North Park Freeride Area

Quick Facts 
  • Located in North Park, 13 miles north of Pittsburgh
  • Includes the Dr J Freeride Trail and Freeride Skills Park
  • A free, unique outdoor public facility designed and built by PTAG's  volunteer North Park Freeride Build Crew
  • Closed during winter/spring until April or May opening date is announced
Location 
PTAG Park Steward(s) 
Jamie Pfaeffle

The NPFR Build Crew consists of more than 30 volunteers who have put in over 3,000  work hours hours. Design and installation were led by Dr. J (Jamie) Pfaeffle, Bill Kirk and Dave Brunger. The NPFR Build Crew will continue to grow and be active in the installation and maintenance of the North Park Freeride Area, the only one of its kind within hundreds of miles. Workdays are announced on our Events page and on our Facebook page. In 2013, we plan to complete work on a new middle section for the Dr J Trail and a new jump line is for the Skills Park. We hope to begin construction of a new IMBA style "Flow Trail".

Profile 

The North Park Freeride (NPFR) Area is a unique outdoor freeride and skills area. NPFR consists of the Dr J Freeride Trail and the recently completed Freeride Skills Area. 

  • Dr J Freeride Trail

The Dr J Freeride Trail is an advanced trail for intermediate level freeride enthusiasts. The trail is fast and flowy with elevated wooden bridges, drop-off features, jumps, banked turns, a rock garden and skinny wooden bridge features.

  • Freeride Skills Park

The new Freeride Skills Park was installed by a dedicated group of volunteers during 2011. The purpose of the Skills Park is to help beginner freeriders increase their skill levels to be able to ride the Dr J Trail. The Skills Area offers four short trails with features of progressive difficulty for beginners to "session" and refine skills. There is a line with drops, a line with skinnies, and a beginner jump line. An advanced jump line is currently under construction.  All lines flow to the bottom of the Skills Area and where there is a return trail to get to the top.

The NPFR Area is located next to Sharon Shelter (Pie Traynor Field Area), near North Park Pool. Note: The Freeride Trail and the Skills Park are closed in the Spring until April or May to repair Spring thaw damage and permit mud to dry out. Please check the PTAG website and our Facbook group in the Spring for opening date infomrmation. We also post workday information to the PTAG website and our Facbook group, Pittsburgh Freeride.

Photos