The North Hills Amateur Hockey Association was one of the two founding members of the PAHL in 1961, when it was North Park Hockey.  The association rebranded as North Hills Amateur Hockey Association (NHAHA) in 1964.

The organizations has made its home at several area rinks.  At first, it was at the North Park Skating Rink, but an oversized, outdoor facility was not conducive to growing the program.  So the organization shifted to the Sewickley Arena in 1971 and then back to the north in 1977 when the Lakevue Ice Rink opened on Route 8 in Valencia.  Lakevue changed its name to the Ice Connection of Pittsburgh during NHAHA's stay, and the team left the Ice Connection in 1993 to make its home at the brand new Bladerunners rink in Harmarville, the first rink in the region to house 2 sheets of ice.  That facility became the Alpha Ice Complex in 2015, but by that time, NHAHA had moved into the Pittsburgh Ice Arena in New Kensington.  However, NHAHA returned to the Alpha Ice Complex for the start of the 2023-24 season after the Pittsburgh Ice Arena changed ownership and focused on another organization as its anchor youth organization.

The North Hills Hockey Association absorbed the Steel City Stars in 1998 and thus began fielding teams at the Tier 1 level.  The Esmark Stars are current Tier 1 teams playing under the NHAHA sponsorship, and the Pittsburgh Viper Stars operate as independent teams playing high-level Tier 2 schedules.