BIKEPGH MESSAGE BOARD ARCHIVE

Welcome to Pittsburgh! Like the bear bell, which you won’t need here, but might still be a good idea as I suspect our trails are more crowded.  I believe there is an active trail riding group, but don’t know anyone in it or have contact info.  Call any local shop and I suspect they can help you with contacts. Not trail related, but Bicycle Heaven is open.  Go.

I went to Bicycle Heaven and asked about trails and they basically pushed me out of the store "We just fix bikes we don't ride trails" is a pretty much an exact quote.

Looks like Pittsburgh Off-Road Cyclists has a Facebook page. I think they're the main group around here for mountain biking.

Your video is very similar to the Dr. J Trail in North Park:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jwluwZJqLuc The top/start of it is across the street from the entrance to North Park's pool.  Here's some detail: https://www.mtbproject.com/trail/6091919/the-dr-j-freeride-trail  

MTB Project / Trailforks are a great resource around here. Personally check some of the trails Flying Squirrel / Country Club at Alameda park (butler, pa), Iron Gate in Frick, Dr J / Koto buki in north park. For road trips to some riding destinations within 3 hours or so, head up to new trails at Jakes Rocks in Allegheny National Forest, Some fun techy riding down at Big Bear WV, or awesome smooth flowy trails at Allegrippis trails @ Raystown Lake. Look in to a road trip to a bike park (Snowshoe WV is Rad from what I hear), some other possible options, but many may not be open due to covid (and nearing end of the season, where they switch to ski). https://mtbparks.com/Pennsylvania/258-Blue-Mountain-Bike-Park-Pennsylvania/View-details.html Follow "Trail Pittsburgh" on Facebook, they are the local IMBA Chapter and have some good info. Check in with local shops that sell MTBs and host MTB Rides (Trailfo Bikes, Flat Tire Bikes come to mind)

A well-made video of mountain biking in Frick Park https://youtu.be/FVoGRn2ird0

Dr. J freeride in North Park has some good features, and its a full fledged downhill run. Frick Park's Iron Gate is about the same difficulty, but twice as long as Dr. J and twice as far down vertically. 276 (also in frick) has some climbing, but some good features on the way down. If you don't mind a good amount of climbing on singletrack, you can go to the slags just south of Frick Park. Legally this is a gray area, and personally I avoid it because it can be dangerous. Stay on the western side of the creek down there, where there aren't many trees and a lot of tall grass. There's a flowy loop over there that most people who avoid the slags will still be fine on. If you go on the other side, there's a dirt jump track and a trail on a cliff. Both are sketchy and there's no access road if you get hurt. Boyce Park has White Blaze, which is a 2 mile loop with 3 downhill sections. Isn't really that hard but it's a beautiful park and never crowded. Boyce Park also has Blue Blaze Red Dot. Start at the Dog Park and work your way toward the Log Cabin. (Just go on trailforks).  

Bradys Run Park in Beaver County is an option as well.

Depending on your definition of a trail, there can be some public streets around here that may as well be trails. Not resurfaced in decades, zero to trivial traffic, some steep as hell. Just off Perrysville near the city line is the sequence of Vinceton-Dornestic-Glenside-Oakdale. You can take a car down it, but it's little better than a trail. Probably dozens more like that around here within a 30-minute bike ride of downtown.