North Park is a beautiful place to visit any time of the year. We often take a ride after work in Pittsburgh to go up and drive through and check out North Park. It is home to a small lake, some pretty stone structures, nice walking paths and trails, dog parks, picnic pavilions, wildlife, outdoor skating in the winter, and more. One of the things we appreciate most here in Allegheny County is its great system of county parks. They are built up to a degree that rivals that of state parks. Several of the parks, including South Park and Hartwood Acres, have weekly free concerts in the summer. In the winter, Boyce Park has a ski and tubing area. Round Hill Park has a working farm that you can tour for free. South Park has a game preserve with a herd of bison. All of them have nice picnic groves and hiking, especially Harrison Hills, and many of them have dog parks, including South Park, North Park, Settler's Cabin, White Oak, Boyce Park, and Harrison Hills. Boyce Park, South Park, and Settler's Cabin have wave pools, and many others have swimming facilities as well. When coupled with the City of Pittsburgh's own excellent system of parks, Allegheny County is flush with great community gathering places. The county parks orbit the city of Pittsburgh in the county, all within a 40 minute drive of the city, and they serve gathering places that play a central part of all of the suburbs they are located in. Today we take a look at several places in the park in autumn and spring.
The park has a decent amount of scenic roads to cruise on. Way more than you would expect for a county park.
Having fun with my orange sunglasses on that cloudy day.
The lake is a popular local fishing destination. Boat rentals are also offered.
Some autumn wildflowers. You can also see the ornate gatehouse for the lake in the background. It is a pleasant thing to see, even if you are just passing through the park on Babcock Blvd.
Such a pleasant place.
Orange sunglasses on a gray day.
Latodami Nature Center is located on the northern edge of the park and was a late addition to the park. It preserved land that was priorly farmed and kept it from becoming just another of the housing developments that surround the park.
Skunk Cabbages at the Latodami Nature Center
The park is split into two halves by a road. One half primarily consists of an old farm with a pond, old barn, old farmhouse, picnic grounds, wetlands, a steeply banked forest, and a giant meadow that was once farmland. This half of the park does not have many spring wildflowers, except for some skunk cabbages near the pond area, but it will be vibrant in summer and into fall in the meadow area. The nature trails are just wonderful for some longer, but generally easy strolls through area teeming with birds and white tail deer. The meadow area just bursts with color once the late spring and summer wildflowers grow. The other half of the park goes into a nicely forested hollow with a lovely nature walk. Similar to Braddock's Trail Park, this portion of the park was also improved by the Boy Scouts, who built bridges, benches, trail grading, and even some manmade vernal pools for wildlife. The entire area is teeming with Skunk Cabbages.
The upper meadows section will come to life with wildflowers in the summer and early fall seasons. This is a noted location for birding.
The fact that they have even been able to preserve this significant chunk of land is pretty impressive when considering how much suburban development has just exploded around the park. The farm area was a strategic land conservation project and was consequential to the region. Countless other farms within a 10 mile radius of the park were snapped up and have been filled with cookie cutter suburban developments and McMansions. When I think of the effort that was made to preserve this pristine spot and keep it from being absorbed into suburbia, I think of one of my favorite episodes of The Wonder Years, "Whose Woods Are These" where the kids fight against a suburban developer who planned to, and succeeded in tearing down "Harper's Woods" a place where the kids all played when they grew up.
Instead of this pristine spot succumbing to suburban development it was saved and it is lovely to explore. When coupled with the rest of what the North Park area has to offer, this is just a lovely place to spend an afternoon, evening, or even a relaxing day. While Skunk Cabbages are the primary spring wildflower you can see at the nature center, summer wildflowers are just radiant at this location.
North Park would fit in as a State Park with its grandeur and natural beauty. We highly recommend checking it out if you are in the area.
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