East vs. West is a classic rivalry, whether it’s about hip hop, upper Manhattan, or the coasts. If you’re a Philly parks fan, you may have opinions about whether East Fairmount Park or West Fairmount Park is superior. Wednesday Night Rides has visited both sides of Fairmount Park on many occasions, but this Wednesday, we’ll focus our attention on East Fairmount Park!

We’ll ride by seven mansions, including one dedicated to children, the Smith Memorial Playhouse, and end at Parks on Tap at Lemon Hill Mansion. We’ll also pass by many athletic fields, playgrounds, and a disc golf course!

Parks on Tap is a traveling beer garden which highlights parks all over Philadelphia; proceeds benefit the Fairmount Park Conservancy. Children and dogs are welcome as long as they’re accompanied by a parent or guardian. More FAQs here.

A few notes, complementary to our How We Ride guide:

• Stay behind the leader of the ride.
• If you ride with your phone or bike computer mounted on the bike, please pin or download the route ahead of time and run it in navigation during the ride. The more people who know where we’re going, the better!

The forecast (and air quality!) looks encouraging this week, but since it’s thunderstorm season: our practice is not to make a call on weather until day-of to give Mother Nature every possible opportunity to change her mind. We’ll cancel any ride by 3pm that day.

If you’re interested, here’s more information on the historic houses we’ll be passing:

• Strawberry Mansion
• Woodford Mansion
• Laurel Hill Mansion
• Ormiston Mansion
• Rockland Mansion
• Smith Memorial Playhouse
• Lemon Hill Mansion

Thanks for riding!