Parks
This year, I'm challenging myself to work remotely from every park in Lower Salford Township. My goal is to explore new environments, enjoy the outdoors, and see how each space supports focused and productive digital work. I’m documenting each visit with a simple log of conditions, gear, and observations below.
Briarwyck Park
| Category | Details |
|---|---|
| Address | 315 Sturgis Road, Harleysville, PA 19438 |
| Driving Time | 3 minutes |
| Walking Time | 6 minutes |
| Date | Friday 2025-04-18 |
| Duration | 12:10 to 16:10 (4 hours) |
| Conditions | 68-72°F mostly sunny 33% RH |
| Cell Signal | Verizon 5G 2/4 bars |
| Seating | Folding camp chair |
| Features | Stocked fishing pond, playground, isolated |
| Productivity | Great |
Visited this park on April 18 and found a semi-shaded spot halfway between the dock and the end of the lake on my own camping chair. There are two uncovered park benches on the dock but I didn't use them since families like to fish from there and I wanted some solitude.
My phone and laptop lasted the whole four hour duration with no issues starting with a fully charged battery and 37 watt hour power pack. If I had needed power there wouldn't have been any available. Took several quiet online meetings, wrote an architectural review document, and configured a Jira project permission schema. Listened to chocolate rain: a political awakening from Sixteenth Minute (of Fame) on very low volume.
Fellow park goers were quiet and friendly, mostly solitary fishers or walkers. Soundscape was mostly nature for the first half but turned to lawn tools from the local houses towards the end. It's a bit of a walk from the parking to the pond carrying backpack and gear.
Heckler Plains Farmstead
| Category | Details |
|---|---|
| Address | 237 Landis Road (Morris Rd & Creekview Dr), Harleysville, PA 19438 |
| Driving Time | 8 minutes |
| Walking Time | 0 minutes |
| Date | Tuesday 2025-04-22 |
| Duration | 10:40 to 13:20 (2 hours 40 minutes) |
| Conditions | 68-75°F mostly sunny 11 mph 61-41% RH |
| Cell Signal | Verizon 4G 2/4 bars |
| Seating | Picnic table under pavilion |
| Features | Pavilion, playground, porta-bathrooms |
| Productivity | Great |
| Dog | Present |
Visited this park on April 22 and set up right on a picnic bench and table under the pavilion a few steps from where I parked my car. Although most of the area near the pavilion is several paved parking areas, it is also set near two historic buildings and older trees that are nice to look at. There is electric run to the pavilion but it is locked behind a console for event use only and to feed the security cameras and lampposts in the park area.
My phone and laptop lasted the whole duration with no issues starting with a fully charged battery and my power pack. Participated in the morning meeting and worked on monitoring systems and general documentation while listening to the Knowledge Fight podcast. Good productive time although the winds made it hard to write cleanly on my clipboard at times.
Fellow park goers were distant, one small family with a child on the playground and some folks using the local trails for exercise. Contractors working out of their company trucks and vans found the lot and bathrooms convenient, their peaking traffic around noon to eat lunch in their trucks. Soundscape was quiet for being situated so close to the road, and I spotted a woodpecker after hearing it search a tree about ten yards away.
Groff's Mill Park
| Category | Details |
|---|---|
| Address | 740 Salfordville Road (Groffs Mill Rd & Haldeman Rd), Harleysville, PA 19438 |
| Biking Time | 20 minutes garage to creek-side |
| Date | Monday 2025-08-25 |
| Duration | 13:00 to 16:00 (3 hours) |
| Conditions | 81°F, dew point 57°F, clear |
| Cell Signal | LTE 2/4 bars |
| Seating | Park bench (slightly broken) |
| Features | Trail, wildlife, clear water, bench |
| Productivity | Good |
| Wildlife | Garter snake, caterpillars, hummingbirds, heron (overhead), dragonflies |
Today was lovely and overcast so I took my gear on my bike and mostly empty mid-day roads to make my way from the northwest corner of town to this park in the middle-west about 2.5 miles away. Navigation said the trip should take about 15 minutes and maybe with an e-Bike it would but with my old Bridgestone and old legs it was a little longer.
Quickly found a nice park bench off the foot trail. The path itself is closed to cars so I was glad I brought my bike because its about as far out from the parking lot as Briarwyck Park. The bench was installed by the Souderton-Telford Rotary in the 90s and is starting to show some age. On arrival, I encountered a garter snake sunning itself under the bench, and within minutes, fuzzy caterpillars attached themselves to my bag. The water nearby was clear and shallow, though only one or two small fish were visible.
Took a audio meeting with a screen share and the other folks on the call said my screen share was lagging but eventually caught up. Leaving the phone on the bench next to me got 1 bar LTE but up on the side pillar was two and good signal. Got a few Python scripts to prove out a concept and felt good about the work done. The cloudy skies saved the day, otherwise I might have had to find a different place to work.
Three visitors let their moderately well-behaved dogs off leash in the park to splash in the creek or poop unsupervised. Only encountered two or three joggers either alone or in pairs and four young kids coming back from tubing on the creek who sounded like they whispered "stranger danger" to each other (not the best feeling, that). Overall, a good spot for wildlife observation and remote work.
Alvin C. Alderfer Park
420 Oak Drive (between Maple and Main Street), Harleysville, PA 19438
Bergey Park
675 Bergey Mill Road, Harleysville, PA 19438
Kulp Road Pond Park
170 Kulp Road (Corner of Gruber & Kulp), Harleysville, PA 19438
Charles L. Reed Memorial Park
155 Clemens Road (Corner of Yoder Rd), Harleysville, PA 19438
Jacob Reiff Park
775 Quarry Road (Corner of Upper Mainland Road), Harleysville, PA 19438
Dan Roth Park
312 Maple Avenue (Between Maple & Alumni Avenue), Harleysville, PA 19438
Robert Clemens Bucher Park
411 School Lane, Harleysville, PA 19438
Ted Dannerth Memorial Park
370 Broad Street, Harleysville, PA 19438
Wawa Park
599 Camp Wawa Road, Harleysville, PA 19438
Park List with Links
| Park Name | Address |
|---|---|
| Alvin C. Alderfer Park | 420 Oak Drive (between Maple and Main Street) |
| Bergey Park | 675 Bergey Mill Road |
| Kulp Road Pond Park | 170 Kulp Road (Corner of Gruber & Kulp) |
| Charles L. Reed Memorial Park | 155 Clemens Road (Corner of Yoder Rd) |
| Jacob Reiff Park | 775 Quarry Road (Corner of Upper Mainland Road) |
| Dan Roth Park | 312 Maple Ave. (Between Maple & Alumni Avenue) |
| Briarwyck Park | 315 Sturgis Road |
| Robert Clemens Bucher Park | 411 School Lane |
| Ted Dannerth Memorial Park | 370 Broad Street |
| Groff's Mill Park | 740 Salfordville Road (Groffs Mill Rd & Haldeman Rd) |
| Heckler Plains Farmstead | 237 Landis Road (Morris Rd & Creekview Dr) |
| Wawa Park | 599 Camp Wawa Road |