Campgrounds in / near Pittsburgh, PA

[Bouvie_dogs]

Looking for a campground that is near bus service into Pittsburgh or close enough that we can get a Uber car ride into downtown.
We'd be there on a Saturday.
Does the casino downtown allow overnight parking?
Any other large parking areas where we could park and take a tour bus?
It looks like Station Square has parking and metro. Is that accurate?
Thank you!

[sinjin79]

Bouvie dogs wrote:
Thanks for the rental car idea.
It just never occurred to me.
Now to find a rental car agency out of town, not at an airport, where I can park the RV.
That will make this so much easier.

Some rental car agencies like Enterprise at some locations will drop the car to you. You would need to check on this by calling the location office.

If not, you can rent the vehicle from an accessible location at a surrounding town like Washington, PA. You have unlimited mileage anyway.

[Bouvie_dogs]

Thanks for the rental car idea.
It just never occurred to me.
Now to find a rental car agency out of town, not at an airport, where I can park the RV.
That will make this so much easier.

[WallynDiane]

The Carnegie Museum of Natural History is an outstanding museum. Located in Oakland (near Pitt campus).

If you are an Andy Warhol fan, go to his hometime museum.

Another possible close by area is the Laurel Highlands. Close to Nemacolon resort which has a casino. Nearby is Frank Lloyd Wrights Fallingwater and Kentuck Knob. Fallingwater is incredible.
Within an hours drive is the Flight 93 National Park Memorial.

If you have small children, Idelwild is a beautiful amusement park located in Ligonier.

Another must see is the Pirates PNC Park. What a beautiful park. Lots of places to eat with nearby Heinz Field and the Carnegie Science Center.

Good luck.

[sinjin79]

This is a good thread for us. Living in Charleston, WV about 3.5 hours away, we'd like to visit soon. We've visited before via hotel but not by RV.

I would think the safest bet is to stay outside the city and rent a car or cab.
$30 some a day for a car rental is a small price for the convenience safety.

That said, we can't figure why more cities and towns don't encourage short-term inner-city RV parks. These would be great to promote the local attractions and businesses. With all the vacant property in urban areas, one would think it's a opportunity.

[DiskDoctr]

'The Waterfront' in Homestead, about 5 mins from Kennywood has a big theater, Improv comedy club, a winery outlet, a dueling piano bar for eves, Hibachi grill, several good eateries, candy outlet, Lowe's nearby, Macy's, Eat n' Park, etc.

It's absolutely setup to park and walk around with nice sidewalks- like a little 'town' atmosphere.

Mount Washington- DEFINITELY! There is a lookout across from the church with amazing nighttime views (park on side street, it's narrow and steep).

Like many cities, avoid dark and dreary areas a night. Homestead (town) is a place to avoid, even though the Waterfront has that address, it is VERY DIFFERENT.

Carhops, Jimmy Johns, Primanti Bros are good sandwich shops.

3pm-6pm is rush hour daily. AVOID THE PARKWAY during these hours, especially with RV. Tip: 'Parkway East' has nothing to do with direction of travel, it is on the EASTERN side of Pittsburgh and vice-versa.

Anywhere in Pittsburgh, pick your bridge. All routes follow bridge access.

Have fun!

[DrewE]

If you like amusement parks and roller coasters, Kennywood is very well worth a visit.

[tonyandkaren]

Walk around the Strip District for some interesting shops and street food. We haven't been there for a while so I can't recommend any specific place but I think there are a wide range of restaurants if you want more than a hoagie or pizza(Pittsburgh specialties).


If you're interested in history visit the John Heinz History Center which is close enough to walk to from the strip parking lot.

Point State Park is where the Monongahela and the Allegheny Rivers join to form the Ohio. It has walking trails and a small museum.

You can't visit Pittsburgh without taking the incline to the top of Mount Washington to see the view.

The aviary is fairly small but we like it because the major exhibits are large free flight areas.

It rains a lot in Pittsburgh so hope you have good weather!

[Bouvie_dogs]

Thanks, Tom.
I'll check out Mountain Top Campground.
Rod

[Bouvie_dogs]

Tony and Karen,
Thank you for the information.
We will park in the strip district.
I'd like a good meal, and to look around in unique shops.
I'd like to see the national aviary, too.
Any other suggestions?
Thanks.

[Tom_N]

The closest is Mountain Top Campground .

-Tom, W3TLN

[tonyandkaren]

It's really hard for RVers to visit Pittsburgh because there aren't any campgrounds near the city. We lived in Pittsburgh for about 40 years and now that we're fulltimers we go back to visit at least once a year. Finding overnight parking is a problem for us. A few friends have driveways large enough for our little RV but most of the time we stay in Walmart or other big box stores. None are convenient to the city but I'm sure some are on the bus line.

The downtown casino has a garage but doesn't have a lot as far as I know. We have parked at Station Square but this site http://www.ppgpublicparking.com/is showing RV parking in the Strip District (we've parked here for the day) and North Shore lots only. Both are on a tour bus route - http://www.pghtours.com/ I don't believe you'll be able to stay overnight.

What are your plans for your visit? Have a good time!

[Steeljag]

This could be good info for a Steeler game !