"The Cheese" playground
A neighborhood playground on Parkdale Avenue, listed under the nickname people actually use for it. A walk-to park for the surrounding blocks rather than a destination.
Outdoors in the burbs
Every outdoors spot we vouch for, across every town we cover. Cross a town line for the good ones. That's the whole point.
The picks
- "The Cheese" playground
- 2nd Avenue Meadows
- A. A. Garthwaite Stadium
- Active Acres Farm
- Ambler Arboretum of Temple University
- American Arms & Ammo
- Anson B. Nixon Park
- Aquetong Spring Park
- Ardsley Park
- Ardsley Wildlife Sanctuary
- Ashbridge Park
- Aubrey Collins Memorial Park
- B-Field
- Baederwood Park
- Bailey & Izett Inc
- Battle of the Clouds Park
- Bishop Richard Allen Park
- Boot Road Park
- Bowman's Hill Tower
- Branchwood Park
- Bryn Mawr Farmers Market
- The Bryn Mawr Gazebo
- Bryn Mawr Running Company
- Cedar Hill Road Park
- Chester Valley Trail (Exton Trailhead)
- Chestnut Creek Park
- Clark Nature Center
- Clem Macrone Park
- Core Creek Park
- Covered Bridge Cafe
- Cross County Trail
- Curtis Arboretum
- Cynwyd Heritage Trail
- Deep Meadow Park
- Dennis P. Dougherty Memorial Park
- Dowlin Forge Park
- Edge Hill Woods Wildlife Sanctuary
- Elwell Field
- Emlen Tunnell Park
- Evansburg State Park
- Exton Park
- Firehouse Cycles
- Fischer's Park
- Five Mile Woods Nature Preserve
- Fort Washington State Park
- Four Mills Nature Reserve
- Franconia Community Park
- Green Ribbon Trail
- Green Ribbon Trail (Parkside Place Trailhead)
- Gwynedd Preserve
- Haines and Salvati Memorial Park
- Harmony Hill Nature Area
- The Harriton Preserve
- Harry Renninger Park
- Haverford College Arboretum
- Heckler Plains Farmstead
- Hibernia County Park
- High School Park
- Horsham Farmers' Market
- James Memorial Park
- Johnsontown Park
- Kardon Park
- Kerr Park
- Keswick Cycle Glenside
- Kohler Park
- Lake Towhee Park
- Laurel Hill West
- Lawn Avenue Park
- Linwood Park
- Lock 60 at the Schuylkill Canal Park
- Longwood Gardens
- Lorimer Park
- Lower Perkiomen Valley Park
- Macclesfield Park
- Marinelli Park
- Marsh Creek State Park
- Mary H Wood Park
- Memorial Park
- Merion Botanical Park
- Molasses Creek Park
- Natural Lands' Stroud Preserve
- New Leaf Sensory Garden
- Newtown Bicycle & Fitness
- Nockamixon State Park
- Northbrook Canoe Company
- Northern Star Farm
- Oakbourne Park & Arboretum
- Packer Park
- Peace Valley Park
- Pedaller Bike Shop
- Perkasie Dog Park
- PHS Meadowbrook Farm
- Power Line Trail
- Prophecy Creek Park
- Quakertown Memorial Park
- Railroad Plaza
- Rolling Hill Park
- Samuel Carpenter Park
- Schauffele Plaza
- Schuylkill River Trail
- Schuylkill River Trail - Port Providence Trailhead
- Scooter's Bike Shop
- Scott Field
- Sellersville Disc Golf Course
- Sheldon Lane Pollinator Garden
- Skydive Philadelphia
- Solebury Orchards
- South Ardmore Park
- Spring Mill Trailhead
- Spring Mountain Adventures
- Stargazers Vineyard
- Stateline Woods Preserve
- Stony Creek Park
- Stroud Preserve
- Struble Trail
- Styer Orchard
- Sugartown Strawberries
- Sunnybrook Park
- Sutcliffe Park
- Tennis Junction Inc
- Treehouse World
- Tyler State Park
- Univest Performance Center
- Veterans Park Quakertown
- Warner Avenue Park & Playground
- Washington Crossing Historic Park
- Wellington Sporting Goods
- Willisbrook Preserve
- Wissahickon Park
2nd Avenue Meadows
An open green space at the corner of 2nd Avenue and Maple Street, one of the borough's eight public parks. Sunrise to sunset hours and room to spread out a few blocks off Fayette Street.
A. A. Garthwaite Stadium
The borough's stadium up on East 11th, home turf for local football and track. Bleachers, a field, and Friday-night lights within walking distance of town.
Active Acres Farm
A 230-acre working farm on Highland Road with seasonal produce, plants, and pick-your-own pumpkins and strawberries when the fields cooperate. Come fall the property also runs Sleepy Hollow at Active Acres Farm, its seasonal haunt.
Ambler Arboretum of Temple University
Fourteen gardens on Temple's Ambler campus, from a formal perennial garden to a winter garden and a wetland garden. The horticultural history here runs back to 1911, when this was the Pennsylvania School of Horticulture for Women; visitors can walk it self-guided or book a tour.
American Arms & Ammo
An independent firearms shop out on Dublin Pike since 2005 — buy, sell, and trade, with a counter staff claiming fifty-plus years of combined industry time. Closed Sundays.
Anson B. Nixon Park
110 acres stretching from Kennett Square Borough into Kennett Township, just off State Street, with two ponds, three miles of walking trails, a 250-year-old beech grove, and disc golf. Open sunrise to sunset, every day.
Aquetong Spring Park
Spring water cascades over a waterfall and meanders downstream through 48 township acres off Route 202 at Lower Mountain Road, acquired by Solebury Township in 2009. The build-out stays light: trails, benches, overlooks, and directional signs.
Ardsley Park
Neighborhood park on Tennis Avenue in Ardsley, the kind of green space people walk to rather than drive to. No website, no gate, no admission.
Ardsley Wildlife Sanctuary
A wooded sanctuary off Jefferson Avenue in Ardsley, kept as habitat instead of lawn. Quiet ground for a walk and for whatever is nesting in it.
Ashbridge Park
A Lower Merion Township park on Montgomery Ave, best known for its playground. Open lawn and paths around it, township-run and free to walk into.
Aubrey Collins Memorial Park
A small memorial park at 248 East Elm Street, part of the borough's eight-park system. Open sunrise to sunset in a residential pocket east of Fayette Street.
B-Field
A borough ball field up at 13th and Hallowell, one of the spots Conshohocken books for organized games and practices. The companion to A-Field a few blocks over at Garthwaite Stadium.
Baederwood Park
One of Abington Township's public parks, on Highland Avenue in the Baederwood section of Glenside. Open to anyone, no ticket required.
Bailey & Izett Inc
Golf shop on Haverford Road near the Ardmore line, clubs and gear across an independent counter rather than a big-box wall of drivers.
Battle of the Clouds Park
East Whiteland township park named for the Battle of the Clouds, marked on site by a state historical marker. Sports fields plus direct access onto the Chester Valley Trail.
Bishop Richard Allen Park
A small neighborhood park on Brook St, just over the Radnor Township line from Bryn Mawr proper. Township green space rather than a destination.
Boot Road Park
Twenty-six township acres with a half-mile walking loop around the edge, ball fields in the middle, and a butterfly garden with bluebird boxes along the way. A playground and a separate tot lot cover the full kid range.
Bowman's Hill Tower
A 125-foot fieldstone tower raised between 1929 and 1931 atop Bowman's Hill, a few miles south of New Hope in Washington Crossing Historic Park. On a clear day the top gives you a 14-mile sweep of the Delaware and the farmland around it.
Branchwood Park
A 25-acre Franconia Township park along the East Branch of the Perkiomen Creek with a first-come, first-served 9-hole disc golf course and picnic tables at the water's edge. Six pickleball courts round out the newer additions.
Bryn Mawr Farmers Market
Bryn Mawr's outdoor market, run by Lower Merion Farmers Markets, with growers, bakers and prepared food set up a block off Lancaster Ave. Seasonal, so check the dates before you go.
The Bryn Mawr Gazebo
The village gazebo on South Bryn Mawr Avenue. On summer evenings it works as a bandstand for the Bryn Mawr Twilight Concerts.
Bryn Mawr Running Company
A running specialty store on West Lancaster Avenue, where shoes get fitted in person instead of guessed at from a size chart online.
Cedar Hill Road Park
87 acres where the real draw is the nature trail with bird blinds and an outdoor classroom, not the playground. A limestone walking trail and grass volleyball courts fill out the rest.
Chester Valley Trail (Exton Trailhead)
A paved, ADA-accessible rail trail running 13.5 miles in Chester County plus 5.1 more in Montgomery, connecting east to the Schuylkill River Trail. The Exton Park trailhead at Church Farm Lane puts you near the western end, with the first mile of a five-mile Downingtown extension under construction.
Chestnut Creek Park
Eighty acres given over almost entirely to football — home turf of the Horsham Hawks, with three full-size lighted fields and two half-size ones for when the schedule runs past sunset.
Clark Nature Center
A 50.6-acre township preserve on Route 413 with a wilderness trail that loops the whole property along two seasonal streams. Turkey and deer turn up regularly, and a fenced community herb garden behind the garage is open for residents to tend and harvest.
Clem Macrone Park
A Radnor Township park on Conestoga Rd, with a playground and open field. Neighborhood green space more than a destination, free and open to anyone.
Core Creek Park
Bucks County's 1,200-acre park about a ten-minute drive south of town, open dawn to dusk. Rowboats, kayaks, and pedalboats rent on the water, and there's an off-leash dog park plus 11 rentable pavilions.
Covered Bridge Cafe
The cafe in the barn at Tohickon Family Campground, open to non-campers through an entrance in the camp store. The season runs from early April to the start of November, with breakfast served 9 to noon on Saturdays and Sundays.
Cross County Trail
An offshoot of the Schuylkill River Trail that climbs north from Conshohocken toward Plymouth Meeting. A quieter, wooded alternative when the main river path fills up on weekends.
Curtis Arboretum
Cheltenham Township's 45-acre arboretum on grounds landscaped by Frederick Law Olmsted: hills, two ponds, and more than 50 kinds of trees. The lower level holds a fenced dog park with over an acre of off-leash run and a separate enclosure for small breeds.
Cynwyd Heritage Trail
A 2-mile multi-use trail running from Cynwyd Station to the Manayunk Viaduct along an unused stretch of SEPTA's R-6 tracks, with separate paved and soft-surface paths. Three trailheads, and leashed dogs are welcome (8-foot leash max).
Deep Meadow Park
Horsham's baseball headquarters: 11 fields across 55 acres, home turf for Horsham Little League, ringed by a one-mile limestone walking loop. A playground, a batting cage, and a 10-station exercise circuit cover everyone not in cleats.
Dennis P. Dougherty Memorial Park
A small township park on Central Avenue built around its playground. The kind of place kids get walked to after school rather than driven to on a weekend.
Dowlin Forge Park
Uwchlan Township park with parking and picnic tables near the upper end of the Struble Trail, open dawn to dusk. The 2-mile Uwchlan Trail branches off just beyond Dowlin Forge Road, and the special-regulation trout water runs between Dowlin Forge and Dorlan Mill Roads.
Edge Hill Woods Wildlife Sanctuary
Abington Township keeps this patch of woods off Roslyn Avenue as a wildlife sanctuary. Trees, birds, and a break from the street grid, with nothing to pay at the entrance.
Elwell Field
Haverford Township playground and ball field on the Ardmore side of the township line. Free, open air, and the sort of park that serves the blocks around it rather than the whole county.
Emlen Tunnell Park
A Radnor Township park in Garrett Hill, named for Emlen Tunnell, the Radnor-raised safety who became the first Black player elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
Evansburg State Park
A 3,349-acre state park cut through by Skippack Creek, with hiking and horseback trails, picnic groves, trout fishing, and an 18-hole golf course. Mill buildings and houses from the 1700s and 1800s still dot the old Mennonite farmland.
Exton Park
A 701-acre park bought jointly by Chester County and West Whiteland Township, with 19.1 developed acres holding two playgrounds, a sand volleyball court, picnic tables, and a half-mile walking trail with a story-walk funded by the Chester County Library. It is also the only county-owned trailhead on the Chester Valley Trail, so one parking spot buys you miles of riding.
Firehouse Cycles
The borough's bike shop on South Bell, stocking Specialized, Trek, Surly, and Gunnar for everyone from new Yardley towpath riders on up. Repairs are billed for time and parts rather than tiered tune-up packages, and a fitting comes free with any bike they sell you.
Fischer's Park
Towamencin's largest park at 77 acres, with more than 3 miles of walking trails, a fishing pier on the Towamencin Creek pond, and the Arneth Entertainment Center for performances. Five covered pavilions and two playgrounds handle the picnic logistics.
Five Mile Woods Nature Preserve
A 300-acre woodland Lower Makefield Township bought back in 1979, sitting on the Fall Line where the Atlantic Coastal Plain meets the Piedmont. A 675-foot ADA boardwalk takes wheels and strollers; the rest of the trails want sturdy shoes.
Fort Washington State Park
493 acres named for the temporary fort Washington's troops built in the fall of 1777 before heading to Valley Forge, open sunrise to sunset every day of the year. Birders climb the observation deck for the seasonal raptor migration; everyone else comes for the trails, picnic areas, disc golf, and spring dogwood bloom.
Four Mills Nature Reserve
A 56-acre preserve along the Wissahickon Creek and the headquarters of Wissahickon Trails, with two half-mile loop trails of hard-packed dirt. The 1891 Four Mills Barn on the grounds was designed by Philadelphia architect Horace Trumbauer for an estate called Abendruh.
Franconia Community Park
Nearly 50 acres next to the Franconia Township building, with 2 miles of walking trails, a playground rebuilt in 2022 with equipment accessible to all, a roller hockey rink, and ice skating when winter cooperates. Entrances sit off both Allentown and Godshall Roads.
Green Ribbon Trail
A 10.5-mile creekside trail running from Skippack Pike in Fort Washington to Parkside Place in Upper Gwynedd, mostly hard-packed dirt with wooden bridges and boardwalks. Pick it up in Ambler at Four Mills Nature Reserve, or ride SEPTA's Lansdale-Doylestown line and walk on from the Ambler station.
Green Ribbon Trail (Parkside Place Trailhead)
A 10.5-mile foot trail along the Wissahickon Creek from Parkside Place in Upper Gwynedd, just outside Lansdale, down to Fort Washington. Expect six stepping-stone creek crossings, the 1745 Evans-Mumbower gristmill near mile 8, and no bikes.
Gwynedd Preserve
A 279-acre Natural Lands preserve of native wildflower meadow and woodland on Swedesford Road, with unpaved trails, leashed dogs welcome, and Northern Harriers on the birding list. Free, dawn to dusk, closed Tuesdays.
Haines and Salvati Memorial Park
A small memorial park on Wood Street, more a pocket of green than a destination. A quiet bench-and-shade stop tucked into the neighborhood.
Harmony Hill Nature Area
East Bradford's largest park: 240 acres with 7 miles of natural-surface trails open to hikers and mountain bikers, a few minutes from the borough. The second lot at 1183 Harmony Hill Road sits just before Gibson's covered bridge and connects to the paved East Branch Brandywine Trail.
The Harriton Preserve
Township open space off Harriton Road, the fields and woodland next to the Harriton House farmstead. Walking trails rather than a formal park.
Harry Renninger Park
A small township park on South Keswick Avenue in Glenside. Green space for a walk or a sit rather than a half-day out, and no website to check before you go.
Haverford College Arboretum
The whole Haverford College campus doubles as an arboretum: labeled trees, open lawns and a pond, all of it off Lancaster Avenue and open to walk.
Heckler Plains Farmstead
A historic Pennsylvania German farmstead at the center of a 36-acre Lower Salford park, ringed by a nature trail, bike path, playground, ball fields, and a pavilion. The old house and barn are the draw; the park around them does the everyday work.
Hibernia County Park
More than 900 acres of woods, meadows, and trails wrapped around a 19th-century ironmaster's mansion just north of town. Chambers Lake handles the boating and fishing, mansion tours run many Sunday afternoons, and the campground opens weekends April through mid-November.
High School Park
An 11-plus-acre restored native meadow on the former Cheltenham High School grounds, with demonstration gardens, a rain garden, and a raised bird observation deck above Tookany Creek. Friends of High School Park has tended it since 1995 and runs a Summer Music Series and the one-day Arts in the Park festival.
Horsham Farmers' Market
Sunday mornings, June through October, on Babylon Road — produce, flowers, sweets, and handmade goods from vendors set up indoors and out. Leashed dogs welcome, and monthly winter markets carry it through the cold season.
James Memorial Park
West Rockhill Township's park on the old James farmstead, dedicated in 1975, with a half-mile walking path, a pond, basketball and sand volleyball courts, a tot lot, two pavilions, and a dog park. Heritage House, the restored farmhouse at its center, became home to the West Rockhill Historical Society after 2011.
Johnsontown Park
A neighborhood park on Viaduct Ave, set back in the streets rather than out on the main drag.
Kardon Park
Ponds and walking trails just off E Pennsylvania Ave on the edge of downtown Downingtown. The ponds pull in anglers and waterfowl through most of the year.
Kerr Park
Downingtown's main park, spread along the East Branch of the Brandywine with a playground and the creek trail. It's the borough's default for summer events and a walk by the water.
Keswick Cycle Glenside
A bike shop on North Easton Road with close to 800 Google reviews behind it, which in a town this size means most of the neighborhood has wheeled something through the door.
Kohler Park
71 acres off Horsham Road with a fishing pond, a dog park, two playground areas, and a lighted in-line street hockey court. There is even a chess table near the gazebo.
Lake Towhee Park
A 549-acre Bucks County park around a lake in Applebachsville, about ten minutes northeast of the borough. Fishing, boating, hiking, camping, and a playground, open dawn to dusk.
Laurel Hill West
The Bala Cynwyd half of Laurel Hill, a historic cemetery and certified arboretum spanning 265 acres across its two locations, open to the public free, 365 days a year. Grounds hours run 7 am to 7 pm in summer, 7 to 5 in winter.
Lawn Avenue Park
A quiet pocket park on the Lawn Avenue side of town, more bench-and-shade-tree than jungle gym. Locals know it; almost nobody else does.
Linwood Park
A neighborhood park on East Athens Avenue, a short walk from the middle of Ardmore. A volunteer Friends group looks after it and puts on events there through the year.
Lock 60 at the Schuylkill Canal Park
A fully restored, working 1820s lock on the old Schuylkill Canal, just across the river in Mont Clare, with the original locktender's house still standing. Between guided tours run with the Schuylkill Canal Association, the park earns its keep with fishing, a boat launch, birding trails, and a five-mile water loop trail.
Longwood Gardens
The du Pont horticultural giant three miles northeast of town, where the Main Fountain Garden runs May 8 through October 25 and A Longwood Christmas takes over from November 20 into early January. Timed tickets are required, and it closes Tuesdays most of the year.
Lorimer Park
230 acres of woods and meadows along Pennypack Creek, bequeathed by Saturday Evening Post editor George Horace Lorimer and stocked with trout by the PA Fish & Boat Commission. Council Rock, a boulder overlooking the creek, is a favorite photo spot, and the 6.2-mile crushed-stone Pennypack Trail runs from Rockledge north to County Line Road for level hiking and biking.
Lower Perkiomen Valley Park
A 107-acre county park in Oaks that serves as a trailhead for both the Perkiomen Trail and the Schuylkill River Trail. Pavilions, a playground, and creek-side fishing on the Perkiomen fill out the rest.
Macclesfield Park
Ninety-two acres on the Delaware in Lower Makefield, anchored by the popular paved bike path — 4,222 family-friendly feet made for training wheels and strollers. Picnic areas, walking trails, and playgrounds fill in the rest.
Marinelli Park
A pocket park on Lincoln Highway in Downingtown, more the green patch you pass than a place you plan a day around.
Marsh Creek State Park
1,784 acres wrapped around the 535-acre Marsh Creek Lake, just north of the borough with a Downingtown address. Sailing and fishing on the water, a seasonal pool, and the horse stable and most trails on the west side at 800 North Reeds Road.
Mary H Wood Park
A small park on East Fifth Avenue for a bench, a breather, or a lap with the stroller. Nothing fancy, just green space where the block needs it.
Memorial Park
Ten acres on East Main Street with a memorial to Lansdale's deceased war veterans, a lighted baseball field backed by a concrete grandstand, and lighted tennis and pickleball courts. A footpath and gazebo cover the slower afternoons.
Merion Botanical Park
A 13.5-acre township nature park on Merion Road, a few minutes from downtown Narberth. Quieter than Narberth Park on a Saturday.
Molasses Creek Park
Milford Township's park off Krammes Road, with soccer fields, a climbing wall, beach volleyball, horseshoe pits (bring your own shoes), and a splash pad added in 2025. The butterfly garden holds down a quieter corner.
Natural Lands' Stroud Preserve
571 free acres of hiking trails along the East Branch of the Brandywine, where Stroud Water Research Center scientists run stream experiments that last decades. Open dawn to dusk every day but Wednesday.
New Leaf Sensory Garden
11 acres of wetlands and meadow with a half-mile trail, a pollinator garden, Brandywine Red Clay's working apiary, and interactive sensory stations along the way. Kid bait of the best sort; leave the dog home.
Newtown Bicycle & Fitness
The borough's bike shop since the 1980s, selling everything from kids' first bikes to trikes and e-bikes. The service counter claims 50-plus years of combined wrench time and gives free estimates, so bring in the garage-sale cruiser.
Nockamixon State Park
5,286 acres wrapped around the 1,450-acre Lake Nockamixon, a short drive up Route 313 from Perkasie, with boating, a swimming pool, and disc golf. Open sunrise to sunset every day of the year; the lake is a rest stop for migrating waterfowl if you'd rather bring binoculars than a boat.
Northbrook Canoe Company
Canoe trips down the Brandywine out of Beagle Road since 1977 — by their own count, that's 50 years on the water. Open daily May 1 to October 3; reservations recommended, walk-ins welcome.
Northern Star Farm
Fully preserved farm in Trappe, in the Wismer family since 1927, that opens for U-Pick Sunflower Days (2026 makes it three years running) and a fall festival. Later in the year: photos with Santa and Dominick the Donkey.
Oakbourne Park & Arboretum
A late-1800s Queen Anne mansion and its water tower anchor this Westtown Township park, with 1.2 miles of trails, a pond, playground, and pavilion around them. Grounds are open sunrise to sunset; the mansion itself rents out for weddings.
Packer Park
A small Lower Merion Township park on Llanfair Circle, ringed by Ardmore houses. Open green space for a walk or an hour outside rather than a whole afternoon.
Peace Valley Park
1,500 county acres a few minutes north of the borough, with seasonal rentals of rowboats, canoes, pedal boats, and kayaks. A nature center, fishing, playgrounds, and five picnic pavilions fill out the park.
Pedaller Bike Shop
Lansdale's bike shop since 1972, stocked from high-end road parts down to a kid's first two-wheeler. Repairs, service, and upgrades all happen in-house — bring it in.
Perkasie Dog Park
An acre of fenced off-leash ground across from Perkasie Square, split into two runs so the under-35-pounders aren't dodging the big dogs. Free to use, with an agility A-frame and tunnels for the show-offs and shaded benches for you.
PHS Meadowbrook Farm
The Pennsylvania Horticultural Society's free public garden, where xeric beds and an herb garden sit alongside a stone wall garden of cloud- and espalier-pruned trees. Open mid-April through mid-October, with garden tours the third Saturday of the month, May through September.
Power Line Trail
5.3 miles of 12-foot-wide asphalt running from Blair Mill Road to Biwood Road along a utility right-of-way. Flat and paved the whole way, which makes it the township's default bike-and-evening-walk route.
Prophecy Creek Park
Whitpain Township parkland where Prophecy Creek winds through rolling meadows and ponds on its way to the Wissahickon, past a manor house and barn. Open dawn to dusk.
Quakertown Memorial Park
Home of QuiNBy's Playground, an all-inclusive setup built around a castle tower up to 29 feet tall with a 155-foot net obstacle course alongside. Come winter the parking lot is flooded into the borough skating pond; a green flag on the pole means the ice is good.
Railroad Plaza
A third of an acre of plaza beside the SEPTA station, and the spot where downtown Lansdale's festivals and street events tend to set up. More town square than park — Main Street on one side, the tracks on the other.
Rolling Hill Park
A 103-acre township nature park in Gladwyne with hiking and equestrian trails. It is the park Narberth people drive to when the borough starts to feel small.
Samuel Carpenter Park
The courts end of Horsham's park system — three tennis, three basketball, and two sand volleyball courts on 31 acres along Horsham Road. The 3/4-mile limestone loop is there for laps between sets.
Schauffele Plaza
The open public square where Lancaster Avenue meets Cricket Avenue, in the middle of Ardmore's shopping blocks. The patch of pavement the town borrows when something is happening on the avenue.
Schuylkill River Trail
The paved riverside path runs right through Conshohocken, with the SEPTA station doubling as the trailhead. Head south toward Manayunk and Philadelphia or north toward Valley Forge, all flat and car-free.
Schuylkill River Trail - Port Providence Trailhead
A Schuylkill River Trail trailhead with its own parking lot on Port Providence Road, minutes from downtown. Park, unload the bike, and pick a direction.
Scooter's Bike Shop
A full bike shop on North Main, selling and fixing everything from kids' first two-wheelers to weekend road bikes. The repair counter is the reason people keep the number saved.
Scott Field
Public athletic field on East Diamond Street, home turf for Coatesville ballgames and track meets. Municipal grounds, open-air, run by the city.
Sellersville Disc Golf Course
Nineteen holes threaded through the town park off Walnut Street, with a creek and pond in play on enough of them to swallow a disc if you get greedy off the tee. Concrete tee pads, three pin positions on nearly every hole, restrooms by 1 and 7, and it costs nothing to play.
Sheldon Lane Pollinator Garden
A pollinator garden on Elm Avenue, a small patch planted for the bees and butterflies rather than for ballfields. Open to anyone walking past, and best seen when it is in bloom.
Skydive Philadelphia
Tandem jumps out of Pennridge Airport, where they've spent more than 20 years strapping first-timers to USPA-certified instructors. If the first jump takes, the AFF course is the path to jumping solo.
Solebury Orchards
Pick-your-own apples, peaches, and blueberries on Creamery Road, plus cider and applesauce pressed from the same trees. Picking season runs Thursday through Sunday from late June into October.
South Ardmore Park
A Lower Merion Township park on Sussex Road, right on the line between Ardmore and Wynnewood. Wide open green with the South Ardmore playground next door, so the kids have somewhere to go too.
Spring Mill Trailhead
The Spring Mill access point to the Schuylkill River Trail, tucked in the SEPTA lot off Conshohocken Road. A lower-key place to hop on the trail than the downtown trailhead.
Spring Mountain Adventures
Skiing, snowboarding, and ice skating on one hill up Route 29 in Spring Mount, with 26/27 season passes already on sale. Summer brings a day camp.
Stargazers Vineyard
A small farm winery where $16 buys a flight of four wines and a seat by the vines — food is BYO, picnics encouraged, and they'll ask you to pack out your own trash. Summer weekends sometimes come with live music.
Stateline Woods Preserve
86 acres and four miles of trails through fields and woodlands, home to a 300-year-old oak, saved from a housing development when neighbors and the Land Conservancy bought the land outright. Open dawn to dusk with leashed dogs welcome; mountain bikes and horses (ride-in only) too.
Stony Creek Park
21.5 acres with a 1-acre pond, a walking labyrinth, a 0.6-mile nature trail, and a tot lot for the small people. A gazebo, an overlook, and 55 parking spots round it out.
Stroud Preserve
571 acres of grasslands, working farmland, and woods along the East Branch of the Brandywine, free and open dawn to dusk every day but Wednesday. The 19th-century farmhouse and barn are on the National Register; the birds are the real draw.
Struble Trail
A paved 2.6 miles along the East Branch of the Brandywine, from Norwood Road at Kardon Park up to Dorlan Mill Road, named for county commissioner Robert Struble. The stretch between Dorlan Mill and Dowlin Forge Roads is a special-regulation artificial-lure trout area, so expect fly rods in the shallows.
Styer Orchard
A pick-your-own orchard a short hop from Newtown, with free hayrides out to the fields. The farm market keeps long hours, 7 am to 7 pm Monday through Saturday and 8 to 6 on Sundays.
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Sugartown Strawberries
Pick-your-own farm on Sugartown Road — strawberries in season, sunflowers and pumpkins later in the year, hayrides once fall arrives. The whole operation runs on the growing calendar, so check the site before you drive out.
Sunnybrook Park
A small, low-key neighborhood park in Downingtown, the kind that mostly serves the blocks around it.
Sutcliffe Park
A neighborhood park off Colwell Lane with room to spread out for an afternoon. Space to run the dog or let the kids burn an hour before dinner.
Tennis Junction Inc
Tennis shop on Lancaster Avenue in Bryn Mawr, doing racquets, stringing, shoes and apparel and nothing else.
Treehouse World
Ziplines, an obstacle course, and climbable treehouses spread through the woods off Phoenixville Pike, with axe throwing and a bungy trampoline for the ground-bound. The new Toxic Plunge drops you through a black hole onto a 30-foot slide, in case anyone needed convincing.
Tyler State Park
1,711 acres of former farmland and woods where Neshaminy Creek winds through and divides the park into sections, starting right at the edge of town. Biking, bridle paths, boating, and disc golf, with gates open 8 a.m. to sunset every day of the year.
Univest Performance Center
An outdoor amphitheater in the Park at 4th, run by the borough's parks department, where the Sounds of Summer series has drawn over 12,000 attendees a summer since 2017. The 2026 lineup runs July through September, the Beach Boys and Air Supply included.
Veterans Park Quakertown
The Richland Township park where the communal stuff lands: free Movies in the Park on summer Friday nights at 7, plus the township's Community Day every August. The 2026 movie run leans hard elementary-school — Spongebob takes the screen August 14.
Warner Avenue Park & Playground
Lower Merion Township's playground on Old Lancaster Road. Small and free, the neighborhood kind you walk to for an hour rather than plan a whole day around.
Washington Crossing Historic Park
The riverbank where Washington's army crossed the Delaware on Christmas night 1776, kept as a historic village with the Thompson-Neely House, a grist mill, and soldiers' graves. Grounds are open dawn to dusk and the visitor center runs daily 10 to 5, about ten minutes up River Road from Yardley.
Wellington Sporting Goods
Hunting and fishing gear on Main Street for over 50 years, in a building that started life as a blacksmith shop. No credit or debit cards — there's an ATM a few blocks away.
Willisbrook Preserve
126 acres of Natural Lands woods and meadow, including 20-plus acres of the rare Sugartown Serpentine Barrens, a state-designated Wild Plant Sanctuary since 2010. Free, open dawn to dusk, dogs on leash with no exceptions.
Wissahickon Park
A 17.8-acre spread of borough green at the east end of Main Street, most of it open space threaded by a foot path. The simple kind of park — which is exactly the point.
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