Trail Status:
There has been a couple of major landslides on the Steel Valley Trail along the Pipeline Coaster. MP136.5 to 137.5. The trail is currently open, however we are looking to do major remediation work with heavy equipment on and traveling the trail. This may necessitate the closing and having to shuttle around this section. Watch this location for further status and when this will happen.
The Steel Valley Trail Council manages a section of the Great Allegheny Passage (GAP), which offers 149 miles of hiking and biking between Cumberland, Md. and Pittsburgh, Pa. In Cumberland, the GAP joins the C&O Canal Towpath, creating a continuous trail experience, 333 miles long, to Washington, DC. Our section of trail connects in McKeesport, travels through McKeesport, Duquesne, Whitaker and enters Homestead at the Waterfront in Munhall. As of June 15, 2013, our trail now extends past the Waterfront, along side Sandcastle and under the Glenwood bridge to connect to the Three Rivers Heritage Trail System which ends the GAP at Point State Park. There is a road based connector to the Montour Trail in Clairton. The Montour Trail provides a connection to the Pittsburgh International Airport.
Trailheads are located at McKees Point in McKeesport, the Park & Ride lot at Library Street in Duquesne, at the Pump House at the Waterfront and between TGI Fridays and Unos at the Waterfront.
Maintance is all volunteers Maintenance of the Steel Valley Trail is done by volunteers. We meet Wednesday morning and cut grass, remove trees, remove landslides, and build amenities. To find out about current activites, sign up to the maintenance list.
The trail traverses lands once dominated by the steel Industry. The US Steel Homestead Works sat on what is now the Waterfront, a shopping and entertainment area, and is the site where the infamous Battle of Homestead took place. The Duquesne Works and National Tube Works which are now industrial parks are also traversed by the trail. A section of the trail between Duquesne and the Waterfront follows the location of US Steel’s Coke Gas pipeline which once distributed coke gas from the coke plant in Clairton to their other mills in the Mon Valley.
Recently the volunteers of the Steel Valley Trail flew a drone to capture some of the drainage problems caused by Route 837 and above. Links to the drone run and extracted pictures are here.
Trying to donate to our Capital Improvement Funds? Go to our donations page and select that option after checking “designate this donation to a specific activity.” Click here to go to the donations page. Thank you.
For more information of the sites and history along the trail, check out the Points of Interest page