Get Outdoors - Schenley Park - July 5, 2025

On July 5, 2025, a group of 5 members of Bower Hill Community Church, including 3 first timers, hiked the trails in Schenley Park.  The weather was nice with lots of sun. Our biggest challenge was finding a place to park. Our original parking area, the Anderson Playground was blocked by the closure of the Charles Anderson Memorial Bridge. After a detour through Oakland, we were confronted with the closure of the Panther Hollow bridge. In addition, they were paving many of the roads in Schenley Park. So, we parked near Phipps Conservatory and made a few alterations to our planned route. We crossed the road to the Schenley Park Visitors center and went down the steps. At the bottom, we viewed one of the many unique bridges in the Schenley Park. This bridge is one of two concrete bridges in the park that is covered in Tufa stone. Check out this link for a history and photos of the bridges. We hiked the path around Panther Hollow Lake. Next, we went up the Hollow Run Trail. While a few parts were muddy, we were rewarded by following the small stream and crossing the many stone bridges over the stream. We went uphill a short distance on a connector trail and followed the Upper Panther Hollow Trail to the Anderson Playground. Our next trail was the Briddle trail which circles in the woods around Schenley Oval Sportplex. We were rewarded by seeing two deer on the steep hill side along the trail. After crossing the Panther Hollow Rd, we took the Lower Panther Hollow Trail back to our car. We probably covered about 4 miles in 2 hours. Another great day to get outdoors.

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