South Hills Hidden Secret – Pleasant Hills Arboretum

I grew up in the South Hills and moved back over 10 years ago.  In all of that time, I had never been to the Pleasant Hills Arboretum until last year.  Now that I know about it, it has become a great and close escape for our family to take a tranquil walk through nature, and it’s only about a 5 minute drive from our home. 

 The Arboretum is in the middle of suburban streets, yet transports you instantly into the woods.  There are several trails winding through the grounds, and every so often a tree has a label on it.  There are White Oaks, Beech, Pine, Eastern Hemlocks, and more.  There are tranquil little coves with benches to sit on, and a couple of wide open meadows.  There are several features that go beyond appreciating the natural beauty.  

An adventure we just enjoyed today is the Pleasant Hills Story Hike, courtesy of the Pleasant Hills Library.  This is a trail where a book, Spring is Here by Will Hillenbrand, is told on sequential panels throughout the trail.  This makes for a great family hike, as my younger daughter loved skipping to each panel all the way through to the end.  The story is very cute, about a mole trying to wake up a bear from hibernation.  There is also a Little Free Library in the Arboretum parking lot.

I’m so happy that we finally happened upon this treasure.  It is a great place to spend just a little bit of time in nature, and right in the middle of the South Hills.  I’m going to look into volunteering there in the near future.  A community treasure like this is worth tending.