Department of Recreation | Carly Green, Director
2017 offered a variety of events and programs for the
community and our parks saw improvements, as well. The
Recreation Department is a dynamic department, changing
with the wants and needs of the community, and successful
only because of our wonderful supporters, gracious sponsors
and volunteers throughout the year!
PARKS
Field Use:
Park sports fields continue to be in high demand. FAMFA, FRAA, MASA, Boys and
Girls Lacrosse and 20 additional sports teams and individuals utilized every sports
field and tennis court available during the months of April-November, totaling
8,744 hours of use. Our eleven baseball fields are available at Bear Hollow Park,
Murrysville Community Park, Townsend Park, Sardis Park,
Pedora and Chambers Parks. Five soccer fields can be
found at Veterans and Beckwith Fields on Sardis
Road and Murrysville Community Park, which
are home to MASA. The fields at Veterans and
Beckwith can also be used for football and
lacrosse. Basketball and tennis courts can
also be found at Bear Hollow and Chambers
Parks, while basketball with a youth-sized
goal is available at Heritage Park in Heritage
Estates.
In 2017 residents and park users generated
more than $20,000 in field use fees, which help add
significantly to offset annual maintenance costs.
Trails:
Murrysville offers 13 parks and reserves, many with miles and miles of walking
and hiking trails of varying degrees of difficulty. Trail maps are available at the
parks, at the municipal building, and can be printed from our municipal website.
Skena Reserve, 22 acres located on North Hills Road, offers more than a mile of trail
across 7 trails and connects to Kellman Reserve, 56 acres accessible on Evergreen
and Kelllman Drives. Kellman Reserve offers about 2 miles of trail spanning over 8
trails.
Duff Park, 148 acres accessible on Round Top Road and School Road South,
offers 17 trails with 7.4 miles of easy walks to strenuous climbs through a beautiful
Wild Plant Sanctuary. The 1.6 mile Funk Bikeway is a popular path with its
limestone base, traveling along Turtle Creek.
Pleasant Valley Park offers 262 wooded acres on Pleasant Valley Road and is
very popular with walkers, mountain bikers and nature enthusiasts, as the park is
constantly changing and offers something for everyone who loves the outdoors! 11
trails span 7.36 miles through rolling, hilly terrain.
Townsend Park, 160 acres, offers 4.3 miles over 14 trails through beautiful
wooded terrain and past the Remaley Pond, famous for lazy days of summer
fishing and family gatherings at the pavilion. The 5+ mile Don Harrison
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MURRYSVILLE
Community Trail is also available from Townsend Park across Murrysville to the
area of Murrysville Community Park.
Information on these trails and all of our parks can be found on our
municipal website, www.murrysville.com, and at www.murrysvilletrails.org,
the site of Murrysville Trails Alliance, one of our many local organizations that
advocate for our local parks and trails.
The newest addition to our trail system is the Westmoreland Heritage
Trail; 5 miles of walking and biking trail along Turtle Creek that currently runs
from Murrysville to Trafford with trail head access at the Murrysville Visitors’
Center on Route 22 east. The Visitors’ Center offers parking, restrooms, a bike
repair station and local area information. Because the trail is a flat, crushed
limestone surface, it has proven accessible to all including strollers, bicycles,
walkers and joggers and is a wonderful addition to our community. More
information about the trail and future construction can be found by contacting
the Westmoreland County Parks and Recreation Department.
Playgrounds:
Eight of our thirteen parks offer playgrounds for children ages 2-12; each
playground is intended for different ages and signage on each structure does
provide that information. Bear Hollow, Chambers, Heritage, Kovalczik, Pedora,
Sardis, Veterans and Murrysville Community Parks all have playgrounds. As
these structures become dated and beyond repair, each will be planned for
replacement on an as-needed basis.
EVENTS AND PROGRAMS
Special Events:
More than 57 businesses supported our seven special events this year
providing donations, volunteers and sponsorships! The Spring Egg Hunt,
Special Needs at Play Day, our Farmers’ Market, Concert in the Park, the PA
Hero Walk, the Rotary’s Chili Oktoberfest, and Night of Lights would not be
a success without support like this from so many gracious businesses and
community organizations.
Our Egg Hunts for kids and dogs were held at Murrysville Community Park
and the cold weather didn’t discourage attendance! Next year’s egg hunts will
be on Friday, March 23 and will be pre-registration only so please call or email
to pre-register.
The Westmoreland County March for Parks event will be the following
morning, Saturday, March 24 at the Murrysville Community Center. Save the
date!
The 4th annual Farmers’ Market ran for 18 consecutive Thursday afternoons
at the Murrysville Volunteer Fire Company Field on Sardis Road. Hundreds of
guests joined us each week to enjoy fresh produce, delicious foods, homemade
offerings and entertainment. Hot meals were available again and many turned
Market Day into “dinner at the Market” and stayed to visit under the pavilion
with family and friends. Shoppers enjoyed approximately 30 vendors offering
local produce, organic meats, organic produce, plants and flowers, kettle corn,
wood-fired pizza and BBQ meats available for a nice picnic or packaged for
dinner, delicious baked goods and so much more!