It’s persimmon and pawpaw season | Outdoorsy Newsletter
🚲 And your Philly Bike Ride guide
Welcome back, nature lovers. We have something in common with Philly’s own David Corenswet, a.k.a. Superman: he adores the outdoors.
Here’s today’s lineup:
“Food of the gods”: Now is the time to look out for two delicious — and elusive — sweet fruits of the season.
Depletion in the Delaware: Why fish that once fed George Washington’s troops are now unsustainable in the river.
Philly Bike Ride guide: Everything you need to know about the city’s largest community and advocacy-driven bike ride.
☀️ Your weekend weather outlook: Mostly sunny and clear skies, with highs in the 60s and lows in the 40s. Look out for some showers on Sunday.
— Paola Pérez (outdoorsy@inquirer.com)
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Fleeting delights
Pawpaw and persimmon season is upon us — but don’t blink. It goes by so fast you might miss your opportunity to try them.
🍈 Both fruits are delicate and highly perishable. They are only ready to eat in specific circumstances. Fair warning: If you bite into a persimmon before it’s soft and ripe, its unbearable tartness will bite you back.
🧺 You can forage them around the region, but you might also spot them at your local co-ops and farmers markets. Some folks on Facebook have even pinpointed a few places to find them around Philly.
🍊 I’ll never forget the first time I tried a persimmon thanks to my colleague Joe DiStefano, who shared the homegrown fruit with me. It changed my life so much, I even got a persimmon tattoo. It’s that serious.
Keep reading to learn more about the sweetness of persimmons and pawpaws, and let me know where you have found these rare fruits.
News worth knowing
About 6,000 cyclists are expected to participate in the Philly Bike Ride on Saturday for another 20-mile, car-free tour of the city. Here’s your guide to the event.
Last weekend’s nor’easter spared the Jersey Shore from catastrophic flooding, but it worsened erosion along already fragile beaches.
A study found racial disparities in access to youth sports and the quality of facilities in Philadelphia. Now, the city looks to change that.
The Swann Memorial Fountain on Logan Circle was partly broken due to vandalism. A fix to the beloved centerpiece ― and popular, if unauthorized, public swimming hole ― is in the works.
Philadelphia’s 2026 Flower Show theme will highlight the history of plants and gardening culture in the United States.
🎤 Now we’re passing the microphone to environmental reporter Frank Kummer.
American shad have long been prized in the Delaware River Basin for their meat and roe.
The native Lenape people hosted festivals celebrating the fish. In 1778, legend has it, George Washington’s troops feasted on fresh or dried shad after a long winter at Valley Forge. More recently, the species drove recreational fishing and tourism along the mid-Atlantic coast.
But the once-abundant American shad, along with river herring, have plummeted to levels considered depleted, according to a recent paper by the nonprofit Partnership for the Delaware Estuary.
Research by a scientific advisory committee of the nonprofit provides the most recent information on American shad and river herring in the Delaware River Basin — a 12,700-square-mile drainage area that includes parts of Pennsylvania, New Jersey, New York, and Delaware. The basin includes a vast network of tributaries, including the Schuylkill. — Frank Kummer
Learn why experts say these fish populations have reached depleted levels.
An autumnal view
I recently took this at Hyde Park in London, England. Looking at it now makes me long for the gorgeous hues to reveal themselves in and around Philly.
As we approach peak foliage in the region, I’d love to see your leafy photos. Feel free to send them here.
🌳 Your outdoorsy experience
Last week, I told you about the best Philly-area farms to pick pumpkins. Reader Penny Pray wrote in to tell us about Happy Day Farm in Manalapan Township, N.J., which has a corn maze that honors the U.S. Army’s 250th anniversary:
“Everybody loved it! The ticket prices are reasonable with so many activities to participate in, and it’s close to Philly too for a great Fall Day Out experience!”
Thanks for the tip, Penny.
If you have an adventure you want to share, send me an email here. You may see it featured right here in this newsletter.
👋🏽 Get some fresh air, and be safe out there.
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