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Parks and Recreation

City delivers services:

  • 5 swimming pools, a skate plaza, ice rink, golf course and many other recreation opportunities are accessible.


  • Park activities range from opportunities for quiet activity in nature to supervised summer programs for children to organized league sports for adults. 
  • Bethlehem’s parks are located throughout the city with the goal of having a range of quality facilities accessible to all neighborhoods. Bethlehem’s Recreation Bureau’s services are available to all residents. The City of Bethlehem has begun an exciting initiative to prioritize investments to our parks and recreation called "40 in 10: Every Park in 10 Years." We are embarking on a year-long process of creating a plan that will set short-, mid- and long-term goals and make recommendations for our parks development and programming. Join us this spring 2025 by completing our survey! 


  • As of 2024, the City of Bethlehem has acquired the .9 miles between the South Bethlehem Greenway and the Saucon Rail Trail! Soon, you will be able to travel from the South Bethlehem Greenway to Veterans Park near Quakertown or approximately 14.9 miles. Get your bikes and running shoes ready!


City Supports Service Delivery through funding sources:

  • The City of Bethlehem allocated $10,000 from the Community Recovery Fund towards.
  • Community Action Development Bethlehem: This funding will support critical initiatives to enhance recreation opportunities for Southside residents – namely the Shooting Stars basketball program and the facilitation of swim lessons and water safety at Yosko Pool.
  • Bethlehem continues to upgrade and expand our recreation opportunities to be more inclusive of residents and to address growing need and accessibility issues. The amount of work that Bethlehem can do with our own resources can be limited so the City works with many local, regional and state partners to expand and improve our resources. 
  • Each of these projects received support from various partners including Northampton County and PA Dept of Conservation and Natural Resources. For instance, recently completed park improvement projects include a new trail between the South Bethlehem Greenway and Saucon Park, upgrade and expansion of the Monocacy Way trail and parking and walking path upgrades at the Rose Garden Park. These partners and others are also providing assistance with ongoing or proposed park upgrades at Friendship and Fairview Parks along with the potential acquisition of the remaining land that separates the South Bethlehem Greenway from the Saucon Rail Trail.


City Collaborates and strategizes with service providers:

There are a wide variety of partners associated with park and recreation programs to support a diversity of park and recreation interests. 

  • Some large nonprofit groups such as the Wildlands Conservancy and the Delaware and Lehigh National Heritage Corridor provide recreation and educational programs that help residents experience nature and trails even within city limits. 
  • BASD’s willingness to share recreation courts and facilities along with much of their open space is an additional significant enhancement of existing City facilities. 
  • Additionally, many smaller organizations support Bethlehem’s park programs with the development of public art, community gardens, native landscapes, park clean ups, bike riding and education, yoga classes and a much greater abundance of collaborations that make our open space so special.