On November 6, the Municipality of Murrysville posted two "new playground" notices on the same day, one for Sardis Park and one for Heritage Park.
The two playgrounds are new in different ways. Sardis Park's play area was rebuilt and opened in the spring. Heritage Park's playground was a line item in last year's budget, and it's now open. The two projects started at different times and on different budgets. What they share is timing. Both now head into their first winter, and winter is when Murrysville's parks change how they work. Pavilion rentals close, the calendar thins out to a few free events, and the playground becomes most of what a neighborhood park has to offer until spring.
Sardis Park Has Had Its New Playground Since May
The Sardis rebuild has the longer paper trail. According to the municipality's 2026 six-month report in the Fall/Winter 2026 Murrysville Matters guide, the Sardis Park Tot Lot project began early in the year with demolition of the old swing set, trees and other playground features.
Public Works graded the site in-house. Crews expanded the footprint and placed compacted fill to make room for the new play structure. They poured about 16 yards of concrete as a border around two play areas, which hold 150 yards of Kiddie Cushion play surface. They also ran a new electrical line to both pavilions, then placed topsoil and seeded the disturbed ground.
The last piece of the project was parking. The abandoned tennis court was converted into extra parking with six inches of rolled millings. The improvements opened to the public on May 20, 2026.
The November notice describes what's there now:
- A play structure for ages 2 to 5 and another for ages 5 to 12
- Swings
- A seesaw, a sit 'n spin and a spinner chair
- A new bench swing, which the municipality calls the spot for watching "the best sunset in Murrysville"
The park is open dawn to dusk on Rocky Hill Lane, off Route 286 near the Sardis Volunteer Fire Company.
So families nearby have had the Sardis playground for a summer and a fall. The November notice works more as a reminder than an announcement, and it came a few weeks before Sardis hosts its annual Santa event.
Heritage Park's Playground Was in the 2026 Budget
Heritage Park's story starts in a budget. At its regular voting meeting on November 5, 2025, Murrysville Council reviewed the 2026 budget. The meeting minutes say the municipality would keep investing in neighborhood parks with improvements at Heritage Park: new playground equipment, updated safety surfacing and a pavilion roof replacement.
The project shared a $3,896,000 capital budget with road overlays, Route 22 traffic signal upgrades, stormwater work and vehicle replacements. A playground in Heritage Estates made the list next to all of that.
A year and a day after that meeting, the municipality reported the Heritage playground open, dawn to dusk, at 5000 Cypress Drive. It has swings, a play structure for ages 5 to 12 and a smaller one for ages 2 to 5. Earlier in 2026, Public Works crews also removed and disposed of dead trees in the park.
The Recreation Department's facility page describes Heritage as a neighborhood park off Logan Ferry Road on Cypress Drive in the Heritage Estates plan, also reachable from Sardis Road. Besides the playground, it lists a pavilion with eight picnic tables, a basketball court, a grill, water, a portable toilet and parking.
Both playgrounds have the same two age ranges, so a 3-year-old and a 9-year-old can each find a structure at either one.
Winter Turns Both Parks Into Walk-Up Parks
The detail that ties these two playgrounds together is a rule about pavilions. Murrysville's pavilions can't be rented from November 1 to March 31. In season, a resident pays $85 to reserve the Heritage pavilion and a non-resident pays $160, plus a $200 damage and cleaning hold. For the five months after the notices went up, that whole system is paused.
That means neither park has birthday-party bookings or reunion reservations right now. Both newly opened playgrounds are walk-up spaces, open dawn to dusk and free, at the time of year when dusk comes earliest. Spring reservations go through the municipality's Civic Rec online catalog, which the Recreation Department launched in January 2026 for pavilions, fields, courts and program registration.
Sardis has one more regular weekend booking through mid-December. Murrysville Recreation and the Westmoreland Rugby Club run a free youth rugby program at Sardis Park on Sundays from 2 to 4 PM, September 13 through December 13, for ages 8 to 14. It uses World Rugby's non-contact T1 format, and registration is required. If you're visiting the playground on a Sunday afternoon before mid-December, expect company on the fields.
December 5 Is the New Sardis Layout's First Big Event
Santa at Sardis is Saturday, December 5, from 1 to 4 PM, at Sardis Park on Rocky Hill Lane. The guide lists campfires and s'mores, a bonfire, hot cocoa and cookies, and photos with Santa. The municipality bills it as an annual event and a free one. Event details are posted on the Recreation Department's Santa at Sardis page.
This is the first Santa at Sardis since the spring rebuild, and the changes affect the day:
- Parking. The old tennis court is now parking, so this year's event has spaces that past ones didn't.
- The play area. The rebuilt tot lot, with its two age-specific structures and Kiddie Cushion surfacing inside the concrete border, sits in the same park as the bonfire.
- Power to the pavilions. The new electrical line serves both pavilions at Sardis.
The guide's practical advice is to dress for it: the event is outdoors, and "it can be snowy and muddy!" Boots will be useful between the fire, the cocoa table and the swings.
The Recreation Department is also looking for local businesses and organizations to run holiday activities and games at the event. Anyone interested can call 724-327-2100, extension 131 or 115.
After Sardis, the Winter Calendar Moves to the Trails
The Recreation Department runs a series of Hot Chocolate Hikes on park and reserve trails during the colder months, with hot chocolate at the end of each. One of the three is held with the Westmoreland Conservancy at one of its reserves.
- Wednesday, December 16, 3 PM: Townsend Park, 130 Townsend Park Ct.
- Saturday, January 16, 10 AM: Tomer Reserve, off Twin Oaks Drive North
- Monday, February 15, 10 AM: the "Sweetheart" Hot Chocolate Hike at Kellman/Skena Nature Reserve, meeting location to be announced
The December hike starts at 3 PM on a weekday, and the January and February hikes are 10 AM outings. Every page of the guide carries the same reminder that online registration may close early.
The Small Budget Behind the Playgrounds
There's a reason two playground openings get their own municipal notices. Murrysville has more than 1,200 acres of parks and open space across 15 properties. According to the guide, the Recreation Department's programs and events, from Tuesdays at Townsend to Santa at Sardis, run on 3% of the municipal budget. Public Works handles park development and maintenance on what the guide calls "an increasingly limited budget," on top of its road and infrastructure work.
With rising material costs and tight budgets, the guide makes a direct appeal for tax-deductible support for the Murrysville Parks and Recreation Foundation. The Foundation is a registered charity that helps pay for park projects and programs. Donations can go to specific projects, event sponsorships or trees and benches in the parks. The seven-member, all-volunteer Parks and Recreation Commission brings park development ideas to Public Works and the Recreation Department, and its members also volunteer at events like the one coming to Sardis.
If you'd like to help, the Recreation Department is at 724-327-2100, extension 115. The Foundation is also looking for volunteers with fundraising or marketing backgrounds.
If you're going to Sardis on December 5, Katrina would love to hear how the rebuilt park holds up in its first winter, and she's happy to talk about Murrysville anytime. Katrina Siffrinn brings more than 20 years of local roots in Pittsburgh's eastern suburbs. Let's talk about your neighborhood: schedule a free local market consult.
