Hi all - just purchased a Trek 7.3 FX and started riding around the area. Haven't owned a bike in about 20 years, so I'm still getting acclimatized, riding the river trails a lot.
I'd like to check out the Allegheny Passage trail - can someone recommend a good way to get from Point Breeze down to Homestead to get to the trail head?
Go to Google Maps and turn on the bicycling layer. Take a look at Frick Park. Take the trail that takes you to old browns hill road and duck hollow. Make a right on old browns hill until you get to... browns hill. Take the sidewalk across the high level bridge and you are at the waterfront! That's the adventurous way.
Note that the Duck Hollow route requires climbing up to Browns Hill Road.
I take Beechwood Blvd down to Browns Hill Road. Riding Browns Hill Road is possible (it's all downhill southbound so you can go pretty fast), but with the traffic, the sidewalk is a less scary alternative. If you're coming from Beechwood, you can avoid the part of Browns Hill that lacks a sidewalk by turning onto Saline Street (though be careful of Saline's potholes).
Saline is a pothole.
Thanks for the responses. I was trying to avoid Browns Hill Road as much as possible, for the obvious reasons. I thought about taking Saline, but I've been uncomfortable sharing that road with cars when I'm driving a car on it.
I will try to check out the Frick Park trails this weekend. I'm not particularly into off-roading, but I think I'd prefer to avoid spending an extended amount of time on Browns Hill Road for now....
My route from Shadyside to Homestead is:
-Ellsworth
-Neville/Boundary Street
-through Junction Hollow
-through Hazelwood
-across the Glenwood Bridge
-hook around past keystone metals and through the Sandcastle parking lot.
(Once the trail past keystone metals is finished, this route would replace the Hazelwood and Glenwood bridge sections with the Hot Metal bridge and the South Side trail)
@escargonaut - I very rarely go across the Glenwood Bridge. I thought at its southern end, it kind of goes a little 'high-speed limited access highway-ish," with exit ramps to get on to Carson St? I was reluctant to try that way for that reason.
I was looking at google maps, and don't see how you get down to Keystone metals from the bridge....
I've found there to be pretty good sightlines and a reasonable shoulder at the south end of the bridge; comfort zones may of course vary. The transition off the bridge used to be more direct, but it looks like they've changed the ramps around.
After you cross the bridge, take the first right-hand exit you come to (onto W Ashby St), then hairpin left onto Baldwin at the stopsign, which will bring you north up to Keystone.
My favorite route is to turn down Commercial off Beechwood, go into the Summerset housing complex and ride to the end of construction, ride through the dirt area and connect over to Browns Hill Road.
Y'know, if you're in Point Breeze, I'd skip Squirrel Hill and go further east across the Rankin Bridge. I'm in Edgewood and that's what I do. You can find your way into Regent Square and follow Braddock into Swissvale. Go right onto, I think it's Monongahela which is the street right before the BP. It goes up a hill and doglegs to the right across Schoyer, I think. Keep on it past the library, community center, CVS, etc. It will start to go downhill. Keep wending your way over to 2nd Avenue which will eventually take you to the Rankin Bridge. Cross it, get off to the right onto 8th Ave. and take it a half-mile to Waterfront Drive. Make a right and you're at the trailhead. If you want to avoid the hill at Braddock and Monongahela, ride down Penn or South into Wilkinsburg until you hit Swissvale Ave and follow it until it turns into Edgewood Ave. For the safest and easiest route, jump on the sidewalk next to the busway and go through a small parking lot to Washington Ave., which is where you can cross the bridge over the busway. It will take you out to Monongahela. Make a left, and follow the directions above.
There are dozens of ways you could find your way to the Rankin, and Google Maps or just experimenting will reveal the best for you. Bottom line from here is that I think the Rankin Bridge is a heck of a lot better for somebody coming from Pt. Breeze than the Homestead Grays Bridge and Brown's Hill Road. Enjoy. The trail is great.
Went through Summerset at Frick Park and got down to the Waterfront. Very enjoyable ride down. I had to hurry back, so I didn't have time to check out the trail.
I came back up Saline - man that hill is tough. Had to walk up part of it. 
Haven't yet met a hill I could not walk up.....
In Pittsburgh at least. The Popocatepetl volcano in Mexico kicked my butt pretty good.
