The distance from Washington DC to Pittsburgh is 241 miles, with s 4h18m driving time. The best road trip stops on the Washington DC to Pittsburgh drive are the Antietam National Battlefield, the Flight 93 National Memorial and Fallingwater.
Planning a Washington DC to Pittsburgh road trip itinerary
The Washington DC to Pittsburgh drive connects the capital of the US to western Pennsylvania.
5 Washington DC experiences worth booking
- 🏛️ Take a behind-the-scenes tour of the US Capitol Building, with the Library of Congress or Supreme Court included.
- 🏡 Combine George Washington’s Mount Vernon with Old Town Alexandria on a history-packed day tour.
- 🕊️ Take a guided walking tour of Arlington National Cemetery, including the Changing of the Guard.
- 🚲 Visit the monuments and memorials of the National Mall on a bike tour that gets you closer than the bus routes.
- 🍽️ Go on a tasting tour of Georgetown’s top foodie highlights.
Washington DC has an enormous range of tours, experiences and attractions available. You could happily spend weeks in the Smithsonian Museums alone. Top choices, however, include the nighttime monuments and memorials tour, small group guided visits to the Capitol and National Library of Congress and Lincoln assassination tours that visit Fords Theatre.
There are several underrated Washington DC attractions to add in to the itinerary if you have time. I like the National Museum of the American Indian, Lincoln’s Cottage and Dumbarton Oaks next to Rock Creek Park.
Memorable Washington DC accommodation options include the Willard, where Martin Luther King Jr wrote his I Have A Dream speech. There’s also the Watergate Hotel, a luxurious conversion of the offices from the Watergate scandal.
Pittsburgh is surprisingly beautiful – take a ride up the Duquesne Incline for the best views out over the city, Point State Park and Fort Pitt. After that, check out the Warhol Museum, National Aviary or the Nationality Rooms in the gigantic Cathedral of Learning.
Pittsburgh experiences include 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.
5 great Pittsburgh experiences worth booking
- 🏙️ Take an incredibly well-reviewed private Pittsburgh highlights tour.
- 🍽️ Go on a downtown food tour, with 6 fantastic food and drink stops.
- 👻 Hear spooky tales in the evening on a Pittsburgh ghost tour.
- 🥃 Discover Pittsburgh’s whiskey-soaked history – with two cocktails thrown in.
- 🛴 Visit Pittsburgh’s top photo stops – on a fun-packed Segway tour.
Washington DC to Pittsburgh distance and driving time
By car, the distance from Washington DC to Pittsburgh is 241 miles. That makes for a driving time of around four hours and 18 minutes. The quickest route is along the I-270, I-70 and I-76.
The best stops to add to a Washington DC to Pittsburgh road trip itinerary are the Antietam National Battlefield, the Flight 93 National Memorial and Fallingwater.
Washington DC to Pittsburgh drive: Antietam National Battlefield
The Antietam National Battlefield near Sharpsburg, Maryland, was the site of the bloodiest battle in the American Civil War. The Battle of Antietam repelled the first Confederate invasion of the North and led to Abraham Lincoln issuing the Emancipation Proclamation.
Dunker Church and the National Cemetery are key highlights while wandering the site. But the visitor centre will give you more insight into how 23,000 soldiers were killed, wounded or went missing on September 17, 1862.
Washington DC to Pittsburgh road trip attractions: Flight 93 National Memorial
The Flight 93 National Memorial pays tribute to the fourth plane that crashed on 9/11. This is the plane that was heading for the US Capitol Building, but the crew and passengers fought the hijackers until it crashed in a field.
The Flight 93 National Memorial is near the settlement of Shanksville. The Visitor Centre tells the story of what happened on board, while the 93ft-tall Tower of Voices plays 40 wind chimes, acting as the voices of the 40 passengers and crew.
Best stops between Washington DC and Pittsburgh: Fallingwater
Visiting Frank Lloyd-Wright’s architectural masterpiece will add another 37 miles to the journey, but it’s worth it. This signature piece of architecture in Pennsylvania’s Laurel Highlands is partially built over a waterfall, with a daring cantilever design.
Tours of Fallingwater show the Japanese influences of Lloyd-Wright’s design and show off how it blends with the mountain landscape.
More Pennsylvania travel
- Understanding Abraham Lincoln in Gettysburg.
- Drake Well: The birthplace of the oil industry.
- Visitor guides to Steamtown National Historic Site the Electric City Aquarium in Scranton.
- Getting to Pittsburgh: The best stops on the Chicago to Pittsburgh drive.
- Road trips from Pittsburgh: The best stops on the Pittsburgh to Cleveland drive and Pittsburgh to Cincinnati drive
