Dog Friendly City Guide: Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

In 1919 Henry Clay Frick left 151 acres of land to the city of Pittsburgh, and today the park that bears his name runs to 644 acres, from Point Breeze down to the Monongahela River, with a stretch of it set aside where a dog can run free. Pittsburgh is a place of steep wooded hills and three rivers, and its parks department marks out seven Off-Leash Exercise Areas where your dog can legally run without a lead. Add riverside patios, taprooms that let a well behaved dog inside and a bar built for dogs in the Strip District, and it makes an easy weekend with a dog, once you have picked a ranked Pittsburgh hotel.

Getting There With a Dog

Since 1 August 2024, the rules for bringing a dog into the United States depend on where it has been in the six months before it arrives, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention sets them out on its page on bringing a dog into the U.S. A dog that has been only in countries the CDC counts as dog rabies-free or low-risk needs just one document, the free CDC Dog Import Form, filled in online with one form for each dog.

The dog must be at least six months old and carry a microchip a universal scanner can read, look healthy when it lands, and it may then arrive at any airport, seaport or land border. A dog that has spent time in a high-risk country for rabies has stricter rules, so check that list before you book. The rest of the paperwork is in our guide to taking your dog abroad.

Where to Stay

The Fairmont Pittsburgh, ranked C, is a five-star hotel of 185 rooms on Market Street downtown, and it takes a big dog: most rooms are open to dogs and there is no weight limit. There is a bed and bowls in the room, treats and poop bags at the desk, and staff trained to look after dogs who keep an emergency vet's number to hand. You may leave a settled dog in the room when you go out. The fee is 50 dollars a stay, with a refundable deposit of 100 dollars.

Three more are ranked D. Downtown on Commonwealth Place, the 712-room Wyndham Grand Pittsburgh has a garden your dog may use and no weight limit, for a one-time fee of 50 dollars and a 50 dollar deposit. The Westin Pittsburgh on Penn Avenue puts a bed and bowls in the room and lets your dog into its lounge, for 50 dollars a stay. The Renaissance Pittsburgh Hotel on Sixth Street also welcomes dogs in its lounge, with bowls and free treats, and charges 50 dollars a stay. At both, staff will suggest walking routes.

Eat and Drink

On the North Shore waterfront, Redfin Blues calls itself the only waterfront grill on that bank of the river, and its own site lists a dog friendly patio among the reasons to come, alongside an open-air bar and a deck with river views. Visit Pittsburgh sends readers there for the river views and the bicyclists going past on the waterfront path, and for the all-you-can-eat crab legs.

On the South Side, the Birmingham Bridge Tavern on Sarah Street has been pouring craft and imported beer since 2003 and has a patio, and its own feed advertises dog events, the latest a Halloween costume night for dogs with prizes, ID tags and toys, all for a good cause.

The breweries are where Pittsburgh's dog owners go. In Bloomfield, Trace Brewing is on Main Street, and its own answer to the question "Can I bring my dog?" is that well behaved dogs are always welcome in both the indoor taproom and the outdoor beer garden, on a lead. It opens at 8am every day, a food truck parks outside every night, and its house lager, a Kellerbier, comes in a stein.

Across the Allegheny in Millvale, Grist House Craft Brewery on Sherman Street puts it plainly on its own home page: bring your family, bring your dog, everyone is welcome here.

For a dog that wants company of its own kind, The Dog Penn on Penn Avenue in the Strip District is Pittsburgh's first off-leash dog bar, nearly 7,000 square feet indoors and out, a dog park with a full bar in it. Every dog needs a drop-in, monthly or annual pass, must be registered in the bar's app with current vaccination records, and must be spayed or neutered if over a year old. Humans over 21 come in free, and it is an over-21 bar for now.

Walks and Parks

Start with Frick Park. The Pittsburgh Parks Conservancy calls it the city's largest historic regional park: Frick's bequest of 1919, opened in 1927, now 644 acres of wooded valleys that run from Point Breeze down to the Monongahela, including the restored Nine Mile Run stream valley. The Conservancy marks it dog friendly, and it is one of the city's off-lead areas.

Schenley Park in Oakland was created in 1889 on land given by the heiress Mary Schenley and holds 456 acres of trails and woods, also marked dog friendly by the Conservancy.

North of the Allegheny, Riverview Park predates the City of Allegheny's annexation to Pittsburgh in 1907. Its 259 acres are known for wooded trails and steep hillsides, it holds the Allegheny Observatory and the two-mile Riverview Loop, and it has an off-lead dog park.

On Mount Washington, walk Emerald View Park, 257 acres of wooded hillside reclaimed as a park by a grassroots effort, with a plan for 19 miles of trails and the Grand View Scenic Byway along its edge. The Conservancy marks it dog friendly too.

The rivers have their own path. The Three Rivers Heritage Trail runs 33 miles along the banks of all three rivers, and part of it forms the start of the Great Allegheny Passage, which runs 150 miles from Pittsburgh to Cumberland, Maryland, for anyone with a dog that never tires.

Good to Know

The city's parks department sets the rules on its dog park page. Under Ordinance 473.05b dogs are allowed in city parks but must be on a lead at all times, except inside one of the Off-Leash Exercise Areas, and they are never allowed in playgrounds, on playing fields or on courts. The year-round off-lead areas are Allegheny Commons Park (West Commons) in Central Northside, the Downtown area, Frick Park in Squirrel Hill, Highland Park, Olympia Park on Mount Washington, Riverfront Park on the South Side and Riverview Park in Perry North. The city asks you to read its guidelines first and takes questions on 412-255-2539. Glass is banned in every one, and so is alcohol without a special permit.

At the bars, dogs are on a lead at Trace Brewing. The Dog Penn is for over-21s, and every dog there needs a pass and current vaccination records.

At the hotels, the Fairmont keeps dogs out of the bar, restaurant, terrace and lounge. The Westin and the Renaissance keep them out of the bar, restaurant and terrace, take two dogs to a room, set weight limits of 50 lb and 60 lb and do not let a dog stay alone in the room. At the Wyndham Grand, dogs stay out of the bar and lounge, only some rooms take dogs, and a dog may not be left alone, so say when you book that one is coming.