/CARNEGIE. Playgrounds. I imagine during the summer it must get really crowded so come early. I gave it 4 stars because i couldnt find the hiking trails not enough signs. Super thick woods and lots of trees. read more

The hiking trails are not well-marked. I've gone twice and got lost both times. I've done a Mkt of hiking in many other parks and national parks across the US. I won't go back to Settler's Cabin. read more

We just got here paid to get in as soon as we walked through the gates it started to lightning so they exited the pool and would not refund our money that is so messed up my niece just turned 13 and we brought her here for her birthday her heart is broken we will never come back here read more

It's a fun place to go to, but lifeguards didn't do their their job. I went there to have a fun day, an ended up going to the emergency room because the lifeguards, if it wasn't for someone else there who was swimming who used to be a lifeguard who helped much worse things could of happened read more

The wave pool is awesome!!! Only $6 to get in. Definitely recommended getting a raft!!!

This is a very nice park! It easy to get lost in there. The tennis and basketball courts are a little ghetto looking but overall this is a great park! read more

This pool is what I refer to as "manslaughterific ". A girlfriend invited me and my son over for a play date on the 4th of July. I was skeptical because 1. A wave pool really? And 2. The day was a bit overcast . To my delight it wasn't crowded and all patrons were well mannered . But the real star is that churning inclined pit of Poseidon. I'm used to wave pools at water parks where they give you 5 mins of mild waves an hour. Ohhhhj but no, not at Settler's Cabin. It seemed like every 15 mins you were swimming for your life in a recreation of "a perfect storm"'s set. I'm not sure how folks stayed in their innertubes (you must rent) with such choppiness. Good thing there are a lot of life guards working . For the more technically adventurous types , settlers cabin offers several diving plat forms and spring boards. But seeing as how I wore a fatkini to the pool it was a no go. Con you aren't supposed to bring your own food and drinks to the pool. Pro all that sweet lush AstroTurf for sunning yourself. read more