Our Impact
Parks are for everyone. Adults and children alike benefit from our county’s biggest asset, our county parks. We benefit from the fresh air, the open space and the recreational facilities.
Allegheny County’s park system is one of the largest in the United States! We are fortunate to have 9 different county parks which total over 12,000 acres of public land, 200 miles of trails, 45 acres of natural meadows, 23 creeks and streams, and 12 lakes and ponds.
We benefit because parks exist, and it takes all of us to sustain our parks.
Public parks offer endless benefits to our community: conserving the natural environment, providing opportunities for fun, improving physical health and mental well-being, protecting open spaces, promoting youth development and contributing to economic health.
The Allegheny County Parks Foundation has a mighty task: to improve, conserve and restore these nine county parks so they continue to serve as the incredible regional assets that they are! This past year alone the Parks Foundation accomplished a lot of good in the parks with your help, including:
• Completed the Carol R. Brown Sculpture Garden at Hartwood Acres and opened it up to the public
• Initiated a comprehensive ecological assessment of Harrison Hills Park
• Studied the biological conditions of over 10.5 miles of streams
• Began planning the restoration of the North Park Observation Tower
• Planted 1,072 trees that increased the forest canopy in Allegheny County
We know that parks are for the people. In fact, our county parks receive over 22 million visits each year from people like you! Whether you are a daily walker, weekly biker, seasonal skier, or occasional picnicker, the parks are here for you all year-round.
The parks belong to you. And YOU can turn your passion for the parks into action. You can be among the people for the parks!
That is why we are asking for your support this Giving Tuesday. Thanks to a generous Parks Foundation supporter, your gift will be matched dollar for dollar, so your support can go even further!
Cassie and her two-year-old son, Maddox, are people for the parks. After transitioning to work-from-home and feeling cooped up inside, Cassie decided to buy a backpack carrier and introduce Maddox to the great outdoors. “The park was a safe place to go during the pandemic. This past summer, I made up a fun mission for us to visit every county park, and we did! Now, the park is Maddox’s favorite place to go!”
Our parks have seen a major increase in usage over the last few years, largely in part due to the pandemic. The parks were here for us.
“It is very important to me to teach Maddox about our natural world, and to be curious. Parks are the perfect place for us to explore together. I love seeing his reaction when he experiences something new, like the leaves changing color. And the horses, he just couldn’t get enough of the horses!” The Allegheny County Parks Foundation works all year round so that the parks remain places of curiosity for children like Maddox.
The parks are for little explorers like Maddox and his mom, Cassie. And the parks are for people like you.
Thank you for being our people for the parks!