When you go in search of Ellis Woods Park, you should have no trouble finding it. There’s a prominent sign in front of the East Coventry municipal building, and the vibrantly colorful playground equipment is easily visible from the road. Ellis Woods Park should be put on everyone’s list of “must-see parks.” If you do not have such a list after reading this series, we will wait for you now to get a pen and paper or type it into your phone or Blackberry or whatever….

…. Okay, here is what makes Ellis Woods Park so wonderful.

#1 The playground is new and cheery. There are picnic tables and benches right next to it. In the warm weather months, there’s an awning over this area, so you and your family can take breaks from the sun. There’s an indoor restroom in the municipal building; the door to the rest room is right next to the play area. It’s clean and well-lit and has soap and paper towels! Note that it’s only unlocked during municipal hours, but there’s a port-o-potty for other times.

#2 Beyond the play area, there’s a flat gravel loop that would be ideal for seniors, dog-walkers, and parents who need to tire out their young children by assigning them an arbitrary number of laps to walk/run. I used to assume my “coaching” voice in these situations. Issue it as a challenge! Be firm!

#3 The half-mile wooded nature trail is the best I’ve seen yet for budding hikers and naturalists. If you want to get your 6-9-year-olds interested in the outdoors, take them to Ellis Woods Park and let them lead the way. There is a sign and grassy clearing to the left of the gravel loop.

On the right side of the clearing, you will see the trailhead signs. Bob Dougherty, Eagle Scout Project Leader, oversaw this project in 2009, and young children should be able to follow the arrows to lead his/her family for the half-mile hike, which includes lovely water views and will take you back to your starting point. There’s one caveat: there’s a massive downed tree at the halfway point. Don’t panic. Move around it toward your left and you can safely get back on the trail. If it has rained recently, it can be muddy. Before leaving the house, you might want to throw some boots in the car.

#4 I noticed a brick oven-type structure on the other side of the gravel loop, near the playground and municipal building. Upon closer inspection, I found it was a ceremonial flag-retiring incinerator. The plaque there mentioned the Continental Army soldiers who died at Valley Forge and were buried in the Ellis Woods Cemetery. I didn’t know anything about that and was glad to have a mini-history lesson added to my visit.

#5 As I went down Ellis Woods Road, heading back toward Route 724, I noticed a sign that said “Ellis Woods Cemetery 1787-88” and a bunch of continental flags flapping in the autumn breeze. I turned around, pulled into the small parking area and got out to pay my respects. Periodically stopping to make this connection – between the plaque at the park and the cemetery – may give young children a stronger sense of the history of their community and the struggles of a fledgling nation.

With ample parking and amenities that will appeal to all age groups and physical ability levels, I highly recommend checking out Ellis Woods Park for your next family outing.

* After original publication, I learned that, as part of his Eagle Scout project, Andrew Hoffman researched, developed, and built the flag incinerator dedicated to theRevolutionary War Veterans buried at Ellis Woods Memorial Cemetery.

ELLIS WOODS PARK
Location: 855 Ellis Woods road, Pottstown, PA 19465, at the East Coventry municipal building
Size: 15.0 acres
Suitability: All ages.
Facilities: Playground, tables, benches, protective awning during warm weather months, open space, wooded trails, gravel loop, official flag-burning area, indoor restroom & outdoor port-o-potty.
Activities and tips: Nature trail is a wonderful “starter park” for very young hikers. Flat, gravel loop near play area is ideal for seniors and dog walkers. Fabulous rest room during municipal office hours! (Port-o-potty at all other times.) Historical marker and nearby cemetery add cultural interest.
Hours: 8 am to sunset.

ELLIS WOODS CEMETERY
Location: Use 600 Ellis Woods Road, Pottstown, PA 19465 with a GPS or mapping program. It’s near the intersection with Buckwalter Road.

Contact:
East Coventry Township
855 Ellis Woods Road
Pottstown, PA 19465
(610) 495-5443
(610) 495-9925 FAX
Hours: 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. M-F
Website: http://www.eastcoventry-pa.gov/

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In this parks series, we have been striving to encourage people of all ages to get out and explore what’s available in our area and try new things: fly a plane, hike a trail, go down the slide with your kids. It’s all about being active and taking advantage of the varied and free opportunities that await you in the parks! And then there are also the tried-and-true venues where local kids learn and compete in baseball, soccer and football. Youth sports are also an important part of a healthy lifestyle and a happy childhood, no matter where you live.

In Amity Township, there are several parks dedicated to youth sports. The Myron S. Wheeler Recreation area sits just behind the municipal building on Weavertown Road in Douglassville. This modest baseball park is close to the Amity Community Park we reviewed earlier in the series, so be sure to check that out if you are headed to the Wheeler fields for a game.

A little further west are two recreation areas: one for soccer and one for baseball. The Amity Park Road Recreation Area shares an entrance with the private soccer club, Amity AC Soccer’s fields and Amity Pool. Hill Road Recreation Area is close by and offers baseball fields, picnic facilities and a playground. Both of these parks are in very close proximity to the 420-acre Monocacy Hill Recreation Area, where we had so much fun with a scavenger hunt. That would be another great place to enjoy nature and wind down after a game.

MYRON S. WHEELER RECREATION AREA
Location: Directly behind the municipal building, located at 2004 Weavertown Road, Douglassville, PA 19518
Size: 2 acres
Facilities: 2 baseball fields and some seating
Hours: Dawn until dusk

AMITY PARK ROAD RECREATION AREA (TOWNSHIP SOCCER FIELDS)
Location: 55 Amity Park Road, Douglassville, PA 19518, adjacent to the Amity AC Soccer club fields and the Amity Pool complex
Size: 7 acres
Facilities: Soccer fields
Hours: Dawn until dusk

HILL ROAD RECREATION AREA (TOWNSHIP BASEBALL FIELDS)
Location: 133 Hill Road, Douglassville, PA 19518, just north of route 422, between Loyalsock and Antietam Drives
Size: 10 acres
Facilities: Baseball fields, playground and picnic areas
Hours: 7 a.m. – 10 p.m.

Amity Township
2004 Weavertown Road
Douglassville, PA 19518
610-689-6000
Website: http://www.amitytownshippa.com/

Recreational Facilities webpage

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After reading the description of Monocacy Hill Recreation Area in the Penn State study, I was both excited to visit and surprised I had never been there before. I enlisted the help of a friend and her kindergartener to explore this huge place. Before we left, I made up a small scavenger hunt to take to the park, something I have done with my kids before. It’s nothing fancy, just a few simple things for the kids to find on a hike, and now they can find them and take photos with the digital camera, which makes it even more fun.

Our list (geared toward a newly reading kindergartener) included:

Something living
Something dead
Something green
Something orange
Water
Wood
An animal
An insect

We stopped for a few minutes to check out the information board that sits at the entrance to the park and to read a little about the park and the types of plants that live there. I definitely learned something at Monocacy Hill, because I had no idea that there were invasive plants threatening our forests. The Conservation Association has, as one of its missions and part of its Forest Stewardship Plan, an initiative to combat invasive non-native plants. From its website:

BASICS: Plants, insects, animals taken out of their natural habitat may not have the natural predators and diseases that previously kept their population under control. So they are able to aggressively compete with native species for space, light, water and nutrients and spread through the forest displacing our native species. In our area, for example, deer will browse on native plants and rarely eat non-native food sources.

This recreation area is like “park meets museum,” because there are informational stops all along the path and many of the trees and shrubs are marked with the species, origin, and more. It certainly makes for more than just a walk in the park when you visit Monocacy Hill.

We set out on our way after a quick stop at the restroom (an outhouse-not fancy, but definitely a convenience especially if you’re taking a long hike.) We saw a sign marked “creek trail” and decided unanimously that we wanted to see the creek, so we started on the path. Our young explorer started immediately on his list and was very selective in what he chose for each of his scavenger hunt items. He didn’t take a photo of the first thing he found for each category; he wanted to be sure about his choice.

The path wound its way downhill and the scenery was breathtaking. I already love fall and all the colors it offers, but there was something special about this particular place and the sheer height of the trees. There was a light wind that would make the canopy sway and leaves of all shapes and colors made their way down to us.

The scavenger hunt was on – a log with moss was selected as something green, living and wood! Next up was a pile of leaves that were obviously dead. A striking orange, red and yellow leaf fit the bill for something orange, and the hunt (and hike) continued. By then point, I was already planning my next trip to Monocacy Hill and wondering how soon I could get back here with my kids and husband.

The path, which to this point had been a mixture of mud, leaves, gravel and some medium-sized rocks (which our scavenger hunter astutely told us meant we were nearing the creek) now turned into carved stumps. We were all thrilled as we forged ahead in pursuit of the creek and the rest of the scavenger hunt. As we passed another hiker with her dog, the path changed again, to boardwalks, and soon we found the creek, followed by shouts of “water!” and a request for the camera to check one more item off the list.

After passing the creek, we walked a bit further and then realized we had made a rookie mistake. In our enthusiasm to see the creek, we hadn’t looked at the map of the park trails! We had to decide whether to keep going and see if our path would circle around (which it didn’t seem to be doing) or to double back and retrace our steps. If we had unlimited time, I think we would have kept going, even not knowing what was ahead, but afternoon kindergarten awaited our scavenger hunter so we turned around.

Amazingly, the two hardest items on the scavenger hunt to find were the animal and the insect. My friend bravely turned over a log to uncover a characteristically gross specimen of insect, and we finally found a chipmunk to satisfy the animal requirement of our list. We followed the creek trail back up the hill and toward the entrance where we (finally) read the map. If we had gone just a bit further, our trail would have merged with another one and wound its way back to the main entrance, but there’s always next time.

Just for fun, we checked the mileage of the creek trail, which is 1 mile, and figured we walked about ¾ mile each direction-which took nearly an hour with several stops for scavenging, photo taking and just general staring at the beautiful setting. The Monocacy Hill Conservation Association has several events coming up in November so there is plenty of autumn left for exploring this beautiful site:

Walks in the woods: Sundays, November 7th and 21st at 1:30 PM
Moonlight Hike: Sunday, November 21st at 8:30 PM

Of course, you absolutely do not have to wait until a scheduled event to visit the Monocacy Hill Recreation Area. Thanks to the well-marked trails and the information spots scattered throughout the park, any day is a great time to have an adventure here.

MONOCACY HILL RECREATION AREA
Location: Geiger Road, between Hill Road and Limekiln Road in Amity Township
Size: 420 acres
Suitability: Anyone can enjoy connecting with nature at this beautiful park. Some of the trails are more challenging and would be tough for people with limited mobility. Check the map before heading out on the trails. Know your own physical limitations when you start the hike.
Facilities: Miles of trails, picnic tables, grills, study spots with information about the foliage and the area
Activities and tips: Check out the trail map before you go so you can choose how long you want to hike. There are short trails of a mile or less; for the more adventurous, hike the entire perimeter! Wear comfortable shoes and bring a water bottle, especially if you are taking one of the more challenging trails-these paths are natural and include stumps and boardwalks as well as stones and gravel. If you pack a lunch or snack, there are picnic tables near the Geiger Road entrance to the park.
Hours: Dawn until dusk

Contact:
Monocacy Hill Conservation Association
P.O. Box 3
Douglassville,  PA  19518
www.monocacyhill.org

Amity Township
2004 Weavertown Road
Douglassville, PA 19518
610-689-6000
Website: http://www.amitytownshippa.com/

Recreational Facilities webpage

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Amity Township, just west of Pottstown along the 422 corridor, fits in well with the rest of the areas we have visited in this study. It was founded all the way back in 1719, giving it the title of “First in Berks,” and it has seen a tremendous amount of growth in recent years. Ask anyone who has lived there longer than 10 years and they will paint a very different picture of the township in the last millennium. These days, the new businesses, new developments and new schools sit right next to centuries’ old farms as well as houses from the middle of the 20^th century.

The Lake Drive Recreation Area is in an established, residential neighborhood, just a few blocks off of 422 where new construction and new retail spaces have cropped up. You can get to the park by making a right off 422 West onto Park Lane. There is a small strip shopping center at that corner.  At Lake Drive, you make a right and follow the road to the park.

On both sides of Lake Drive are baseball fields, but the recreation area is on the right and there is plenty of parking. The park includes a skatepark, which was completely empty when we visited over the summer. We stopped in again over the weekend and found it full of kids on skateboards – some doing tricks and others just hanging out. The skatepark has been the topic of much discussion in the township since its opening in September of 2006. Some residents felt that it brought an unseemly element to the park, while others cited concerns over crime. But the skatepark remains open and was full of activity on the day we visited.

Although neither of my kids wanted to try out the skatepark on a skateboard, we did bring a scooter and a helmet, which they grudgingly wore once they realized the only way I was going to allow them to try out any of the cool ramps was if they wore a helmet. The amount of kids could be intimidating to someone who can’t skate very well, but they were nice enough to my kids and we felt comfortable using the park facilities.

Lake Drive Park is also home to two tennis courts, a nice picnic pavilion that is set back a bit from the rest of the park, and a modern playground, which has enough excitement for preschoolers and older kids as well. This, to me, appears to be a well-loved, well-used neighborhood park, with plenty of activities for the whole family. Its location, basically behind the Redner’s Market in Douglassville, makes it a great place for a fun pit stop when you are running errands. Even better – grab a book at the nearby (and wonderful) Gently Used Books and bring the kids to park for reading time!

LAKE DRIVE PARK AND RECREATION AREA
Location: 520 Lake Drive, Douglassville, PA 19518, near the intersection with Rosewood Drive
Size: 25 acres
Suitability: The park is easily accessible for people of all ages and mobility levels. The pavilion is accessible by vehicles, so you could drive up there to unload supplies for a picnic or party.  No animals are allowed in the park, with the exception of service animals, so leave your pets at home when visiting.
Facilities: Playground, skatepark, baseball fields, tennis courts, picnic pavilion, basketball
Activities and tips: Bring a skateboard (and helmet) and give the skate park a try for something different.
Hours: 7 a.m. to 10 p.m.

Contact:
Amity Township
2004 Weavertown Road
Douglassville, PA 19518
610-689-6000
Website: http://www.amitytownshippa.com/

Recreational Facilities webpage

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After a little research and Google Maps, we found directions to Ironstone Park in Douglass Township, Berks County. It seemed like it would be fairly close to Municipal Park, which had been our first destination of the day, and, thankfully, it was. We took a left out of the Municipal Park parking lot and then made a right on Grist Mill Road. The road twisted and turned, passing some Pine Forge Athletic Association fields and the Glendale swim club. Just when I thought maybe we had missed the park, we drove under a railroad trestle and over a metal bridge and found this little hidden treasure of a park. According to the township, the actual address of the park is 141 Grist Mill Road, which is helpful to have for the GPS.

One of the things I enjoy most about heading out to a park with my family is getting the chance to “unplug” and just hang out together. Nothing fancy-just a quickly packed picnic lunch and a change of scenery is generally all it takes to get that feeling. This day was no exception. We had made peanut butter and jelly sandwiches (and one Nutella sandwich), thrown a few apples and water bottles into a reusable grocery bag after church, and headed out the door.

If you are like me, it’s hard to remove yourself from the demands of home and work and everything that presses in on family time. The phone rings; the laundry is sitting at the top of the steps waiting to be done; the endless “to-do” list sits on the counter just begging to be read. Taking our simple lunch to the park meant leaving all those things behind and just connecting. My husband and older daughter played soccer in the big open space at the front of the car. We all had lunch together-with only a little grumbling about the PB&J. We skipped rocks in the creek and tried out the exercise equipment (with the kids having a little more success than I did when it came to the balance beam, I am a bit mortified to admit). Essentially, we were able to disconnect from the world, and just connect with each other in a way that is much harder to do at home.

The habit of going to the park as a family started naturally for us. When our oldest daughter was born, we lived in an apartment that didn’t offer any usable outside space, so we would pack ourselves and our dinner up and go to our favorite local parks for the evening. Later, when we moved from West Chester to Delaware, I spent hours exploring the beautiful parks our area had to offer. Since then, we have continued the tradition of visiting parks as a family.

Ironstone Park was the perfect spot, then, for our simple Sunday afternoon picnic. There is plenty of open space for kicking a soccer ball around, and there is a simple baseball field that would be great for an impromptu game. The playground is small in scale and may be geared a bit more toward the preschool set rather than older, school-aged kids, but my kids still enjoyed it. The exercise equipment was fun, too, with all of us trying out our strength on the bars and our agility and balance on the beam and the posts.

The covered pavilion was great for getting some shade while we ate; the open (and clean) bathrooms were icing on the cake. It’s unusual to find bathroom facilities at a park and always a welcome amenity when we do. We also followed the path along the creek a ways, and then spent some very important time just chucking pebbles and leaves into the water. Thankfully, none of us fell into the water, or the trip wouldn’t have ended as well.

Put Ironstone Park on your “to-do” list before this fall is over, experience the beautiful setting and the gorgeous fall colors, and re-connect with those close to you.

IRONSTONE PARK (DOUGLASS TOWNSHIP/BERKS COUNTY)
Location: 141 Grist Mill Road, Boyertown, PA 19512
Size: 20 acres
Suitability: With shaded pavilions, playground and just plenty of room to enjoy the natural setting, the whole family can appreciate Ironstone Park.
Facilities: Picnic tables, pavilions, playground, exercise stations, basketball, baseball, creek, restrooms
Activities and Tips: Take some time to check out this out-of-the-way park. Pack a lunch (or dinner while it’s still light enough) and enjoy some time in the outdoors with your family.
Hours: Dawn until dusk.

Contact:
Douglass Township Municipal Building
1068 Douglass Drive
Boyertown, PA. 19512
Office: 610-367-8500 Fax: 610-367-0360
Office Hours: Monday through Friday – 8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.

Douglass Township Parks & Recreation webpage a=1462&Q=454716&douglassNav=|27508|
For park pavilion rentals, see here.

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The Douglass Township Municipal Park sits, appropriately, directly behind the municipal building on Douglass Drive in Boyertown. This unassuming park makes great use of each of its 8 acres. Even though it’s only considered a medium sized park in the Penn State Study, there is a lot going on and plenty to do.

The park is home to Pine Forge Athletic Association’s baseball and softball programs, which run in the spring and the fall. The fields are beautifully maintained, but the largest field is for use with a permit only.  Spectators can enjoy amphitheater style seating at the big field, while the upper fields have small bleachers and are more the BYOC type (bring your own chair).

If you’re at the park for a game, be sure to check out some of the other activities it offers. With a covered pavilion, it’s a nice spot for a meal after the game.  There are two basketball courts, three tennis courts and two playgrounds.

Unlike other parks, which separate their playgrounds into age groups, Municipal Park’s playgrounds are separated by age of equipment. A new, modern play structure that has recently been covered with netting, to ensure that fly balls do not become hazardous to kids on the slide or the monkey bars, sits just behind the big field and below the softball field. Closer to the main entrance of the park is the “nostalgic” playground equipment.

My oldest daughter played fall ball for Pine Forge last year, and my younger kids loved the Conestoga wagon, the swings and the old metal slide that made up the lower playground. They were a little disappointed to find that the slide has now been replaced with a less heat retaining plastic version, but they were thrilled to find that the metal merry-go-round was still there. I guess some play equipment can really stand the test of time because they pick that lower playground over the newer equipment pretty much every time we visit the park.

Municipal Park is mostly a baseball and softball destination, but unlike some other fields we’ve visited, there are more than enough other activities to keep your family busy, whether you are visiting during a game or stopping in for a game of tennis or basketball. The layout of the park is also very smart, with all the sports action centered around the playgrounds.

DOUGLASS TOWNSHIP MUNICIPAL PARK (BERKS COUNTY)
Location: 1068 Douglass Drive, Boyertown, PA 19512
Size: 8 acres
Suitability:  Although Municipal Park is geared toward baseball and softball, there are many other things to do for all ages and interests.
Facilities: Playgrounds, pavilions, picnic tables, tennis courts, basketball court, baseball
Activities and tips: If you are at the park for a game, be sure to check out everything it has to offer.  Bring a basketball or your tennis gear.  Note: if you are headed to Municipal Park for softball, the parking lot is accessed by a gravel drive that runs behind the baseball fields.  There is a large sign directing cars around the back and up the hill to the parking area for the softball fields. The fields are generally accessible, with the caveat that the parking is all gravel.
Hours: Dawn until dusk.

Douglass Township Municipal Building
1068 Douglass Drive
Boyertown, PA. 19512
Office:  610-367-8500     Fax: 610-367-0360
Office Hours: Monday through Friday – 8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.
Douglass Township Parks & Recreation webpage
For park pavilion rentals, see here.

Follow the parks series at Mission: Healthy Living, Positively!Pottstown, Twitter (PositivelyPtown), Facebook, and The Mercury.

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