Pittsburgh Park Rangers

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Welcome to the official page for the City of Pittsburgh's Park Rangers.

10/13/2026

1960 world champs

10/10/2026

Monster of the week: Invasive plant edition.

Meet the porcelain berry… a beautiful landscaping vine with a terrible personality. Introduced the 1870’s as an easy, attractive ground and fence line cover, the same traits that made it compelling as an ornamental plant also turned out to make it a terrible invasive. It’s almost as if we’ve heard this story before (we’re looking at you knotweed… and barberry. And multiflora rose. And Bradford pear. And English ivy. And… well you get the idea).

Porcelain berry vines are known to grow up to 20 feet in a year, climbing up any available structure where they choke out competitors. It forms a dense cover, shading out other plants. The beautiful purple, blue, and white berries are toxic to humans but are eaten by birds who inadvertently spread the seeds. Removing the plants can be a nuisance because they grow back from small stems. Thankfully they are a favorite of the Allegheny GoatScape herds! One removed, the best deterrent to these vines is full shade, so planting new trees and other native cover is essential to keeping them gone.

Learning to ID invasive plants is the first step to keeping them out of our yards and public spaces. It’s always easier to catch them early when they’re not yet established (like these absurd looking towers). Want to know more about preventing and removing porcelain berry? The Penn State Extension and Virginia Native Plant Societies both have great articles online about removal strategies. Or feel free to shoot us questions in the comments!

10/09/2026

Spooky season is upon us! One of our rangers found a hair-raising guest inside their office this week. 🕷️🕸️

10/08/2026

Have you ever noticed these strange patterns on fallen trees?

These are the deadly designs of an engraver beetle… if you’re an elm tree, these beetles mean you’re en-grave danger.

Adult elm bark beetles (a type of engraver) tunnel these “galleries” in the nutrient rich phloem layer of the tree, and lay their eggs in each of the chambers. Besides being damaging to the trees living growing layer, the beetles are also a vector for the Dutch Elm disease.

This is the real death sentence; a fungus that clogs the trees circulatory system, killing the tree sometimes within the year. Elms were once one of the most common street trees in the, before Dutch Elm hit the US in the 1930’s. A second wave of the disease in the 1970’s wiped out between 75-90 percent of the elm population.

Restoration efforts are ongoing to bring back this iconic tree, and around the country many environmental groups plant disease resistant hybrids. Would you consider planting a hybrid elm in your yard? Have you seen any survivor trees around your neighborhoods or parks? We’d love to know in the comments!

10/06/2026

It’s feeling like fall time here in Riverview Park! Come join us for the Fall Tree Identification Hike on Saturday, October 17th from 1 to 3 PM. Rangers will provide tree identification keys and explain the basics to understanding and getting to know the local trees in our parks! Hope to see you there! You can sign up on our eventbrite page, check our stories for the link.

10/04/2026

Happy Sunday from Highland Park! 🍂

Spooky season is here and your Pittsburgh Park Rangers are ready… 👻

10/02/2026

Swipe right for our ranger recommendations —>

Based on your favorite large Pittsburgh City Park, we’ll suggest a small (but mighty) park we think you’ll love!

To learn more about exploring any of our parks, visit the links in our bio.

09/30/2026

Happy Wednesday! Curious about the Neill log house in Schenley park?! Well we have an upcoming history hike on Thursday, October 8th. Check out the Pittsburgh Park Rangers Eventbrite to find out more about this event! Link in bio!

09/28/2026

It’s finally starting to feel like Fall and many of our animals are more active than ever as they prepare for the coming winter! Here is some wildlife spotted around Frick Park recently.

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Pittsburgh, PA
15217

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https://pittsburghpa.gov/publicsafety/park-rangers

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