Information
Landmark: Cedar Beach ParkCity: Allentown
Country: USA Pennsylvania
Continent: North America
Cedar Beach Park, Allentown, USA Pennsylvania, North America
Overview
Cedar Beach Park stretches across about 90 acres beside Cedar Creek in Allentown, Pennsylvania, serving as the heart of the city’s winding Parkway greenway where water glints between the trees.The site’s laid out in three clear zones-recreation core, lakeside promenade, and a natural riparian corridor-so you can wander from a lively basketball court to the soft rustle of creekside reeds in minutes.In the western quadrant, the recreation core’s athletic complex features five lighted softball diamonds, each with shaded bleachers where you can sit out of the sun.Right next door, you’ll find eight freshly resurfaced hard courts that switch easily to pickleball, along with two full-size basketball courts lit by stadium-style LEDs that glow bright after sunset.At Cedar Beach, you’ll find a 50‑meter lap pool, a zero‑entry leisure pool with a playful mushroom fountain spraying cool water, and a fenced splash pad made just for toddlers.From Memorial Day to Labor Day, you’ll find clean bathhouses, locker rentals, and a little concession stand serving cold sodas every day.The “Destination Playground” spreads across almost an acre, its soft poured-in-place rubber warm underfoot, with ramps wide enough for wheelchairs, high-back swings, colorful sensory panels, and a double zip-line soaring beneath a leafy canopy.Caregivers can rest on shaded benches that line the edge, cool shadows stretching across the ground.At the heart of the park lies Cedar Lagoon, a three-acre ornamental lake fed by a cool spring, with a stone-faced arched bridge stretching across its middle.Paddleboats disappeared in the ’90s, yet the lake still teems with bright koi and draws flocks of migrating waterfowl skimming low across the water.Two overlooks on the peninsula give you a front-row view of the birds, close enough to catch the flash of a red wing in the sun.Take the half‑mile paved loop around the lagoon, where ten striking sculptures from the Allentown Art Museum’s outdoor collection change throughout the year-one bronze figure catches the light like warm honey.Every pedestal holds a slim plaque with Braille captions, so anyone can follow the walk, fingertips brushing over the raised dots.Between the lagoon and Ott Street, you’ll find the Rose Arbor-a 1929 pergola wrapped in heirloom roses, their petals soft and fragrant in the sun.Volunteer master gardeners tend the seasonal plantings-tulips brightening April, hybrid tea roses opening in June, and chrysanthemums adding bursts of gold in October.The Creekside Trail winds east along Cedar Creek, its lightly crushed-stone surface crunching underfoot beneath a green canopy of sycamores and silver maples.Signs point out the native plants and share stories of the 1870s iron-smelting era, when smoke curled above these riverbanks.Two patches of old turf have been turned into vibrant pollinator meadows, sprinkled with little bluestem, milkweed, and bright black-eyed Susans swaying in the breeze.Monarch butterflies usually show up from late August to mid-September, their orange wings catching the light as they drift past.Anglers will find fishing pads-each with a sturdy railing and a bin for discarded tackle-spaced about every 300 feet along the shore.In spring, Cedar Creek teems with freshly stocked brown trout, and all year long, you can hook smallmouth bass in its cool, clear water.You’ll find restrooms with changing tables by the playground and pool, open from dawn until the sky turns dusky.You’ll find dozens of fixed charcoal grills and nine shaded pavilions, seating anywhere from 20 to 150 people, scattered along the winding drive loops; the Allentown Parks Department takes reservations online.Several bottle fillers connect to the on-site well, delivering cold, drinkable water-even when drought rules hit and the air smells of dry dust.In April, the Cherry Blossom Festival brightens the lagoon lawn; from June through August, “Rock the Walk” Thursday concerts fill the bandshell with music, food trucks, and local crafts; September brings the Allentown Art in the Park juried show, one of Pennsylvania’s oldest outdoor fairs; and in December, “Lights in the Parkway” transforms the loop into two glowing miles of holiday displays just east of the park entrance.On summer weekends, get there before 10 a.m. if you want a grill or pavilion table without a reservation.Cyclists, stick to the marked side lanes on Park Drive, and after 9 a.m., leave the inner lake loop to the walkers.Dogs can tag along on a leash anywhere but the pool deck, where the boards stay dry and quiet.When the rain pours and the creek swells, the trail along its edge may shut down for flash-flood safety, but you can still stroll the raised promenade or hit the courts.
