To McKees Point and Beyond

I started this moderate length walking trek at the corner of Forbes & Murray Avenues in Squirrel Hill at 40.43803°N and -79.92303°W. I walked along Murray Avenue and turned onto Hazelwood Avenue at 40.41972°N and -79.92814°W. You’d take Hazelwood Avenue only for a few metres onto Browns Hill Road at 40.41958°N and -79.92720°W. Small sections of Browns Hill Road do not have a sidewalk if you’re walking and the traffic moves pretty quickly along this corridor. This leads directly to the Homestead Grays Bridge starting at 40.41273°N and -79.92125°W. This offers pretty good views of the Waterfront.
As you exit the bridge you must cross at the traffic lights to recover the sidewalk to head along West 5th Avenue at 40.40746°N and -79.91419°W. You can make a quick stop at “The Stacks” located at 40.40477°N and -79.91799°W. You pick up the Great Allegheny Passage Trail just beyond the corner of Waterfront Drive and West 5th Street at 40.40349°N and -79.91970°W. You’d be following the section of the trail that’s heading due east. The trail heads toward Point State Park in downtown Pittsburgh in the opposite direction. That leg is a fairly easy approximately 10 mile trek.
You can opt to walk through the Waterfront Shopping Area and pick up the Pedestrian Bridge over West Waterfront Drive at 40.40833°N and -79.91770°W. The better part of this trek along the banks of the Monongahela River begins on the opposite side of that pedestrian bridge at 40.40885°N and -79.91837°W. Along the trail there’s a lot of restaurants and pubs. Most interesting are the views of the river. It’s not unusual to see Canada Geese and Beavers about the river.
The walking trail exits onto the sidewalk along East Waterfront Drive at 40.41440°N and -79.89960°W. It’s only a very short walk to the Homestead Labyrinth at 40.41421°N and -79.89825°W. There’s a lot to see, do, and reflect upon at this spot. If you’re lucky you may even see the train go along the labyrinth. The Great Allegheny Passage continues heading along East Waterfront Drive to the Rivers of Steel Pump House & Water Tower located at 40.41298°N and -79.89631°W. This was the site of the 1892 Battle of Homestead.
The Rivers of Steel Section of the Great Allegheny Passage begins just past Bristol Metal at 40.40754°N and -79.88854°W. This trail is very clearly marked and unfortunately it’s paved. It is also a shared trail so you would encounter many cyclists, walkers, joggers, and people walking dogs. I’ve been fortunate to see a few birds of prey, rabbits, and deer along this section of the trail. In fact, between the 136 and 137 mile markers you'd notice lots of birds of prey nests, including the bald eagle (Haliaeetus leucocephalus).
The trail goes under the Rankin Bridge at 40.40461°N and -79.88212°W. Unusually, there’s a bench placed there looking out at the river. You’re walking next to a very busy railroad at this point. The trail crosses the railway lines at the Whitaker Bridge at 40.40176°N and -79.87805°W. On the other side of this bridge you’d be crossing from the Munhall area into the West Mifflin area. Additionally you’re now some distance away from the banks of the river. Along this section of the trail there are a few picnic tables, benches, and a memorial for someone who died along the trail possibly. The upper banks are loose and when I traversed the trail this evening a section had given way sending very large rocks down the incline onto the trail.
You get a relatively good view of the Braddock Locks and Dam further along the trail. There are a couple of very small waterfalls along this section of the trail as well. The trail continues past the Kennywood Park Amusement Park at 40.38933°N and -79.86316°W. Just beyond there you’d find a martialling area for trail volunteers. It contains a water pump, air pump, and a portable washroom. In addition it has a small picnic area with a view of the river. The trail continues running just below but parallel to Commonwealth Avenue in the City of Duquesne. There is another railway crossing bridge located at 40.38259°N and -79.85376°W. There is a major road crossing at Grant Avenue at 40.37386°N and -79.84451°W. The trail then continues along what’s labelled as Braddock Historic Road past mostly warehousing facilities along South Linden Street. There’s a small picnic table just off the trail beyond the South Linden Street tunnel at 40.36356°N and -79.84200°W.
This trail continues under the South Duquesne Boulevard Bridge at 40.25998°N and -79.84522°W. The trail has its own crossing via the McKeesport Connecting Railroad Bridge at 40.35832°N and -79.84745°W. This is a lovely structure spanning the Monongahela River and affords very good views of the South Duquesne Boulevard Bridge, South Duquesne, and McKeesport. The bridge makes landfall on the McKeesport side of the Monongahela River at 40.35555°N and -79.84764°W. It continues onto Industry Road with a marked railway crossing at 40.35224°N and -79.86328°W. You’d turn right to continue along the Great Allegheny Passage Trail.
Be sure to make a stop at the J.F.K. memorial Park at 40.35172°N and -79.86560°W and the Blue Star Memorial at 40.35149°N and -79.86718°W. The McKees Point Trail starts at 40.35138°N and -79.86915°W and proceeds right. It is a very short trail that ends at McKees Point at 40.35445°N and -79.86875°W. This point gives you a relatively good view of the start of the Youghiogheny River. Youghiogheny is a Lenape word meaning "a stream flowing in a contrary direction." I had lunch here today before carrying on to explore the McKees Point Waterfront. I turned about at the 132 mile marker on the Great Allegheny Passage Trail.
There was some construction happening at the Lysle Boulevard Bridge so that short span of the Great Allegheny Passage Trail was closed but the alternative is to proceed along Water Street and pick up the trail further along just past that point. That way back was simply the way out done in reverse.
Happy Trails.