It’s Time to Explore Pittsburgh’s Hays Woods Park
The Pittsburgh Parks Conservancy begins free tours of Pittsburgh’s newest urban park on the south side of the Monongahela River.
HIKERS ON THE PITTSBURGH PARKS CONSERVANCY’S INAUGURAL PUBLIC TOUR OF HAYS WOODS PARK ON FEB. 1. | PHOTO BY VIRGINIA LINN
About two dozen hikers of all ages gathered in an icy parking lot near the edge of Baldwin Borough. With traction cleats strapped to their boots and walking sticks in hand, they made their way through about 2 miles of roads and rugged trails high above the Monongahela River to stunning views of Downtown Pittsburgh and the Glenwood Bridge.
This tour on Feb. 1 was the first of a series of free monthly outings that the nonprofit Pittsburgh Parks Conservancy is leading to introduce folks to the city’s newest park — the 626-acre Hays Woods. According to the conservancy, this is the largest urban park project to be undertaken east of the Mississippi River in 75 years.
JARED BELSKY, LEFT, WITH THE PITTSBURGH PARKS CONSERVANCY, BEGINS A RECENT TOUR FOR THE PUBLIC OF HAYS WOODS, PITTSBURGH’S NEWEST PARK. | PHOTO BY VIRGINIA LINN
“We’re still very much at the beginning in Hay Woods’ life as a park,” says Jared Belsky, ecological restoration coordinator at Hays Woods for the conservancy. “We know there’s a lot left to do, but we’re excited to improve the habitat and engage as many people as possible in the park.”
Belsky and Jeneni Withers, the community engagement coordinator for the conservancy, led the Feb. 1 tour that included the 6-year-old son (he was able to walk the whole thing) of one of the participants and members of the Pittsburgh chapter of Outdoor Afro, a nonprofit that inspires Black connections and leadership in nature, among others.
A VIEW OF THE MONONGAHELA RIVER AND THE. GLENWOOD BRIDGE FROM HAYS WOODS PARK. | PHOTO BY VIRGINIA LINN
The city’s Urban Redevelopment Authority purchased the property in 2016 and transferred 626 acres to the city for park development, effective in June 2023. It is second in size to the 644-acre Frick Park in the East End.
According to the Friends of Hays Woods, an advocacy group created by citizens to preserve the property from development, the land initially was home to family farms. It gave way to coal mining, natural gas exploration and an industrial research facility owned by LTV Steel Corp. Power and natural gas transmission lines also cross the land.
Then in 2003, there was an elaborate plan to turn the land into Pittsburgh Palisades Park, a thoroughbred racetrack and casino, retail town center and residential development. Although Pittsburgh City Council did vote to rezone the land for residential, the plan never moved forward.
Since the city’s acquisition of the land, conservancy staff and volunteers have been cleaning up dumping sites of tires and other debris. The urban forest includes 9 miles of legacy roads and trails left behind by earlier uses. It’s home to what are considered two species of “special concern”: nesting bald eagles and red-fruited hawthorn trees.
Hays Woods also houses one of three Bird Lab bird-banding stations in Western Pennsylvania. Bird Lab, a bird-focused and education organization, in 2021 set up the station in Hays Woods to study avian habitats and migration as its urban location. There are two other locations — one in suburban Upper St. Clair and one in a rural area of Butler County.
THE CATHEDRAL OF LEARNING IN OAKLAND CAN BE SEEN IN THE DISTANCE FROM HAYS WOODS PARK. | PHOTO BY VIRGINIA LINN
In his almost two years working in Hays Woods, Belsky has been involved in ecological restoration — removing invasive plant species and replacing native plants, whether through seed spreading, plug planting or planting trees and shrubs. For example, 45 trees — including yellow oak, redbud, black cherry, chokecherry, black walnut, Virginia pine and others — have been planted at the park’s main entrance on Agnew Street.
“Hays Woods has not really been managed for centuries until a few years ago,” he says.
The work so far has been funded by grants from the Richard King Mellon Foundation, Pennsylvania American Water, Duquesne Light and with federal funds provided through the Inflation Reduction Act, he says. Volunteers have provided much of the elbow grease in removing invasive species, cleaning up dump sites and pursuing other tasks.
You won’t find the carved wooden signs that dot the other city parks like Frick or Schenley. Development of the trail system and other amenities is still in progress, but the conservancy’s tours are one way to introduce the area to the public.
Its main trailhead is at the end of Agnew Street at the edge of Baldwin Borough (put 1015 Agnew St. in your GPS) where there is a parking loop. Parking can be a challenge, he says, and the loop area can fill up quickly. In the spring, a portable toilet will be placed at the loop. The trails at this time are not accessible to wheelchairs.
Still, he encourages the public to check out Hays Woods if they can. “It’s beautiful,” he says. “It’s the largest undeveloped expanse of forest you can go to in the city limits.”
The Feb. 22 tour is already sold out, but keep an eye on the conservancy’s events listings to sign up for future free hikes of Hays Woods.
