Upper Roxborough Reservoir

The Upper Roxborough Reservoir is an abandoned watershed project that covers over 30 acres of land which includes two basins: one contains the reservoir, the other a natural wetland ecosystem that is also a migratory bird flyover observaton point. It is located between Port Royal and Summit Avenues and Lare and Eva Streets in Andorra, at the highest point in the area. The lusciously wild 30 acres is fenced in, but there are always access points. The Reservoir is pretty awesome for 3 reasons:
1. Ice Hockey– until relatively recently the winters used to be a lot colder and the reservoir would freeze over. Kids and Teens from all over Roxborough, Manayunk and Andorra would flock to the reservoir and play ice hockey all day. People ice skated, too, but the ice was usually pretty bumpy and not great for cruising. I also don’t think i can remember a time when someone (often me) didn’t get too close to the edges of the thin spots and plunge into the 8″ or so of brackish water underneath. It was always a challenge to get back UP onto the ice, and i can remember crunching step after step through ice that wasn’t thick enough to support the force of me pulling myself up. But that’s part of what makes it fun. Even though it seems like the PWD is more vigilant about keeping the fences secured, it’s still possible to get in (see the pictures). I recommend dropping your gear over the fence if the access point turns out to be far away from the ramp to the largest section of the reservoir with water. And if you do go, just be careful– it really is wild land; the reservoir might not be deep, but it’s full of trees and vines and roots and rocks and if you fall and hit your head you could drown in 2″ of water, you know…
2. The Toad Detour– So, hundreds of toads apparently populate the woods (where the Schuylkill Valley Nature Center is) and backyards of houses all around the Upper Roxborough Reservoir. Each year, more than a hundred die as they attempt to migrate to the wetlands next to the reservoir (their breeding grounds). Recently, the SChuylkill Center successfully established a volunteer project called the Toad Detour, in which tons of volunteers police the roads to help the toads cross the streets safely (why play frogger when you can do it for real?). Ironically, today was the last day of the annual migration, but if you are interested, the toadlets start the journey back to the woods around May 20. Here is the site for people who’d like to help out, or anyone who just wants to take the Toad Walk tour:
3. Running/​Jogging/​Walking– since the Schuylkill Center got involved with the Reservoir, they have been aggressively landscaping it to improve its appearance. There is a great mostly paved path that circles the fence enclosing the reservoir and wetland basins and, if you can overlook the rusty metal, the view can be staggering. There is even a spot with a gorgeous picnic bench surrounded by daffodils for leisure strollers with ambitions. I don’t recommend that ladies, or anyone really, do this alone. You are really cutoff from anywhere and anyone as the path circles away from Port Royal… Think of this path as nature-​lite: if you don’t really want to be in the woods, but you like the idea of looking at them while you run laps over staring at the lines on a track, this is the place for you…