fOffbeat Outdoor Offerings In Philly Range From The No-Sweat to The Full-Throttle Set
PHILADELPHIA, June 21, 2006 - Some outdoor enthusiasts travel for one reason – to bike Philadelphia’s legendary Manayunk Wall or fish on the first day of trout season. Others seek to mix the best local outdoor offerings into their travel plans. Still others are willing to try sports they’ve never heard of, just for the thrill of it. The zealous, the eager and the curious will all find fun-under-the-sun in Philadelphia and The Countryside. Here’s a look at some of the region’s options for outdoor play:
Disc Golfing at Sedgley Woods
Photo by G. Widman for GPTMC
No Sweating Required:
Gardens
Maybe it was the forgiving climate. It could have been the region’s industrial wealth, or even its deep Quaker ethic. But for whatever reason, Philadelphia and The Countryside™ is one of the nation’s leaders when it comes to public gardens and horticulture. From historic Bartram’s Gardens to whimsical Chanticleer, nearly 30 public gardens include the largest, the most historic and the most innovative in North America. The five-county region is home to one of the largest conservatories in the nation (Longwood Gardens), the country’s largest tulip display (Longwood Gardens), the nation’s first horticultural society (Pennsylvania Horticultural Society); the nation’s first and largest flower show (The Philadelphia Flower Show); and the world’s largest garden party, which takes place every May.
For more information, contact: Sharon Lee, editor of the Public Garden magazine and consultant to Greater Philadelphia Gardens at (610) 543-1024, slee.associates@comcast.net; or Kirsten Werner at Tyler Arboretum, at (610) 566-9134, ext. 210 or kwerner@tylerarboretum.org.
Bird Watching
John James Audubon’s Montgomery County home, Mill Grove, with its original drawing series Birds of America, is perhaps the only item on most birders’ “life lists” that doesn’t fly. Mill Grove is just one of the attractions for bird-watching enthusiasts in the Philadelphia region, with its rich array of large and historic gardens providing a beautiful backdrop for the kind of leisurely, relaxing trip best followed with a gourmet dinner downtown. The abundance of important birding areas nearby are perfectly paired with an easy trip to two of the most important bird migration sites in the nation, Hawk Mountain and Cape May Bird Observatory, located just outside the five-county region.
For more information, contact The Delaware Valley Ornithological Club at http://www.dvoc.org/; the Valley Forge Audubon Society at http://www.valleyforgeaudubon.org/; the Bucks County Audubon Society at http://www.bcas.org/; or the Wyncote Audubon Society at http://www.wyncoteaudubon.org/.
Adrenaline Rush:
Triathlons/Duathlons
Multi-sport events have always been a big deal in Philadelphia, but the Philadelphia Triathlon, rated a top five race by Inside Triathlon magazine and “deserving of cult status” by Triathlon Magazine, has put the city on the map with multi-sport athletes all over the country. Maybe it’s because multi-sport events are attractive to elite competitors who are looking for some cross-training, or perhaps it’s because multi-sport events also appeal to older, more seasoned runners and cyclists. For whatever reason, the sport’s grown so fast here that from April through September, there is a duathlon or triathlon somewhere in the region virtually every weekend.
For more information, contact Bill McNichol, Tristate Multisport Association, at (215) 284-8920.
Adventure Racing
Adventure racing is a team sport that calls for running, biking and paddling over a distance of 20 to 500 miles, without the benefit of a designated course. The goal is to get from point A to point B before anyone else. Finding the best and most efficient route is part of the skill and also the ultimate challenge. Races typically cover large swaths of the Philadelphia region, starting in places like French Creek State Park and ending up in another county, many miles away.
For more information, visit Goals Adventure Racing Association Web site at http://www.goalsara.org/ or call the organization’s president Bill Gibbons at (610) 466-7015.
The Usual Suspects:
Hiking
Ever heard of the Hopewell Big Woods or the Pennsylvania Highlands? The large swaths of uninterrupted forest along the edges of Chester, Bucks and Montgomery counties are just two of the natural land areas treasured by local hikers, many of whom helped get sections of them federally designated as protected lands. New trails now make it possible to hike from Center City Philadelphia all the way to the Appalachian Trail.
For more information, contact the local chapter of the Appalachian Mountain Club at http://www.outdoors.org/ or try the Keystone Trail Association at http://www.kta-hike.org/.
Horseback Riding
From the manicured fields at the Devon Horse Show to trails marked out by Fairmount Park’s endurance riders, horseback riding is a time-honored tradition in the city and beyond. Philadelphia’s extensive and varied trail system offers a wealth of beautiful rides over different types of terrain, a resource that’s rare for large U.S. cities. And the riders are as diverse as Philadelphia itself – there are competitive riders, pleasure riders, English saddles, Western saddles, Civil War calvary re-enactors, cowboys, polo players and endurance riders. And with the help of a new state law, insurance costs for recreational riding are expected to drop.
For more information, contact Joe Certaine, leading authority on Fairmount Park’s equestrian programs, at (215) 510-9928.
New Kids On the Outdoor Block:
Orienteering
A compass and map are all it takes to participate in this family-favorite sport. The objective is to locate markers throughout the terrain, either in groups or working alone, and finish first by finding the most efficient and direct route through the course. The Delaware Valley Orienteering Association, the nation’s oldest orienteering group, has dubbed French Creek State Park “the orienteering capital of America” because of its self-guiding course, appropriate for all ages.
For more information, contact the Delaware Valley Orienteering Association at (610) 792-0502 or http://www.dvoa.org/.
Outrigger Canoeing
Remember the paddlers from the opening credits of Hawaii 5-0? Those are outrigger canoes, used in an ancient form of paddling recently imported from the nation’s 50th state. Philadelphia’s outrigger canoe championships are now in their third year on the Schuylkill. Canoes are available for rental at several of the big parks, including Lake Nockamixon, Marsh Creek and Green Lane.
For more information, contact the Philadelphia Outrigger Canoe Club at http://www.phillyoutrigger.com/.
Disc Golfing
Last year’s winner of the world disc golf championships, held in Bucks County’s Lake Nockamixon, challenged competitors from 30 different countries and took home a $10,000 purse. Disc golf, a new form of golf played with frisbees in a wooded setting, is one of the nation’s fastest growing sports. Fairmount Park’s Sedgley Woods, the nation’s second-oldest course, is a big part of that growth.
For more information, contact Jeff Uhlenburg at (215) 335-2200 or Nan Elias at (610) 380-8257, both of the Friends of Sedgley Woods Disc Golf Association, http://www.sedgleywoods.org/.
Geo-caching
Mix a scavenger hunt and a satellite GPS device with a healthy dose of curiosity for geo-caching, a quirky and very popular new outdoor activity. A cell phone-sized GPS tracker enables players to find the “caches” where other players have hidden little bits of treasure – maybe a childhood toy, for instance, a book, or a leftover charm. It’s the searchers job to locate the treasure, take it, replace it and log it. For all players, it’s a great way to explore the entire five-county area.
For more information, go to www.geocities.com/pageocachers or http://www.sepag.us/; or contact Bruce Andersen, a local geocacher who helped launch these local sites at (215) 593-8672.
The Greater Philadelphia Tourism Marketing Corporation (GPTMC) makes Philadelphia and The Countryside™ a premier destination through marketing and image building that increases business and promotes the region’s vitality. For more information about travel to Philadelphia, visit http://www.gophila.com/ or call the Independence Visitor Center at (800) 537-7676.
Note to Editors: For photos of Greater Philadelphia, visit our Photo Gallery. On the pressroom, you can also subscribe to RSS feeds to receive updates on topics that are specifically of interest to you: What’s New, Dining, Events, Seasonal Travel, Hotel Packages and Tourism Research.
CONTACT:
Cara Schneider, GPTMC
(215) 599-0789, cara@gptmc.com
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