June 09, 2015
John Heinz National Wildlife Refuge/Facebook
A group canoeing at John Heinz National Wildlife Refuge
After a winter filled with ice, snow and freezing temperatures, the warmth of summer is welcomed. Warm weather means you can venture outside and enjoy the sunshine, blue skies and light breeze. Below are five outdoor activities to take advantage of in the Philly area this summer.
The Bicycle Club of Philadelphia, an all-volunteer nonprofit, promotes cycling in the city with free group rides for all skill levels throughout the year. It's BYOB (bike), but if you don't own a bike, you can rent one from Philly's new bike share service, Indego. Pickup and drop-off sites are located throughout the city.
The Bicycle Coalition of Greater Philadelphia is also hosting rides and walks along the Circuit. You can also check out CyclePhilly, a smartphone app that records your bicycle trips and sends data to regional transportation planners to make Philly a better place to ride.
See maps and bike trails in the area.
You can enjoy all of the benefits of yoga, while also taking in some sunshine and fresh air at Race Street Pier on the Delaware waterfront. All-level yoga classes led by certified instructors from Dhyana Yoga are available for free. One-hour classes are offered Monday through Thursday at both 7 a.m. and 6 p.m., on Friday at 7 a.m. and on Saturday and Sunday at 9:30 a.m.
Pay-what-you-can yoga is available at Schuylkill Banks on Saturdays and Sundays at 11 a.m. and Tuesday at 7 a.m. and 6:30 p.m. This summer, Whole Foods South Street is teaming up with its neighbor, the Yoga Garden, to host free rooftop yoga on Thursday mornings at 10 a.m.
Check out more outdoor yoga opportunities in Philly.
Geocaching is an outdoor treasure-hunting game using GPS-enabled devices. Searching for hidden gems with friends can be a great way to enjoy the nice weather and exercise, while doing something fun and different. The process is simple. You can register for free at Geocaching.com, search the geocaches hiding in your area and use the coordinates provided to find each geocache.
There are 288 geocaches near Philadelphia alone, not to mention the millions hidden around the world. Check out what's hiding near you, or venture farther and see what you can find.
A man fishes at Blue Marsh Lake. (Blue Marsh Lake/Facebook)
The waters of the region’s lakes, rivers, creeks and streams are teeming with fish. For instance, the 128-mile-long Schuylkill River offers many spots for sport-fishing. The river is home to channel catfish, brown bullhead, flathead, other varieties of catfish and more.
The John Heinz National Wildlife Refuge at Tinicum preserves the last of the state's freshwater tidal marsh. Fishing is permitted in several areas of the refuge. Pennypack Park, another popular fishing spot in the Philly area, is known for its rock bass population, while Blue Marsh Lake, built and operated by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, is home to largemouth bass, smallmouth bass, crappie, walleye, catfish, spotted bass, white bass, striped bass, lake trout and other native fish species.
Check out more local fishing spots.
Some of the fishing spots above, like the Schuylkill, are also great places to enjoy some canoeing. The Philadelphia Canoe Club offers training in many forms of paddling, from recreational canoeing and kayaking to white water kayaking and canoeing for novice and intermediate paddlers.
Bucks County River Country is one of the oldest, established river outfitters in the region. Northbrook Canoe Company also offers a variety of trips that begin or end at its location on the Brandywine River. Hidden River Outfitters is another local group offering kayak tours, rentals and other paddle sports.
See more places to enjoy paddle sports.
