places where you won't be able to wipe the wag off your dog's tail - Pittsburgh PA
The Park
Mary Elizabeth Croghan did not spend much of her 77 years in Pittsburgh, but few have matched her lasting influence on the city. Born near Louisville in 1826, Mary was the daughter of frontier businessman James O’Hara’s daughter and as her mother’s only heir stood to inherit large tracts of Pittsburgh land. That inheritance was jeopardized when, at the age of 15 in a Staten Island boarding school, she eloped with a 43-year old British sea captain named Edward Schenley. The incident became a highly publicized scandal on both sides of the Atlantic, not helped by the fact that Captain Schenley was AWOL from his post in British Guiana at the time and it was his third elopement. Mary’s enraged father voided her inheritance by an act of the state legislature. Years later after he had calmed down, the two reconciled in England and in 1850 she received her full inheritance. Through the years she donated freely to Pittsburgh churches and public schools and in 1889 she gave the land that would become Schenley Park.
The Walks
Your dog’s best hiking day in Schenley Park will be in the 456-acre park’s forested interior around Panther Run. The stone stairs and bridges used to reach the floor of the ravine were mostly constructed by the Civilian Conservation Corps during the Depression of the 1930s. Hollow Run Trail will be your main conveyance through the valley with a choice of return paths at varying elevations.
Your dog will experience paw-friendly dirt and packed clay trails as he quickly loses any feel that he is in the middle of a major American city. The full trip up and down the Panther Run ravine will cover a bit less than two miles.
Where The Paw Meets The Earth: A park map is available to explore the various delights of Schenley Park but don’t expect much help on the ground.
Workout For Your Dog - More than one hour.
Swimming - In 1909 the city excavated in the ravine at Panther Hollow to create a lake for very short boat cruises. Today, if no is fishing your dog can slip into the lake for a swim where it empties into Panther Run.
Restrictions On Dogs - Dogs are allowed throughout Schenley Park.
Something Extra
Phipps Conservatory and Botanical Gardens in the park was a gift to Pittsburgh from steel and real estate baron Henry Phipps in 1893. Phipps directed the building of a splendid Victorian glasshouse designed by the renowned architectural firm of Lord and Burnham. Today Phipps Conservatory is one of the largest celebrations of botanical diversity in the country.
Phone - (412) 682-7275
Admission Fee - None for day use
Directions - Pittsburgh; the Visitor Center is at 101 Panther Hollow Road. From I-376 take Exit 3A and
turn right, away from the river. Turn right on the Boulevard of the Allies into the park.
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