Frick Park

This was supposed to be the season's first Rides, then Writes ride. It proved to be an unsuccessful ride for me, only a novice cyclist, but I hope it proves to be a worthwhile blog post!

I'd heard my pastor, Jay, a BMX biker, speak of Frick Park and its bike trails. His BMX reputation, and the fact that only days before I'd seen him stoke a fire with his boot, should have been enough to make me realize that there are differences between my cycling skills and his.

It was the warmest day this spring, in the 80s, when my husband and I decided to try out Frick Park. Though I'm a native Pittsburgher, I know very little about the city neighborhoods, so I had never been there and enjoyed finding our way through Squirrel Hill to the park.

We entered at the Frick Park Nature Center on Beechview Boulevard. We pedaled to the first trail we could find, a steep, windy one made of small pebbles, leaves, and other nature trail debris. The trail wrapped around the hillside before rising up on the other side to overlook a highway.

And just like that, the trail had ended. Back to where we began. If not for our struggle up the hill we'd have been done in 10 minutes!

Craving more adventure, my husband found a park map. It was a network of trails that branched out in all directions. We'd seen them diverge as we rode, so we sought the one Jay recommended, which meant retracing our steps down the hill we had just climbed. I must have been riding too fast, because my back tire slipped on the dead leaves and I had to catch myself before losing traction and slipping off the path.

When we reached a fork, we saw that the the trail we needed to take was a donkey path through the Grand Canyon. Admitting this course was more for mountain bikers, we sought an alternative--Braddock Trail, which looked to be more flat. We found it and rode a ways before encountering steps, further proof we were in unfamiliar, unpredictable territory! We headed back to the car with plans to ride at North Park next time.

Frick Park, clearly, is a beautiful place to spend the day. I love to hike, and certainly would have enjoyed walking the trails. We'll definitely be back for a picnic or a walk in the woods--I'd love to see what's down that steep, breakneck trail we avoided!

Thanks for the tip, Jay, but we just aren't that experienced yet! : )

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TRAIL RATINGS
Distance: Variable
Direction: Variable
Grade: Variable
Traffic Density: No data
Trail Composition: 40% dirt and leaves, 40% pebbles and rock, 20% asphalt pavement
Scenery: 4 for the woodsy views and picturesque neighborhoods
Bathrooms: Encountered only 1, but I'm sure there were more.
Bathroom Quality: N/A
Bike Rental Available: No data
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Points to note: This park is NOT family biking-friendly--portions of the trail are only accessible by sidewalks that flank major roadways; parts of the trail are too steep and paths too precarious for child cyclists.