Pittsburgh Polar Bear Club
For more information contact:
Frank Nelson, President 724-863-0866

   
What was your New Year's resolution?

.....to go jump in a river?

Let's say the Monongahela River in Pittsburgh on January 1.
  
Will it be cold?  You betcha!

Approximately 200 river-jumpers appeared on the Mon Wharf for the annual Polar Bear Club ritual. A few changed their minds. An audience of several hundred was content just to watch.
  
What was the actual water temperature?
  
39°F according to Pittsburgh River Rescue personnel.
  
The air temperature was a balmy 37°F with 20mph winds gusting to 32mph, creating a wind chill of 20°F (-7° Celsius).  Snow flurries held off until the event was over.
  
Brrrrrrrr!
  
The photos below provide you a firsthand look at the 2008 event. And by the way, if you decide to join the Polar Bear Club for their river dip in 2009, bring your own towel....
   

  The Mon Wharf in Pittsburgh, Pa

  At The River's Edge

Whoopin-it-up right
before jumping in

  Polar Bears keep jumping in

  You can't get there from here...

  
The Mon Wharf is a riverside parking lot in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania located along the Monongahela River. The parking wharf is closed when the river rises above flood stage.
  
Getting there can be a bit tricky...
The official address for the Mon Wharf Parking Lot is 1 Ft Pitt Blvd, Pittsburgh, PA 15222, but some internet map locators show that address farther downriver toward "the Point" (the triangular-shaped confluence where the Monongahela and Allegheny Rivers join to form the Ohio River). Point State Park is located at "The Point" and is known for its large fountain seen in the photo below (the fountain is not in operation during winter months).

Fountain at "The Point" in Point State Park

As you can see in some of the event photos at the top of this webpage, the Pittsburgh Polar Bear event takes place midway between the Fort Pitt Bridge and the Smithfield Street Bridge, on the Pittsburgh city side of the Monongahela River. The Mon Wharf is directly across the river from Station Square which is seen in the photo below.
  
Driving to the Mon Wharf: The ramp down to the Mon Wharf is located at the intersection of Fort Pitt Boulevard and Wood Street. Watch for the Parking signs. When approaching Fort Pitt Blvd on Wood Street you will see the entrance to the Mon Wharf, as seen in the photo below. You have to drive English-style while travelling on the Mon Wharf ramp (left lane going down and left lane coming back up).

Entrance to the Mon Wharf at the end of Wood Street.
Across the river you see Mt Washington, Station
Square and the Sheraton Station Square Hotel.

Google Map w/street view

Landscape
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