Pickleball Courts in Pittsburgh
Quick Answer: CitiParks runs 24 outdoor pickleball courts across seven parks, led by Washington’s Landing with ten and Schenley Park with four, and outdoor courts can be permitted through the city’s online system. Indoor pickleball runs at five recreation centres: Arlington, Brookline, Magee, Phillips and West Penn.
Pittsburgh’s public pickleball is a city parks story, and the headline venue is not the one most people name first.
Where can you play outdoors?
Washington’s Landing Park on Herr’s Island is the largest CitiParks cluster by a wide margin, with ten courts. Schenley Park has four, and Frick Park, the best known name, has three behind Blue Slide Playground.
The full CitiParks outdoor list:
- Washington’s Landing Park. Ten courts, the city’s biggest set.
- Schenley Park. Four courts.
- Frick Park. Three courts, behind Blue Slide Playground.
- Allegheny Commons Park East and Bud Hammer Park. Two courts each.
- Fineview Park. One court.
- Moore Park. Two courts, currently closed for construction with a relocation planned for fall 2026.
That is 24 outdoor courts across seven parks. Pittsburgh’s terrain means they are scattered across neighbourhoods separated by hills and rivers, so the nearest court by distance is not always the nearest by driving time. Our guide to finding public pickleball courts covers searching a metro like this.
Do you need to reserve?
Increasingly, yes or at least you can. The city makes its outdoor pickleball courts available for permitting through a new online permitting system, where you select your day and time to play. Walk-on play still happens, but a court can be permitted out from under a walk-on group, so checking before a drive is the safe habit.
The City of Pittsburgh maintains a pickleball page under its parks and tennis section, and that is the authority for current locations, the permitting system and any striping changes.
Where can you play indoors?
CitiParks runs indoor pickleball at five recreation centres: Arlington, Brookline, Magee, Phillips and West Penn. Each runs on its own published schedule, and that municipal indoor layer is what carries the season from December through March.
Our guide to finding indoor courts covers the wider search including commercial venues, and our page on pickleball courts in Philadelphia describes how the other end of the state handles the same season.
When is the outdoor season?
April through October, with the shoulders depending on the year.
Summer is warm and humid but rarely extreme, so midday play stays workable. Pittsburgh gets a lot of grey days and rain, which interrupts more sessions than heat does.
Autumn is the best of it. Spring is the least reliable stretch, since rain and lingering cold push the real start of the outdoor season later than the calendar suggests, and courts stay damp long after a shower has passed.
Winter closes outdoor courts under snow and ice for stretches from December through February. The recreation centres are what carry the season.
What should you bring?
- Non marking indoor shoes for the recreation centre courts, since gym floors generally require them.
- Indoor balls for indoor play. They behave differently on a gym floor than outdoor balls do.
- Outdoor balls and a spare for the park courts.
- Water and a towel in the humid summer months.
- Layers in the shoulder seasons. Pittsburgh mornings turn cold quickly once autumn arrives.
Coming back outdoors in spring after a winter indoors is the classic injury window, and our guide to preventing Achilles injuries covers ramping back safely.
Frequently asked questions
How many pickleball courts does Pittsburgh have? CitiParks runs 24 outdoor courts across seven parks, plus indoor pickleball at five recreation centres.
Where are the most outdoor courts? Washington’s Landing Park, with ten. Schenley Park has four and Frick Park three.
Where can I play indoors? CitiParks recreation centres at Arlington, Brookline, Magee, Phillips and West Penn, each on its own schedule, plus commercial venues.
Do I need to reserve? Outdoor courts can be permitted through the city’s online permitting system by day and time, so check before travelling. Indoor centres run their own schedules.
Is Moore Park open? No. Its two courts are closed for construction, with a relocation planned for fall 2026.
Can I play outdoors in winter? Rarely. Snow and ice close outdoor courts through much of December to February.
Where is the official list? The City of Pittsburgh maintains a pickleball page under its parks and tennis section, covering courts and the permitting system.
Does the terrain matter? Yes. Hills and rivers mean the nearest court by distance is often not the nearest by driving time, so check the route rather than the map.
Pittsburgh’s parks give you a real outdoor network topped by ten courts on Herr’s Island, with five recreation centres carrying the winter. For clubs, commercial venues and the full list of courts across the region, browse our public pickleball courts directory.
Written by the Pickler Junction Team.
