Pleasant Valley Park

I really enjoyed my first visit to Pleasant Valley Park. Great work by all the people who maintain it.

Location: this park is worth the drive from Pittsburgh's eastern suburbs, at least those between the rivers. The park is located just south of downtown Murrysville.

Parking: there are maybe 25 spots in the gravel lot. One thing I appreciated right away is that the lot includes gravel tire stop curbs to denote spaces. Trailheads often become congested early because without lines, people space their cars much more than necessary. These curbs are a simple way to mark spaces.

Restroom: there is a portable toilet at the parking lot.

Signage: the signage is very impressive. At each junction, or where a pipeline right of way intersects, a small aluminum sign indicates which trail you are on. It's done perfectly. Paired with the excellent map available online, you won't need a GPS to hike this trail.

Trail conditions:
I visited the park in early December before any snowfall. The surface was hard-packed and mostly free of mud. You can tell there's been an effort to add drainage in problem spots.

Nature interpretation: I appreciated signs marking some tree species. On Hank's Trail and Cheeky Chipmunk Trail, I passed signs showcasing a black oak, black walnut, white pine, and tulip poplar.

Seating: some benches were found along the way.

Trail slopes: Hank's and Cheeky both had lots of ups and downs but nothing was unnecessarily steep. I enjoyed the varied topography.

Views: the vistas up and down the pipeline rights of way were kinda interesting. I also liked the meadow area. I'd like to visit again in the summer.

Suggested improvement: like most Pittsburgh area trails, there are no marked loops. Perhaps a couple loops, marked with blazes on the existing signs, could be added. Because the trails are named by segments, it can be a little challenging to figure out an ideal loop if it's your first time there. I also wonder if a trail could be added to the top of the hill. I always like hikes with a view from a summit.

Pleasant Valley Park is a very nice location for biking, hiking, and walking. I was pleasantly surprised by the natural beauty of the surrounding woods, creeks, and trails. It was too cold for me today to get too far, but I enjoyed it nonetheless. There are no seating areas, but it's more of a nature trail than it is a sit-down park.

I love coming to this park, it has several trails that wind through the forest. Great if you want to take a walk in nature. Also I've never seen too many people here at one time so you can usually get some good peace and quiet in the forest!

Great park for hiking with my dogs. Several trails to choose from but easy to get back to where you started as they loop and meet each other. It can be a bit muddy on the trails after wet weather and people ride mountain bikes on them so that seems to increase the muddiness. I expect to get muddy when hiking with my dogs so I don’t mind. Though this park does allow mountain bikers, I have yet to see anyone (though we may be going at non peak times).

Kept clean, nice and quiet once you head onto the trails. The trails are easy to follow and marked along the way. Some spots can get muddy depending if it rained.

I absolutely loved the Hanks trail. Hanks trail is the only loop trail in the park. Best marked trail I have been on and I have been on hundreds of trails. Very quite after you walk away from the parking lot, the traffic noise disappears. A lot of people were bringing in their bikes as I was leaving.

Very peaceful, beautiful, and well maintained. Fairly easy hikes.

Nice park for a quick hike. Dog friendly. Nice mix of forest and field

PV park has several miles of trails for hiking, mountain biking and running. The trails are well maintained and have some nice views. Make sure to look out for bigfoot near the creek. You can find a connector trail leading to Duff park as well. There is typically a portable toilet in the parking lot. In the late summer use bug spray to keep the horse flies away.

A web of trails for walking/running/cycling. So much nature! My dog LOVES walking here! Warning - Cheeky Chipmunk Trail goes THROUGH the creek from dirt mound to dirt mound, and the hill down to it is relatively steep - I recommend not going down unless you're on a horse.

Nice park to run and mountain bike. Dogs are allowed as well. Bikers are friendly and accomodating. Have seen deer s ands and hunters in the parking lot during deer season. Wear your orange.

Also has one portajohn.

Lots of nice trails. Make sure you have a good trails map app to find your way around.

Well maintained trails. Beautiful. Ticks were bad at the park the last few years. Check yourself when leaving!

Lots of amazing mushroom sightings! Very nice park to wander around in.

Pleasant Valley Park is very nice. It is a beautiful hiking and biking trail. It has a lot of different types of trails. Easy, downhill, uphill and everything in between with a beautiful stream and two small bodies of water at the beginning of the trails. Nice parking lot and have met a lot of nice people.

We hiked Duff Park a few weeks ago, and did Pleasant Valley a few hours ago. It was awesome! It is a pure natural experience on sometimes thin trails, and we doused our clothes with lots of tick spray beforehand, which was a good move because we made lots of contact with plants in the meadow sections. We will surely return.

My favorite trails. Beware of ticks, there are some water snakes in the drainage pond, most likely harmless cool to see if you spot one. The red ferns are breathtaking when in season.

Nice little park with really cool moutain bike trails. Saw a box turtle on the trail.😀

My boys and I love going mountain biking at Pleasant Valley. You can make a loop as easy or as hard as you like. Always well maintained. Really good family fun, we're glad we live near by.

A wonderful place to hike, run, or bike. This park boasts several miles of trails with a variety of scenery. Very popular with dog lovers. (No leash required, as far as I know.)