BIKEPGH MESSAGE BOARD ARCHIVE

Nine Mile Run and or Duck Hollow Trail (that's the section that approaches Browns Hill Road just across the river from the Waterfront Complex.)

ook I wasn't far off...I've never been on it. Are the connections ok or do you think it would be better to check it out another time when I'm not trying to get somewhere at a certain time?

I haven't been there, but from these previous threads, sounds like it's OK:

http://bike-pgh.org/bbpress/topic/from-oakland-to-edgewood-town-ctr#post-46580

http://bike-pgh.org/bbpress/topic/east-end-to-gap#post-40110

http://bike-pgh.org/bbpress/topic/new-bridge-over-9-mile-run-in-frick#post-39011

i went through last summer. if you can find the start of it from commercial, you should be fine heading along it. it was actively maintained last summer, with a grassy dirt road (fine on 23mm tires) heading from commercial to the new (as of last year) bridge over 9 mile run. from there, it was paved with something that looked like gravel, but didn't slip at all up the steep hill leading from the bridge. and it was a clear shot to the parking lot in duck hollow, at the bottom of old browns hill road.

from there, you can head along some guerrilla trails to braddock, or up old browns hill to where that comes out on browns hill.

Thanks guys... HV, I'd be going the other direction, from Old Browns toward Commercial...figured it would a nice detour from the Beechwood "Parking Lane". So I guess I'll have more downhill than what you experienced?

If you're on Browns Hill you will have a steep downhill to the "entrance" of the trail which wasn't marked last time I was there and if you overshoot it and ride to the river you have a steep uphill to get back to it. If you find the entrance it's fairly flat until you hit the valley and you have to head down and over the bridge then back up. It's nothing crazy but the gravel is fairly loose so be careful.

Ever consider the Rankin bridge?

Thanks rsprake, I'm thinking I might just stick to the streets this time and go exploring when I don't have anywhere to be. Good intel for later.

Rankin? Doesn't that require going toward the Waterfront first? I've never gone that way since the trail isn't yet finished in that direction. Is there a way around that doesn't require too much "off-roading" or getting on a highway on-ramp?

Yea, if you are going down browns hill road anyway, just keep going right across the bridge

haha oh yeah you're right. But it feels weird to cross the same river 3 times to get to my destination. There's only so much river crossing this Pittsburgher can take ya know!

I think I'll go my original route and explore these areas another day.

I was a little confused as to why you would be hitting browns hill to begin with so I thought that despite the route you gave you were already going to be in the waterfront from the southside.