Buffalo to Pittsburgh drive: Best road trip stops, distance & time

The distance from Buffalo to Pittsburgh by car is 219 miles, with a 3h16m driving time. The best stops on the Buffalo to Pittsburgh road trip route are the Westfield wineries, Presque Isle and Oil Creek State Park.

Planning a Buffalo to Pittsburgh road trip itinerary

The Buffalo to Pittsburgh drive takes you from the north-west corner of New York to a surprisingly beautiful Pennsylvania city at the confluence of three rivers.

Good experiences in Buffalo include Best of Buffalo double decker bus tours, a history of chicken wings food tour and the Theodore Roosevelt Inauguration National Historic Site.

Pittsburgh in western Pennsylvania is a monstrously underrated city, with a series of stellar attractions. Get great views from the top of the Duquesne Incline, enjoy the globally-themed rooms at the unmissable Cathedral of Learning and become immersed in pop art at the Warhol Museum.

You can explore Pittsburgh with a hop-on, hop-off bus pass. Pittsburgh experiences include bike tours full of stories, guided whiskey-themed walks and craft beer sampling on a multi-brewery tour.

For Pittsburgh hotels with great reviews, try the Italian villa-style Priory Hotel or the often good value Drury Plaza Hotel Pittsburgh Downtown.

Buffalo to Pittsburgh distance and driving time

By car, the distance from Buffalo to Pittsburgh is 219 miles. That makes for a driving time of around three hours and 16 minutes. The quickest route is along the I-90 and I-79.

The best road trip stops along the Buffalo to Pittsburgh drive are the Westfield wineries, Presque Isle and Oil Creek State Park.

Attractions between Buffalo and Pittsburgh: The Westfield wineries

The town of Westfield is the hub of the western New York wine region, and there are several wineries that are open to the public for tastings.

Top choices include the Johnson Estate, the Mogen David Wine Corporation and Barger Vineyards.

There are also tastings available at the Grape Discovery Center, which aims to educate visitors about the wines grown in the area.

Buffalo to Pittsburgh drive: Presque Isle

Presque Isle offers an altogether different experience to the industrial city of Erie which it neighbours. This 3,200 acre peninsula bends into Lake Erie and is a hotspot for migrating birds.

There’s more to do than birdwatching, however. The Tom Ridge Environmental Centre teaches visitors about the local ecosystems, and there are several walking trails that range from quick strolls to challenging full day hikes.

The beaches, though, tend to be the main draw card.

Buffalo to Pittsburgh road trip stops: Oil Creek State Park

A short detour off the I-79 will bring you to Oil Creek State Park. The natural setting is pretty enough in this corner of north-western Pennsylvania, but that’s not really why anyone visits.

Oil Creek was the site of the world’s first commercial oil well. Drake’s Well was drilled in 1859, and sparked what is now the most lucrative industry on earth.

You can find out more about the first oil well at the Drake’s Well Museum near Titusville, but the informational signs in the State Park do much the same job.

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Photo by David Whitley/ Best3Stops.

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