diff --git a/CHANGELOG.md b/CHANGELOG.md
index d3642ee..8a3fe95 100644
--- a/CHANGELOG.md
+++ b/CHANGELOG.md
@@ -26,6 +26,7 @@ Released: -
 * [Fixed] #272: Encode URLs using `rawurlencode()` in `Pico::getPageUrl()`
 * [Fixed] #274: Prevent double slashes in `base_url`
 * [Fixed] #285: Make `index.php` work when installed as a composer dependency
+* [Fixed] #291: Force `Pico::$requestUrl` to have no leading/trailing slash
 ```
 
 ### Version 1.0.0-beta.1
diff --git a/lib/Pico.php b/lib/Pico.php
index 610d66e..2a5aa65 100644
--- a/lib/Pico.php
+++ b/lib/Pico.php
@@ -567,9 +567,9 @@ class Pico
      *
      * We recommend you to use the `link` filter in templates to create
      * internal links, e.g. `{{ "sub/page"|link }}` is equivalent to
-     * `{{ base_url }}sub/page`. In content files you can still use the
-     * `%base_url%` variable; e.g. `%base_url%?sub/page` will be automatically
-     * replaced accordingly.
+     * `{{ base_url }}/sub/page` and `{{ base_url }}?sub/page`, depending on
+     * enabled URL rewriting. In content files you can use the `%base_url%`
+     * variable; e.g. `%base_url%?sub/page` will be replaced accordingly.
      *
      * @see    Pico::getRequestUrl()
      * @return void
@@ -587,6 +587,7 @@ class Pico
             $pathComponent = substr($pathComponent, 0, $pathComponentLength);
         }
         $this->requestUrl = (strpos($pathComponent, '=') === false) ? rawurldecode($pathComponent) : '';
+        $this->requestUrl = trim($this->requestUrl, '/');
     }
 
     /**