Five miles east of East Brady, Brady's Bend Overlook provides a spectacular 1,500-foot panoramic view of the magnificent bend in the Allegheny River. The eight-mile loop of the Allegheny is particularly breathtaking when fall leaves are at their finest. If you want to see a great scenic attraction, come to Brady's Bend.
Geology
Bradys Bend was named after Samuel Brady (1756-1795), legendary frontiersman from Shippensburg, Pa., who traveled throughout western Pennsylvania, West Virginia, and Ohio.
Bradys Bend is a great example of an entrenched meander. The outside bend in the Allegheny River stretches nearly six miles while measuring less than a half mile across the neck. An overlook is located along Pa. Route 68 on the north side of the neck, 520 feet above the river.
The view to the northwest is across the beginning of the meander as the river flows south and then circles counterclockwise to the west at a low gradient.
The Allegheny River loses about two feet of elevation over six miles of meander. The river contains a series of locks and dams upstream from Pittsburgh, the northernmost of which is about three miles downstream of the meander.