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Frick Park is the largest municipal park in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States, covering . It is one of Pittsburgh's four historic large parks.
Henry Clay Frick's son, Childs Frick, developed his lifelong love of animals in the woods and ravines of the park. Childs Frick went on to be an United States vertebrate paleontologist and a major benefactor and trustee of the American Museum of Natural History.
Over the years, the park grew from the original land in Point Breeze to include Squirrel Hill to the border of Edgewood. In a city that Frick helped to industrialize, it is one of the few areas of steep ravines and mature woods that remain relatively undisturbed, forming a nature reserve of native plants and abundant wildlife. Owls, amphibians, wild turkey, fox, and many mammal species are found in the park.
On January 28, 2022, the Fern Hollow Bridge, a steel rigid-frame bridge carrying Forbes Avenue across the park at Hot Dog Dam Dog Park collapsed, injuring 10. The remains of the bridge landed on and blocked a recreational trail. The bridge was rebuilt, and it and the trail below were reopened in December 2022.
The current, 15,500-square-foot Frick Environmental Center opened to the public in 2016, following a $16 million construction project. The site includes indoor and outdoor classrooms, public restrooms, and other facilities, and has various energy-efficient and green features, include a photovoltaic array and geothermal bore field. The center was certified as LEED Platinium the next year. Frick Environmental Center Achieves LEED Platinum Certification, Pittsburgh Parks Conservancy, November 29, 2017. The Pittsburgh Parks Conservancy operates the center in collaboration with the City of Pittsburgh.
Restoration efforts in 2017-18 involved the removal of about 2.6 acres of Honeysuckle, an invasive plant that had affected the park for some 20 years, displacing native plants. Following the clearance of the honeysuckle, the Pittsburgh Parks Conservancy discovered ten healthy . This was a significant discovery since every other tree in the park is thought to be affected by butternut canker, a fungal Plant disease.Andy Kubis, Restoration Work Leads to Big Surprise in Frick Park, Allegeny Front (June 27, 2018).
Sledding on a nearby hill that slopes down from Beechwood is a popular winter pastime. Sledders sometimes crash into the trees at the bottom or collide because two approaches down the hill – one shallow and one steep – intersect at the bottom. As a result, in 2010 the city posted "no sledding" signs for liability reasons.Vivian Nereim, City tries to put the skids on sledding in Frick Park, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, January 13, 2010
Frick Park also has a dog park. An annual Shakespeare in the Park performance occurs in the upper portion of the park.Sharon Eberson, Drones, dogs and diapers — all in a day's work for Pittsburgh Shakespeare in the Parks, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette (September 2, 2018).
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