Amazing view of Harrisburg, especially through the free scenic viewer! I love coming here.read more

THE BEST!!!! I…read moreremember getting excited as a kid when we'd cross the bridge from the East Shore and start winding up the steep hill that leads to the park. And you know what? I still get just as excited making that ascent as an adult! This park is so beautiful!! You get THE BEST view you can possibly see of Harrisburg from this one little field. The playground section is well-kept with antique charm. The tennis and basketball courts give nice options for play. So does the baseball field. The picnic pavillion is a nice, shady place to take a breather. The bathrooms aren't even that shabby. And there's ample parking. I actually think Negley beats out Central Park for me. I just love it so much :-)

I learned about the Vincent DiFilippo Nature Preserve through social media and was genuinely…read moresurprised to discover it's less than 20 minutes from my house--yet I had never heard of it. This has been happening more and more lately, and I've been having a lot of fun discovering these close-to-home, beautiful outdoor spaces. Thankfully, this preserve did not disappoint. According to the preserve's website, this 54-acre nature preserve sits along the Conodoguinet Creek and serves as an important natural habitat featuring meadows, wetlands, and ponds. It offers creek access for kayaking and fishing, and the ponds are also open for fishing. Visitors can choose between an almost 2-mile outer loop trail or a shorter 1-mile inner loop trail, both clearly marked and suitable for walking, hiking, and biking. One section of the outer loop provides views of a bald eagle nesting area. The website notes that dogs are not permitted. I visited on a beautiful, though chilly, first Sunday in January. When I arrived around 9am, I found a large gravel parking lot with just a handful of cars. I was pleasantly surprised by the amount of clearly marked handicap parking--always nice to see thoughtful accessibility. While the website states that dogs are not allowed, I encountered multiple leashed dogs during my walk (some even sporting sweaters), and several posted signs reminded owners to keep dogs leashed and clean up after them. It's possible the website is outdated, but based on what I observed, dogs definitely seem to be a common sight here. The crushed stone paths combined with the very flat terrain made this an incredibly relaxed and easy walk--perfect for a laid-back Sunday morning. After reviewing the trail map, I chose the Black Trail, which follows the Conodoguinet Creek and passes the designated eagle nesting area before looping back to the parking lot. I took my time, as usual, and the entire walk lasted about 45 minutes. The creek was especially beautiful that morning, with a thin layer of ice glistening in the sunlight. Homes perched high above the creek added to the scenery, and there was plenty of wildlife activity--birds flitting about and squirrels clearly enjoying the crisp morning air. While I didn't spot any eagles on this visit, the signage notes that they frequent the area between January and June, so I'm hopeful I'll catch a glimpse on a future visit. One thing to note: while the preserve is lovely, it does come with a fair amount of residential and roadway noise due to nearby homes and streets. This isn't a secluded, deep-woods experience. Expect to see other visitors, hear phones ringing, and encounter everyday neighborhood sounds. That said, the Vincent DiFilippo Nature Preserve is a solid community space for getting outside and stretching your legs. While I personally prefer quieter, more remote nature experiences, this is a safe, well-maintained, and accessible option for locals looking for a quick and easy nature walk close to home.

This trail is so well maintained with benches placed periodically throughout. It's mostly flat and…read morean easy, relaxing walk.

This was a quiet and relaxing park. I especially liked it was enough parking and the bathroom was…read moreclean. Bring a chair, dress comfortably and enjoy the area. It's no shade, so bring an umbrella to block the sun.

Great spot for kids to play, this park has it all. Pavilions, picnicking, soccer fields, modest…read moreplayground and ample parking. One more reason to love the Harrisburg area. We were introduced to this park by the Hampden Township volunteer fire company, which hosted a picnic nearby.

The best playground we've ever taken our children too! He didn't want to leave! The soft ground…read morecoverings were peace of mind while he ran about with all the other children.

Lots of space to play and clean bathrooms. What more could you want?…read more I can't think of anything negative to say about this park. There is plenty of parking, is wheelchair- friendly, and is spread out, but small enough to let your little ones roam without worry. There is also a nice walking path that goes around the perimeter of the property that is good to get the wiggles out if the playground is not enough.

According to my young cousin, who actually lives here, the snow cleans up the goose poop mentioned…read morein the other review! Anyway, as you can tell from this remark and also from my photos, I was there in winter, right after the snow had fallen (although the creek was not frozen). For us, it was a nice shoveled path through a large snow field with a lot of attractive if (of course) bare trees. If you brought proper snow boots (unlike me) it would probably be a great place to run around in the snow, at least if you don't have one of those gigantic Pennsylvania backyards.

I love this park I have been coming here for family picnics since I was a child..but now that I am…read moregrown I see it's a problem with the restrooms...I wish you could make it more handicapped... it's very hard getting a person to the restroom building when they are on a walker or a wheelchair due to the steps and it being on a slight hill and being so far away......is it possible to put a restroom on a flat area by the picnic area???

This Friday morning, I see the landscapers keeping Italian Lake well-maintained with weekly mowing…read moreand trimming. While enjoying my morning walk at Italian Lake, I also noticed a few new additions to the park's aesthetic: Two functional community art pieces: a bench and a swing, made by Noblewins. Also saw perhaps a class, a group of young ladies, there with a list of nature (birds and plants) items they needed to identify.

4/30/26 Beautiful views all around--gorgeous lake w/fountain sculpture on 1 side & spray fountains…read moreon the other. Azaleas & flowering princess trees in bloom. Docile Canada Geese feeding lakeside. Picturesque neighborhood of lake-facing homes 1 street over w/many English style cottages w/stone or brick facades & shaker shingle roofs. Covered concert stage & uncovered bench seating is ready for summer concert season. Center bridge could use new paint on rails. Picnic tables would be nice addition, but then it might require more maintenance to keep area trash-free. Street parking is available on either side of lake.

City Island is a wonderful family fun place for a Senator's Game, a ride on the Susquehanna…read moreRiverboat, miniature golf, picnic tables, a pavilion to rent, a miniature train ride, and, of course, walking, running, or biking. Today, during my walk, I noticed that The Spot Restaurant, which specializes in hot dogs (and closed its Second Street location in Harrisburg in 2007), operates a Senator's concession stand.

It had been years since I last walked around City Island, but I have vivid memories of what it used…read moreto feel like -- beautiful, lively, full of people walking, biking, walking their dogs, and enjoying a well-maintained playground and open spaces. Returning recently felt less like revisiting an old favorite and more like realizing how much something you care about has changed... and not for the better. The disappointment started as soon as I pulled into the parking lot. Deep potholes, chunks of scraped-up blacktop piled near the stairs, and metal crowd-control barriers scattered throughout the lot gave an immediate sense that things weren't quite right. I fully understand that it's winter in Central PA -- snow, salt, and weather take their toll -- so I wasn't expecting perfection. But this felt like more than seasonal wear and tear. It felt like neglect. Aside from the stadium -- which stands tall, clean, and well-maintained even in the middle of winter -- much of the rest of the island looks forgotten. And this isn't just a "winter off-season" issue. The more I walked, the more signs of long-term neglect became clear: peeling paint, rusting structures, broken or deteriorating features that appear to have been left untouched for years. What started as mild disappointment turned into genuine sadness as I compared what I was seeing to photos I have from visits many years ago, when the island felt welcoming, cared for, and full of pride. As a Central PA native, it's difficult to see such a beautiful and potentially vibrant space in this condition -- especially one that represents our state's capital to visitors. City Island should be a showcase destination, and right now it feels like a missed opportunity. There seem to be so many possibilities for community involvement -- volunteer projects, partnerships with local organizations, youth programs -- to help restore and maintain the island. For whatever reason, it doesn't appear that those efforts are happening, and that's disappointing. The views of the river and the city skyline remain beautiful, as always -- as long as you keep your focus outward rather than on the island itself. I truly hope to see City Island revived and restored to the welcoming, vibrant place I remember.