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10+ Family Friendly Places to Play Pokémon GO- Harrisburg & West Shore

By Kat Dinsmore, publisher www.harrisburg.macaronikid.com January 21, 2024
My oldest son has been collecting Pokémon cards for the last few years, so he was super excited to start playing Pokémon GO and wanted to do so all day, every day :)

Below are some of our favorite spots to play Pokémon GO as a family in Harrisburg & West Shore. We decide our favorite spots based on having more than five PokéStop and are easily navigated with a stroller. Parks are our favorite spot to check because we can check out swing sets, pack a lunch or dinner and have plenty of room to run around.

If I missed any of your favorite family-friendly spots to hunt Pokemon in Harrisburg & West Shore please leave it in the comments - we are always on the look-out for new spots!
ADAMS-RICCI PARK, ENOLA - The Fun Fort area, walking trails, tennis courts, ball fields & pavilions at Adams-Ricci Park have always been a fun spot, but now there are a bunch of PokeStops and gym there as well! This park is pretty big, so we found walking to hit all the stops to be not as easy, so we often park up by the caboose, hit all the stops there, then drive around and park at the Fun Fort to play for a while & catch wilds before heading home.

CITY ISLAND, HARRISBURG - The northern tip of City Island has quickly become a Pokémon GO hot spot – especially in the mini golf area. There are a ton of PokéStops in that area, wild Pokemon & gyms, so parking and walking around will generally yield great results. City Island is also the home to Pride of the Susquehanna Riverboat & Harrisburg Senators, so you could make a nice day out of your trip to City Island. Later in the evenings is a super popular time where there are frequently trainers using lures.
DOWNTOWN HARRISBURG - Because it’s so close to the river, downtown Harrisburg is a great spot for water Pokémon. Between Riverfront Park & the Capital Complex there are a ton of PokéStop, and they’re pretty close together! During the lunchtime & after work hours the area often has other trainers who work in the area and often use lures during their lunch break.
HACC CAMPUS, HARRISBURG - There is a bit of construction happening at the campus right now, so some of the twenty PokéStop may be blocked or hard to get to, but the two gyms are easy to access. Depending on the time of day, the campus could get busy with students walking to/from classes but is pretty well shaded & is stroller friendly.
LOWER ALLEN COMMUNITY PARK, MECHANICSBURG - Lower Allen Park sits along the Yellow Breeches Creek and offers a fenced in dog park, baseball fields, trails near the creek, The Field of Dreams Fun Fort, plenty of pavilions, nine PokéStops & two gyms. The PokéStops at the park are pretty spread out, so we found it easiest to park at the Fun Fort to get the ones near there, then drive the rest of the park. Lower Allen Community Park is also a great spot to access the Yellow Breeches for fishing, kayaking, tubing or wading.

NEW CUMBERLAND BOROUGH PARK - Nestled along the Yellow Breeches Creek in New Cumberland, the Borough Park is a great spot to catch Pokemon. The park consists of a large loop that you can easily drive, a playground area that is slightly shaded, multiple baseball fields and pavilions to pack a lunch to eat at. It’s also a quick walk to Bridge St/Downtown New Cumberland where you can visit any of the number of cute & locally own businesses or restaurants.

RED RABBIT, DUNCANNON - There is one PokéStop at Red Rabbit, but we’ve had a TON of luck catching Pokémon there, especially during the dinner time hour. While there, I highly suggest the Bunny Burger and fries with extra bunny dust!
RESERVOIR PARK, HARRISBURG - As home to the Civil War Museum, Reservoir Park is a great spot to catch Pokemon during the day while the museum is open. We found it easiest to get to each of the PokéStops by just driving a loop or two around the park slowly (there is a lower speed limit there), which also makes sure you’ll find plenty of wild Pokémon too!

ROOF PARK, NEW CUMBERLAND - Roof Park seems to be the Pikachu hot spot for our area. It is home to a pretty awesome playground, baseball fields, pavilion & plenty of loops for walking. There really isn’t any shade, but it’s easy walking and the playground is great.

SOLDIERS & SAILORS MEMORIAL PARK, MECHANICSBURG - Located blocks from downtown Mechanicsburg, the park is a great spot to visit for a playground, paths to walk, pavilions, Mechanicsburg pool (3 pools, slides, snack bar & more!), eight PokéStops and one gyms. About half of the stops were easy to get to by driving, the others we hopped out to walk around to find.

WILDWOOD PARK, HARRISBURG - Wildwood Park is mostly shaded, stroller & dog friendly, has three gyms & thirteen PokéStops and has always lead to catching plenty of Pokemon for us. The PokéStops are located throughout the park along the trails that loop Wildwood Lake. Olewine Nature Center is free & is fun for all ages, it makes a great spot to park and enjoy a picnic in the nearby pavilion. 

WILLOW MILL PARK, MECHANICSBURG - Willow Mill Park is located near I-81/114 and the Carlisle Pike along the Conodoguinet Creek in Mechanicsburg. Most of the ten PokéStops can be spun from the car, but sometimes we pack a lunch, play on the small playground and walk around to the gym and PokéStops.


Parks that don’t work well for us
Stony Ridge Park – We love Stony Ridge, it has a great playground area, baseball fields, a pavilion to eat at, and a huge loop for walking/running that goes the perimeter of the park. It isn’t shaded at all, has one PokéStop and never has been great for catching Pokemon, but we still love it otherwise.


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