Just Outside Allentown Is A Charming Pennsylvania Escape With Sprawling Lehigh Valley Parks And Recreation
In his 1982 song "Allentown," Billy Joel sings about the "Pennsylvania we never found." Maybe he should've ventured out from Allentown and explored more of the Lehigh Valley. This historic region makes up the third-largest metropolitan area in Pennsylvania, and along with cities like Allentown and Bethlehem, it's home to a number of small townships, boroughs, and villages. Among those is Upper Macungie Township; nestled within the valley, about 20 miles from Allentown, it's a quieter alternative to nearby cities like Philadelphia (60 miles away) and New York City (100 miles away), with the natural beauty and rustic adventure this Appalachian valley is known for.
Upper Macungie Township is made up of several charming smaller villages, including Fogelsville, Breinigsville, and Trexlertown, offering seasonal activities and historic dining. If you see the name of one of those villages in an address instead of Upper Macungie, don't worry: they're all still in Upper Macungie Township. With almost 500 acres of parkland spread across 11 parks, the Township attracts nature lovers and athletes alike, offering a range of recreation opportunities for all ages.
Whether it's for fun or exercise, Upper Macungie's parks are full of great recreation
The largest of Upper Macungie's many parks, at 165 acres, Grange Park offers an array of recreational options, with fields for baseball, football, lacrosse, and soccer, and courts for basketball and pickleball. Its playground gives kids all manner of things to climb or slide down, and a membership-only splash park will keep them cool in the summer. And there are even two fenced-in, off-leash dog parks, for both the little guys and the big boys. Almost as big is Upper Macungie Park, which features over 150 acres for recreation, including a disc golf course, a playground, baseball fields, and a volleyball court.
Perhaps Upper Macungie's most scenic park, Fogelsville Dam Park's 50 acres include paths that some might consider among Pennsylvania's best hiking trails, passing Hassen Creek and the dam the park is named after. Its Hassen Creek Nature Trail is an easy mile-long hike to a scenic waterfall that flows over that dam, with a 4.4 rating on AllTrails. You can fish in the creek while you're there, but no swimming. Apple Park also offers fishing at its three ponds, along with a tennis court and tables for picnics. Tennis is on the menu at the small Blue Barn Park as well, along with a basketball court.
Earl Adams Memorial Park in the village of Breinigsville stands out for a few reasons. It offers a few of the active sports, with baseball and softball fields and courts for basketball and sand volleyball, but it also has horseshoe pits and an outdoor chess table. Its playground has a ship theme for your little would-be pirate, and every summer the park holds Upper Macungie's fireworks show for Independence Day.
Upper Macungie is a Pennsylvania escape with events and local dining
Long an escape from the nearby steel cities, today Upper Macungie offers guests and residents a variety of fun activities and experiences. On Thursday nights from May through September, Grub and Groove at Grange brings food trucks and live music to Grange Park, with local eats and bands from Upper Macungie and the Lehigh Valley. In the summer, Movies in the Park screens family favorites for free every month in a different local park. And on the last Saturday of every month from May through October, Grange Park hosts the free Concerts in the Park, with a lineup of two musical performances and food and drink for purchase from local vendors.
Speaking of food and drink, Upper Macungie Township has a range of culinary offerings. Hops Fogelsville serves a large menu of bar favorites and classic American dishes, from burgers and wings all the way up to filet mignon and lobster, along with dozens of beers and a full bar with wine and cocktails. It also serves up history, as it's located in the oldest building in Fogelsville, dating back to 1798. If you'd like to learn about Lehigh Valley wine, the Vynecrest Winery in Breinigsville has been in business for over 50 years. Today the winery produces 9,000 cases of wine a year and is an original member of the Lehigh Valley Wine Trail. You can sample over two dozen varietals at their Tom's Vyneskeller wine bar, and their calendar is full of events featuring live music and local food vendors. For more wine in the Keystone State, discover "America's Grape Country" along the Erie Wine Trail or Bangor, the Pennsylvania borough dotted with vineyards.