We absolutely loved hiking here. The Ollie's playground for kids was the cutest thing and so much…read morefun. It was clean and quiet and overall, a really nice trail.

ChesLen is relatively HUGE compared to other Natural Lands preserves. 1282 acres of Wyethesque…read morelandscapes everywhere you turn! Ironically, for the size of this place, it had one of the smallest parking lots I've seen at any of the other Natural Lands preserves I've visited. A rain storm cut my visit short, but I did get close to an hour of the meadow trail. If you visit on a sunny day, be ready for extreme sun exposure because there is very little tree shade along the trails I walked. Also, the mowed meadow terrain is lumpy and uneven in spots, and I'd have appreciated my hiking boots over the sneakers I wore, for ankle support. Again, I can't speak for the full 1282 acres, but the ambiance closest to the parking lot and trailhead, is pretty but lacks the variety and depth of character that many other Natural Lands preserves possess. It's kind of just plain old field. I appreciate plain old field, but having been to other preserves, I prefer the ones with woods and clearings, stream crossings, hills and valleys, etc. But, if you want to paint a Wyeth scene, this is certainly your place! It is a popular occurrence at Natural Lands preserves for locals to visit with their dogs off leash (in discordance with preserve rules). This preserve was no exception. In fact, it is so casually disregarded, Natural Lands was recently looking to hire someone, specifically, to visit all of the preserves and enforce the leash rule. As a dog mom, I understand the desire to not have to fuss with leash tugging, and be able to watch their furry joy running "free," but these rules are in place for everyone's safety, including your own (and your dog's). ChesLen is great for hiking boot walks, dogs on leash, and birding or butterfly watching. It is not accessible for handicapped people, strollers, bikes, etc. Babies have to be carried (as in backpacks) if in attendance. While more rugged in a countrified way, the land itself is peaceful and serene, and fun to photograph or paint!

Wonderful setting Staff is helpful…read more An inspiration at every turn. Quality was amazing .

This place is a gem. It's beautiful, serene, somewhat whimsical. We went last week and the fall…read morecolors were stunning. It's a place I think I'll go back to with every season. And next time I wanna go early enough that I can do the house tour as well.

Visited on school trip. When we arrived, staff were waiting outside and grabbed our attention by…read moretheir traditional 1700's Quaker attire. Our tour consisted of the Blacksmith, Pond Life, Mill Tour, Miller's House and Hearth Cooking. I must admit I think the adults were a bit more intrigued by the program than the children. I specifically loved the Blacksmith demonstration. The gentleman showed us how tedious it was just to make a simple spoon and the amount of work that went into making items out of iron during this time frame. He explained that during this time 8-9 year olds would have been working on making nails and how important the Blacksmith was to the community. I would love to visit again and participate in learning more about the process. I not a bug lover so the Pond while the children thought it was cool to play in, I would pass. The Mill tour.. amazing the process of milling flour and the Miller's house displayed how the home would have been set up during the time period, including the brick oven. I also enjoyed the Hearth cooking.. the children learned how to make and "cook" cookies outside in a Hearth; the cookies actually tasted pretty good. Overall, I really enjoyed my time on the grounds. I look forward to returning and participating in another programs.

Group of us ventured over from our hotel to hike around this beutiful property. Picturesque…read morescenery and trails. Really enjoyed exploring. We were a group of 20 with ages ranging from 9 - 50 something. Great place for a picnic and to take pictures. Gristmill and house is a worthwhile visit.

I was planning my best friend's Honeymoon Shower and I had such a difficult time trying to find a…read moreplace within our budget. Email after email, call after call.. the struggle was super real. Every place insisted a caterer, which no one in the bridal party wanted to pay for considering it wasn't a normal shower.. it was co-ed! One random night, about two weeks after I had emailed this random place I found on The Knot.. I finally got a response so straight forward I thought it wasn't real. $500, no down payment.. money in cash or check due the very day of the party, don't have to have a caterer, BYOB, tables, chairs, etc included. I instantly called the guy. Manager of the center was named Jimmy, a 74 year old man.. total riot. I read most of the reviews on every other site and everyone was so up and down about him. Some people said he was rude and inappropriate.. others said he was super helpful and attentive. Well from my experience, from day one it was perfect. Met with him the first night with the bride to be's parents and my boyfriend and he gave us a tour of the place, told us we could have the place for 10 hours and for $500. The place was gorgeous! Plenty of different sized tables, chairs, A/C, covered outdoor deck, high ceilings, gorgeous flowers planted all around the building, beautifully maintained yard by the river with lights dangling all around, two bathrooms, and a fully stocked and loaded kitchen. I was super happy about this place. Jimmy and I talked a couple of times throughout the months of planning. Any time I had any questions he was always super attentive, always giving me a call back as soon as possible if he missed it. Super sweet, any funny guy. About a week before the day of the shower, Jimmy called me telling me he wasn't going to be able to open the building for us because he had relatives going into the Marines that weekend so he would miss the party! He wanted to meet a few days before and personally give me the key to open myself and let me come an hour earlier than we agreed on and showed me where everything was located. Every light switch, every lock on the doors, every table, showed us what was offered in the kitchen, and where to leave the money and key for him to pick up the next day. Everything was super easy to remember. I would like to say, the shower turned out amazing. Every guest raved about how beautiful the place was and how gorgeous the decorations were. It was a great time, nothing went wrong that day. I was super stressed for months and nothing could have went better. Cleanup was easy, closing the building was easy.. I left feeling exhausted but content. I'd highly recommend this place for anyone. It's small so if you decide to have a wedding or party here, it should be for anywhere smaller than 100 people. I had about 48 people for my shower, so it was just right. I'd come back if I had the opportunity to for sure! Thanks again!

We toured Eicher's Art Center with Gail and it was the cutest place! Gail was sweet enough to let…read moreus tour the venue at the last minute & we were not disappointed. The venue itself is absolutely gorgeous, the landscape was beautiful, and the new bridal suite is perfect.

Unique experience for kids and the young at heart. Splattering paint all over without getting…read moreyelled at to make art. Doing this under black light was even more fun for the kiddos and they can't wait to untape and unveil their authentic works of art. Great customer service from host and felt good to support this small business.

Went to the Malvern location with another couple and we chose to do the splatter room. We thought…read moreit would be a fun experience, but it was quite the opposite. When we got there, the woman gave us ponchos that were for a small child. The entire point of splatter painting is to get messy, however, we weren't expecting child sized ponchos so getting messy wasn't in the cards unless we wanted a ton of paint all over our clothes. The "canvas" was flat, not even 8.5x11. The woman who grabbed my painting at the end said it was hard to find it because it blended in with the wall (probably because the "canvas" was so tiny and from the dollar store. The floor in the room was extremely sticky. We had asked for shoe covering, but the girl said the shoe covering would come off our shoes because of how sticky the floor was. The flooring in the room completely ruined all of our shoes. To describe the bottom of our shoes is like having a bunch of dried bubble gum stuck to the bottom of our shoes and you can't get it off. The experience itself wasn't worth the money paid. Since we couldn't get messy without ruining our clothes, we were done within 2 minutes of being in the room. When calling the shop the next morning to explain our experience, the manager told me the owner would call me back and never did. The other couple we went with also emailed and the owner didn't care to rectify the issues. Don't waste your money here. Wouldn't ever come back here unless the owner wants to make things right.

Good visit with a friend who is a regular. The paths are coated with a recycled rubber mix and are…read moresoft to walk on. Wide variety of well-labeled plants. Apparently, Stoneleigh welcomes local humanities professors holding classes on the grounds

What a lovely garden that is free to the public! I was too busy admiring it with my family to take…read morepictures. The ambassadors at the front were so helpful knowing it was our first time visiting, and we also met some staff to thank them for maintaining it so well. I'd love to come back for a formal tour in the future and see the mansion. We'll be back!

For me, it was way too hot today for hiking/bird-watching, so this comment is focused on the indoor…read moredisplays and the house tour. I'm not a "bird person," whatever that means. What I mean is, I'm not a bird watcher and don't know much about bird habits or the sounds they make or their migration. But I can say that I learned a lot from the displays here today and enjoyed walking through the entire thing. It gave me a better appreciation for birds in nature, how they fly, the threats to their survival, etc. And the place isn't preachy. Just a very informative, pleasant learning experience. There's good information here that's well and efficiently presented; it's just enough - it's not stuffy or oppressive. The staff is helpful. We were fortunate that a house tour was beginning during our visit, and we joined that tour (included in the admission price). The tour is given by a volunteer docent. It was very informative, and we learned a great deal about Audubon (the good, bad and the ugly) and his life, marriage, his work and his valuable contributions to the field of bird studies. I'm giving this 5 stars for what we saw, and I'm assuming (confidently) that a walk/hike through the grounds on a nice day would be great.

Upon leaving I said to the receptionist, "I enjoyed this much more than I thought I would." To…read morewhich he replied, "thank you. I guess." When I go to an art museum I rarely read placards. Just interested in the art. At the Audobon center, I read everything. So interesting to learn about migration, how birds fly, their physiology ... and John James Audobon himself. What a colorful character. The mission of the center is to educate people to cherish and protect the natural world by preserving Audobon's artistic and scientific legacy. I had no particular interest in birds, but I was fascinated. The center is located on a bird sanctuary -- and the grounds are beautiful. There are trails which visitors are free to explore. BTW, if you're looking for a venue for a special event, check this place out. Staff was setting up for a wedding while we were there, and I was impressed.

Last year, my Adventure Buddy and I spotted Cherry Crest Adventure Farm while riding the Strasburg…read moretrain and made a mental note to come back someday. Fast forward to a beautiful, sunny Saturday in early October when we realized we'd be nearby with an open adventure slot. WELL, HELLO, CHERRY CREST! We purchased our tickets online ahead of time for significant savings and arrived around noon, apparently at the exact same time as EVERY OTHER HUMAN BEING IN PENNSYLVANIA. The parking fields were packed. Admission lines looked enormous. For a moment, I wondered what we'd gotten ourselves into. But the parking attendants were doing a great job directing traffic, parking was FREE (thank you!), and the admission lines moved surprisingly quickly. Before long, we had our wristbands and were ready to adventure. FIRST STOP: THE DONUT HUT. We grabbed two apple cider donuts and a bottle of apple cider and both exceeded my hopes! The donut was so fresh and hot I had to wait for it to cool before digging in! Soft, fluffy, generously coated in cinnamon sugar and absolutely delicious! If this was how Cherry Crest intended to welcome me, we were going to get along just fine! Next up was the main reason we'd come: THE CORN MAZE! I did my first corn maze last year and decided to make it an annual tradition. Cherry Crest had the honor of being my Corn Maze #2. I'm no corn maze expert, but, this one had some really fun twists! Instead of simply wandering around hoping to eventually find civilization again, we were given a blank grid and tasked with finding pieces throughout the maze to tape onto it, gradually completing our map. There were also hidden clues for a crossword puzzle! A corn maze WITH SIDEQUESTS?! SIGN. ME. UP! We navigated our way through the intermediate maze in less than the estimated 40 minutes, which was both surprising and satisfying. We found our way out, completed our adventure and didn't have to call anyone to rescue two grown adults from a field of corn. CORN MAZE 2026: COMPLETE! From there, we wandered around exploring the property. It was definitely busy, with plenty of families, strollers and wagons, but still manageable. Patience is key on a beautiful fall Saturday, especially when apparently the entire Commonwealth has decided to celebrate autumn simultaneously. Eventually, we made our way to the other side of the farm for what turned out to be my FAVORITE activities of the day. APPLE CANNONS AND PAINTBALL! Of course we'd purchased the optional add-ons. You think I'm going to stand next to a giant cannon that launches actual apples and NOT pay to shoot it?! The lines were a little long, but they moved along nicely. And once it was my turn? PEW PEW, MOTHER NATURE! I had an absolute BLAST launching apples at targets and managed to hit almost everything I aimed for! Then we moved to the paintball range, where I continued my surprisingly impressive performance, knocking over targets with lime green paintballs! Apparently I've been walking around for 40+ years without realizing I have a natural talent for recreational projectile launching. WHO KNEW?! Both activities were absolutely worth the additional cost. If you're visiting as an adult and enjoy a little friendly target practice, don't skip them! Another thing that caught my attention was the reservable fire pit areas scattered throughout the property. They had little pavilions and signs identifying the groups who'd reserved them. We saw everything from birthday celebrations to retirement gatherings, and I thought that was such a cool way to spend a fall afternoon with friends or family. Food prices seemed fairly typical for an attraction. I noticed a double cheeseburger with fries advertised for $17.99, for example. But I also spotted groups with birthday cakes, two-liter bottles of soda and bags of chips at their fire pit areas. I'm not sure what Cherry Crest's outside food policies are, so I'd recommend checking before bringing your own picnic. If it's permitted, though, that could be a great way to keep costs down, especially for families! All told, we spent about two hours exploring Cherry Crest as two adults in our 40s, and we had a GREAT time! Would families with children get even more out of it? ABSOLUTELY. There are so many activities geared toward younger kids that I could easily see families spending an entire day here. But don't assume you need children to enjoy Cherry Crest. Between the corn maze, fall treats, apple cannons, paintball and general autumn atmosphere, there's plenty of fun for grown-ups, too! I came for a corn maze, discovered a surprisingly accurate apple-cannon aim, ate an outstanding donut and added another destination to my annual fall adventure list. Not bad for a couple of hours in a cornfield! Nice job, Cherry Crest! I'll absolutely be back!

This place is ok - if you don't mind parking a mile or more away from the entrance, walking forever…read moreto get to a line to wait to get in for an hour all with kids in tow. This is so poorly laid out. They have no maximum and just let hundreds if not thousands of people in all day long. This part of their ticketing was my favorite: - Pre-purchased admissions are NON-REFUNDABLE for any reason and expire at the end of the season. - We are a weather dependent business and may need to close due to weather. So it's a giant F.U. if something comes up in your life for your family or something happens to you. But if it rains - it's F the buyer you're beat. No refunds. Nothing. What a completely ass backward way or running a business that's CLEARLY not hurting for profit. I'll never take my family here. I'll tell everyone I know it's a collasal waste of money and not worth driving hours to get to only to be directed up a mountain to park. You think my little kids were ready to walk A MILE to stand in line for AN HOUR?! lol. What a joke.