Biking Guide: Eliza Furnace Trail
(The "Jail Trail")

Location
Along the North side of the Monongahela River in Pittsburgh

Trailheads
Downtown, behind the new PNC building at First Ave. & Grant St.
Hazelwood, under the RR trestle at 2nd Ave

Length/Surface
2.4 miles; paved

Description
Very urban and noisy as it is between 376 East & West

Special Comments:
This off-road commuter trail connects Allegheny County’s two largest employment centers, the offices of downtown Pittsburgh and the universities and hospitals of Oakland. The trail starts at the east edge of downtown, in the parking lot near the new jail, then goes behind the jail for a clean run of over two miles to Hazelwood. It passes through a parking lot on an orphaned block of Swinburne St just west of Hazelwood, then twists around under the liver RR and turns away from the river to connect with Schenley Park and Oakland. The trail is named for the Eliza blast furnace that once produced steel where the Pittsburgh High Technology Center now reflects Pittsburgh’s industrial shift from steel to high technology. It’s often called the "Jail-Trail".

Restaurants close to this trail include:
Most downtown restaurants.

Restrictions:
No motorized vehicles; no horses.

This information provided from and with the permission of Mary Shaw and Roy Weil. For more information on bike trails in Western Pennsylvania, order their book, "FreeWheeling Easy in Western Pennsylvania," the definative guide to local biking.