Schenley Oval Sportsplex

By Ed SkirtichFreedom to dream, sunbath, read and play frisbee at the Schenley Park Overlook plus walk, jog, sprint, and play tennis and football at the Oval and inner track happen on a sunny day.On the benches outside the inner track and outside the oval, friends reunite with each other.Also, while walking along the oval mom and dad's hold their child's hand while walking, young adult joggers slowly trot, mildly jog, jog, and sprint.In Bob O' Connor's Tennis Courts, young adults toss the tennis ball back and forth. They play tennis quietly and patiently with each other.Regardless of your disability, race, gender, and age and size, no one bothers you when you do your activity at Schenley Park.Children's imaginations can flourish at Schenley Park. At the Overloook, a young boy flies his kite while other youth catch frisbee. Also, a young girl kicks a soccer ball with family. Runners are fun to watch because they sweat, pant, or just slowly jog, trot, and and walk. Small tall, skinny, and fat, the runners get their job done. Tennis players don't care what their score is, they just like to have fun and relax.Another interesting thing was a hip drum beats could be heard while going around the oval.Finally at the Overlook, you can read, write, sunbath, or just admire the Downtown Pittsburgh skyline.

Schenley Oval can be considered a center for sports and recreation for Oakland and Squirrel Hill. It features a 1 km-long oval, a 400m track, a couple of soccer fields, and tennis courts (free!). In a weekday evening or on weekend, expect to see many people enjoying the oval: jogging, playing soccer, frisbee, and tennis. The oval has two water fountains, and surprisingly one keeps running through the winter. There are restrooms in a small brick building and usually portable restrooms nearby. Schenley drive goes near the oval, providing ample space for free parking. Although this is a friendly and safe area, be careful leaving items there: my book was stolen when I left it for five minutes on Sunday night.

This is the place to go for track workouts, soccer practice, tennis practice, lacrosse practice, and almost any practice except football and golf (there is a golf range nearby, though!). Because this is where most people in Oakland and Squirrel Hill come to for various sports and recreation, it tends to get very packed after school and on weeknights. I've had to dodge soccerballs, little kids, walkers, and other runners on the track and on the oval.Speaking of which, the sportsplex has a 400m track, a 1km gravel/trail oval, a few soccer fields, and tennis courts. During the fall, the sportsplex might get booked for cross country meets and other sporting events, so you might have to go elsewhere. There is a brick building with restrooms and a water fountain adjacent to it. There are several portapotties around the area. Schenley Drive is long and has plenty of space for parking (free 3-hour parking during the day). Overall, this is a very nice place to train during the day and at night. However, the lights for the tennis courts and the oval may not be on all the time during the night, so be extra cautious if you plan on playing tennis or running around the oval.

Great place to go ice skating with the family! They could use some better signs to locate...They have a snack bar and arcade games. Inexpensive. They also have the ice walkers for beginners.

If you want to see the fireworks on the 4th of July, this is a much better bet than going downtown. The crowd is nonexistent and between the bridge leading to the park and the park itself you can see a great deal. After the four shootings around 10:30 on Liberty Avenue, I was glad that I avoided the melee. If you want to work out, this is also a perfect gem. Enjoy the warm weather while you still can. Whether it is tennis, soccer, swinging, running a track, or simply throwing a frisbee, this is a wonderful option.

This is a great mainstay for summer fun. There is a huge soccer field with a track, as well as a series of tennis courts and even a trail surrounding the entire complex for running or biking. In the summers there are even pick-up volleyball games twice a week. While this is an excellent place for all of your exercise needs, I think there are two main drawbacks: 1. The crowd, particularly for the tennis courts on beautiful days. I've had to wait over an hour for an open court before, and there is not a good sign-in system for people waiting. I've had people simply walk onto the courts as it opens when others have been waiting, which makes my skin crawl. Secondly, the quality of the tennis courts is pretty low. There are huge cracks on the courts which messes with the ball bounces and holes in the nets. This isn't too much of a hindrance, particularly because I grew up on public courts and know the limitations. Otherwise, this is definitely the center of activity in the East End during the good-weather months.