- 1. Moraine State Park and McConnells Mill (about 1 hour)
- 2. Ohiopyle and the Laurel Highlands (about 1 hour 15 minutes)
- 3. Fallingwater and Kentuck Knob (about 1 hour 30 minutes)
- 4. Seven Springs and Hidden Valley (about 1 hour 15 minutes)
- 5. Morgantown, West Virginia (about 1 hour 20 minutes)
- 6. Erie and Presque Isle (about 2 hours)
- 7. Cuyahoga Valley National Park (about 2 hours)
- 8. Cleveland (about 2 hours 15 minutes)
- 9. Deep Creek Lake, Maryland (about 2 hours 30 minutes)
- 10. Columbus, Ohio (about 3 hours)
- 11. Niagara Falls (about 3 hours 30 minutes)
- 12. Washington, DC (about 4 hours)
- Getting out of Pittsburgh without a car
- Cheap weekend getaways from Pittsburgh by car
- Last-minute weekend getaways from Pittsburgh
Pittsburgh sits within a comfortable drive of more variety than most people give it credit for, and the twelve below are ordered by how long it takes to get there. Drive times are for clear roads, so add to them for a Friday evening start.
1. Moraine State Park and McConnells Mill (about 1 hour)
Lake Arthur fills a valley that a glacier left behind, and the loop at McConnells Mill drops into a gorge that feels a long way from a city you left forty minutes ago. It is the closest thing Pittsburgh has to a proper day outdoors without committing to the mountains.
2. Ohiopyle and the Laurel Highlands (about 1 hour 15 minutes)
The Youghiogheny cuts through Ohiopyle in a series of ledges and rapids, and the town exists mostly to put people on the water. Rafting runs from the spring melt into early autumn; outside that season the Great Allegheny Passage rail trail runs straight through and is flat enough for anyone.
3. Fallingwater and Kentuck Knob (about 1 hour 30 minutes)
Wright built Fallingwater over a waterfall rather than facing it, which is the whole point and the reason photographs undersell it. Tours book out well ahead in autumn. Kentuck Knob is fifteen minutes away and takes the pressure off if Fallingwater is full.
4. Seven Springs and Hidden Valley (about 1 hour 15 minutes)
Pennsylvania skiing is short-vertical and heavily snowmade, which sounds like a criticism until you realise it means a reliable Saturday rather than a gamble. In summer the same hills turn into mountain biking and the drive is unchanged.
5. Morgantown, West Virginia (about 1 hour 20 minutes)
A university town with a walkable high street, a personal rapid transit system that has been running since the 1970s, and Coopers Rock State Forest just outside with an overlook above the Cheat River gorge.
6. Erie and Presque Isle (about 2 hours)
Presque Isle is a sand spit curling into Lake Erie with beaches on one side and calm bay water on the other. It is the nearest thing to a coast that western Pennsylvania has, and in July it behaves like one.
7. Cuyahoga Valley National Park (about 2 hours)
A national park that grew up between Cleveland and Akron, threaded by the Ohio and Erie Canal towpath and a scenic railroad you can ride one way and cycle back. Brandywine Falls is the set piece.
8. Cleveland (about 2 hours 15 minutes)
Close enough for a Saturday, big enough to fill a weekend: the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame on the lakefront, an art museum that is free to enter, and the West Side Market for lunch.
9. Deep Creek Lake, Maryland (about 2 hours 30 minutes)
Maryland’s mountain corner, and a lake weekend in summer or a ski weekend at Wisp in winter. Swallow Falls State Park nearby has the tallest waterfall in the state and a stand of old-growth hemlock.
10. Columbus, Ohio (about 3 hours)
The Short North for food and galleries, a genuinely good science museum in COSI, and the Scioto Mile along the river. An easy city break that costs less than the equivalent weekend further east.
11. Niagara Falls (about 3 hours 30 minutes)
Long for a weekend but not unreasonable if you leave early on Friday. The American side is quieter and cheaper; crossing to the Canadian side gives you the better view and requires a passport.
12. Washington, DC (about 4 hours)
The outer edge of a Pittsburgh weekend. The Smithsonian museums are free, which offsets the hotel bill, and the drive down through the Alleghenies is the good part of the trip.
Getting out of Pittsburgh without a car
Amtrak’s Pennsylvanian runs daily east to Philadelphia and New York, and the Capitol Limited runs overnight to Washington and west towards Cleveland and Chicago. Neither is any help for Ohiopyle or the Laurel Highlands, which are car trips in practice. Intercity buses cover Cleveland and Columbus reasonably well and cost very little.
Cheap weekend getaways from Pittsburgh by car
- Ohiopyle: state park entry is free and camping is the cheap bed
- Moraine State Park: a full day out for the cost of the petrol
- Morgantown: a university town, so the food and beds are priced for students
- Erie: Presque Isle beaches cost nothing in the middle of summer
Last-minute weekend getaways from Pittsburgh
- Moraine State Park and McConnells Mill, under an hour out
- Ohiopyle for the trail rather than the raft, which needs no booking
- Morgantown, where beds are rarely all gone
- Cleveland, big enough that something is always available
If you are deciding on the day, work backwards from the drive rather than the destination: anything under two hours leaves you a genuine Saturday, and anything past four is really a three-day trip wearing a weekend label.
Columbus is three hours west and is the better base for Hocking Hills, Amish country and the Lake Erie islands. See weekend getaways from Columbus.
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Written by
John Morrison is the founder and lead travel writer at Packzup. Over the past decade he has explored destinations across Africa, the Americas, Asia, Europe, the Middle East, and Oceania — always self-funded, never on a press trip.
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