Hiking in Alpine Park

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Hiking In Alpine Park

As his Eagle Scout Project, Matt Lipner, with the help and guidance of the Monroeville Trail Advisory Committee and Boy Scout Troop 184, helped to construct the introductory portion of the Alpine Park trail. Matt added the Alpine Park trail description in October of 2004 to keep this website up-to-date and accurate. Matt used a Global Positioning System (GPS) to find the longitude and latitude of the landmarks, to find the distance of the trail, and to create the map of the trail.

Overview

General description: This is a great trail to walk on an autumn day to see the wildlife and the beautiful leaves of western Pennsylvania.

Walking time: About 25 minutes. The hike is approximately a half-mile long, not including the walk back to the parking lot on Altaview Drive.

Difficulty: This trail is rated a 6 out of 10* for some steep areas, including the long, steep hill leading up to the beginning of the trail proper.
*This rating is to compare the Monroeville hiking trails only.

Special concerns: None.

Finding the trail: Travel east from Monroeville on Route 22. Pass Route 48 and in 2.5 miles, just before the Sunoco gas station, turn right onto Alpine Village Drive. Take the first left onto Altaview Drive. After the second house on the left, one can see the end of the trail. Follow Altaview until you come to the Alpine Park parking lot.

The map below has the exact GPS Coordinates at different points along the trail. You can click on landmarks 1 through 8 on the map to see an actual picture of the landmark.

Click on a landmark to see picture

The Hike
(Click on pictures to enlarge)

At the end of the wooden fence is a pipeline marker topped by a red circle (Landmark 1 or “LM 1” on the map [Latitude: 40 degrees 25.199 North, Longitude: 79 degrees 43.014 West]).

Ahead is a grassy field. Walk toward the highest point in the field. As you walk, notice the blue spruces planted on the left side of the grassy field. This is by far the steepest part of the hike.

The trail begins to the left of a non-poisonous sumac tree (Landmark 2 [Latitude: 40 degrees 25.323 North, Longitude: 79 degrees 43.032 West]). The sumac or cashew family grows in temperate to tropical climates and comprises over 600 species of trees, shrubs, and vines. Some common examples of trees in the sumac family are the poison sumac tree, the mango tree, the pepper tree, the cashew tree, and the pistachio tree.

Before going on, turn around to view a beautiful scene of eastern Murrysville.When you continue, be on the lookout for deer, squirrels, and chipmunks, as they are very common on this part of the trail.

After about 100 feet, turn left at the fork in the trail (Landmark 3 [Latitude: 40 degrees 25.352 North, Longitude: 79 degrees 43.046 West]) and continue on the left path where the logs are cut.

As you walk, look for two trees to your left that have been struck by lightning (Landmark 4 [Latitude: 40 degrees 25.36 North, Longitude: 79 degrees 43.126 West]). You will pass under the split part of one of the trees.

Also look for the large, uprooted tree to your left farther along the trail (Landmark 5 [Latitude: 40 degrees 25.362 North, Longitude: 79 degrees 43.177 West]).

Continue until you come to a sharp turn to the left, also called a switchback (Landmark 6 [Latitude: 40 degrees 25.389 North, Longitude: 79 degrees 43.236 West]). Directly in front of you will be a dead tree fallen at a 45 degree angle. It might be a good idea to slow down or even stop before making the sharp left turn if you are riding a bike.

Going forward about 100 feet you will see a huge white oak to your right about 15 feet below the trail (Landmark 7 [Latitude: 40 degrees 25.36 North, Longitude: 79 degrees 43.256 West]). The tree has a diameter of 4 feet and stands approximately 80 feet tall! There are 60 species of oaks in North America, and they are divided into two categories, the white oaks and the red oaks. White oaks like the one near the trail have rounded leaves and have acorns that mature in one year.

As you walk, be careful of the deep gully into which the trail dips. It might be a good idea tostop or slow down here if you are riding a bike. Continue until you come to the street, Altaview Drive (Landmark 8 Latitude: 40 degrees 25.288 North, Longitude: 79 degrees 43.248 West]). This trail does not make a loop, so you will need to turn left and walk back up the street to reach Alpine Park’s parking lot.

Matt used the following resources in creating this web page:

Birkby, Robert C. Boy Scout Handbook. 10th ed. Irving, Texas: Boy Scouts of America, 1990.
Brockman, C. Frank. Trees of North America. Racine, Wisconsin: Western Publishing Company, Inc., 1968.

Matt would like to thank the following people for their help in creating this web page and in constructing the Alpine Park trail:

Mr. John Balicki	Mr. Mel Lipner	Mayor Jim Lomeo
Mr. Paul Lauer	Ms. Bonita Habron	Mr. Jamie Storey
Mr. Jerry Kyslinger	Mr. Andy Kociban	Mr. Al Getty
The Monroeville Trail Advisory Committee		Boy Scout Troop 184