Exploring the Beauty of Italian Lake Park
How many of you take the time to explore some of the public parks that are located in and around your local city? Often times…we get into the rut of just visiting the park that’s closest to us and never explore them beyond that. I know…I’ve been guilty of that too!
For the past few months my husband and I have been taking the time visiting and exploring various public parks within a 60 mile radius of our home. It’s nice to get outside and see something new! Plus, these public parks are FREE to visit and are great activities to do with the family.
In the city of Harrisburg Pennsylvania, you’ll find the beautiful Italian Lake public park located in the uptown section of the city. If you’re in the area, you’ll want to plug Division and Third Street into your GPS and it should pop right up.
The park is open year-round. During the summer season they hold small concerts in the park which are fun to attend. They have a small section set up with park benches (I recommend bringing your own lawn chairs) and a small stage. A lot of the time it’s small, local artists who participate in their event. Nonetheless, the entertainment is usually pretty good.
Italian Lake is surrounded by a paved walking trail that loops around it. Along the way you’ll see some park benches where you can sit down and relax. In the center of the lake they have a beautiful bronze sculpture & water fountain that really adds to this park’s elegance. At the one end of the lake you’ll see a Japanese-Inspired bridge that is really beautiful to see.
There are numerous ducks, swans and turtles that live in or around the lake. They’re pretty used to people, but please don’t touch them or feed them. On the day that we visited we spotted over a dozen different ducks and two beautiful black swans! Since I’m a turtle fan, I was a tad disappointed that I didn’t see any turtles during this particular visit.
The entire park is just beautiful and extremely well-maintained. This isn’t the type of park with a playground for the kids. Surrounding the lake you’ll find a few small botanical gardens which are colorful and serene. During the fall season you can see some of the city’s pretty fall foliage there too!
For our weekly travel feature…I just wanted to encourage everyone to take some time to visit some of your local public parks and to explore them. It’s a great way to get outside and to get some fresh air. I hope you enjoyed learning more about Italian Lake Public Park in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. Feel free to tell us about your favorite park in our blog’s comment form below.
