Port Richmond: Give These Five Outdoor Spots a Shot

As summer approaches, the outdoors offer a chance to get away from the regular routine of the day.

Enjoying summer activities doesn’t have to come at a great cost, nor does it have to involve too much travel, either. Port Richmond offers its fair share of places that offer a variety of outdoor activities, or a simple, relaxing atmosphere.

Here are a few of them.

Campbell Square

This can’t-miss park located off Allegheny Avenue near Almond and Belgrade streets offers a spacious, shaded spot to do just about anything.

Visitors will find numerous park benches and picnic tables for reading, card or table games and other activities. People can walk the park with the dog or the children, and take a look at features like Campbell Square‘s Korean War memorial, which was created in honor of P.F.C Stanley Gogoj, the first soldier killed in the Korean War from the Philadelphia area.

Friends of Pulaski Park

Up until about a year-and-a-half ago, Friends of Pulaski Park, also known as “General Pulaski Park,” was just another renovation project. But now, especially on the brink of the summer season, the park is a full-fledged, family-friendly place for visitors to fish, swim and picnic.

Historically a pier for fire and police boats, Friends of Pulaski Park is now one of Port Richmond’s newest recreational outdoor establishments. Attracting men and women from all over North Philadelphia and the River Wards, park visitors will find an expansive pier space for all their cat-fishing needs.

Walk past the pier and visitors can also find a pathway down to a regularly cleaned, stone beach. Families can gather to relax in the shade or picnic along the rocky shore.

Baseball fields at Allegheny Avenue and Bath Street

Upkeep seems a bit lacking for these baseball diamonds, considering the recent change of seasons. But even at the moment, park visitors can’t wait to get on the field and break out their bats and gloves for the baseball season.

Separated from Monkiewicz Park by the intrusive I-95, these baseball fields are large enough and conveniently located to host local baseball leagues as well as visitors looking to enjoy an afternoon of catch.

Even those thirsty for the inevitable football season can find goal posts adjacent to the two baseball fields. The space is essentially  open to any and all outdoor field-based sports. It’s accessible but also enclosed from the street traffic associated with I-95 and Allegheny Ave.

Powers Park

It doesn’t quite have the size of Campbell Square, and it sits tucked behind the Richmond branch of the Free Library of Philadelphia. Yet, Powers Park features a quiet, relaxed setting that can lend itself to anything from reading a book or newspaper, to a family get-together with its selection of shaded picnic tables.

Monkiewicz Playground

It’s no palace and it’s not brand new, either, but the playground and recreation center that sits on Richmond Avenue near the I-95 Allegheny exit offers the pictured playing area for children, along with basketball courts, a pool and baseball fields. The center also provides fitness classes for adults each year from October until June, and youth kickboxing classes from September to May.

– Text and images by Andrew Parent and Paul Imburgia.