Allegheny County’s Settlers Cabin Park has long been a popular attraction for residents coming out to enjoy its amenities. At 1,610 acres, the park is the third largest in Allegheny County next to South Park and North Park. Its size and layout are perfect for families and couples to walk, run or bike. It’s a favorite place for families and organizations to hold reunions, parties, and weddings at the pavilions. Some simply come out for a walk with the dog or to bring a picnic basket meal.

   As with anything that gets a lot of use, the park, which was built in the late 1960s and early 1970s, has been in need of upgrades. This year, a new park office/maintenance facility was built. Several older shelters were updated and a new one built. A new ADA accessible playground was installed near the Cayuga shelter. A deck hockey facility is also in the process of being constructed.

   Andrew Baechle, director of Allegheny County Parks and Recreation, said, “The old park office closed and a new $1.1 million combined office and maintenance facility was built behind the wave pool.”

   He explained that the maintenance portion of the new facility replaces one that was once  housed in a barn on Pinkerton Run Road at the new Pittsburgh Botanic Garden site. That barn is being refurbished by the garden as the Bayer Welcome Center.

   Additionally, Baechle explained, a dead-end road in front of the former park office will become a spur between Settlers Cabin Park and Pinkerton Run Road near the garden site. It will connect to the Panhandle Trail once completed. The first of the two phases of the project is expected to be completed by the end of September. Estimated at a cost of a half-million dollars, it is being funded         

   As well, the Apache, Moccasin, and Seneca shelters were updated, and a new shelter, Flint, has been built next to Chippewa.