I came here for a hike yesterday on the Yellow Trail and it was beautiful! This time of year…read moreeverything is green and the forest is full. The wildlife are out and about creating a great sound to complete the scene. The Yellow Trail is the longest in the park (about 7.5 out and back) and takes you through the woods and crosses the paved path a couple times. The trail has a few small hills in it that make the hike a little more interesting and fun. In some parts the trail is narrow and the trees are hanging over, but it is nothing unmanageable. The trails are marked throughout the park, but we did find that these markings could have been improved with more arrows when two trails intersected. The best method for making sure you stay on the right trail is to look at the color markings on the trees. However, the marked trees may be several yards down the path. Just keep walking until you see the marking and then turn around if you need to. I would definitely recommend checking out Ridley State Park for a hike, or even a picnic, as there were plenty of areas to do so. I would love to come back and see other areas of the park or even do the same hike again!

We have one of the Pennsylvania Parks Passports so we try to visit new parks to explore and also…read moreget passport stamps. Today was Ridley Creek. It's a nice park with lots of trails to explore and we did the 4-point-something mile white trail loop. We enjoyed it though the trails are busier than the ones we're used to. It's close to Philadelphia, which makes it attractive for hiking, but also more crowded. Is this park worth the two-plus hour drive for us? Well, yes, to get a passport stamp and explore someplace different. Would we come back? Probably not because we saw nothing remarkable and the trails were busy. But any state park with decent trails is worth four stars so four it is!

Great short or longer hike in lambertville with good views of river and new hope pa! Be mindful as…read morethere is no trail map in parking area/trailhead. Downloading trails ahead of time might help, as paths do get confusing at times. Either way, can always opt for shorter walk of 0.5 miles each way which is easy!

You park a bit of a distance from the overlook so make sure you have good footwear. Once you get…read morethere, it is very pretty, but I wouldn't say spectacular.. on a nice day, after a big lunch, it will be a nice walk, not too many inclines.

My second trip there during trips to Philadelphia. A nice break from the city. The volunteers with…read moreFriends of Heinz NWR were great. They showed me a small black racer that had gotten stuck on a piece of duct tape. They were able to use--wait for it--mayonnaise to get it unstuck. Back outdoors it went and slithered happily away. Nice collection of swag at the Friends store

Good spot, easy to forget it's still in the city…read more I've been here a handful of times, usually after work or on weekends when I need to get outside for a bit. Once you're on the trails it gets surprisingly quiet. Like, noticeably quieter than you'd expect from somewhere still technically inside Philadelphia. The paths are mostly flat gravel so it's not a hard walk at all. I tend to stop on the boardwalks and just look out over the marsh for a few minutes. Last time there were a few turtles lined up on a log, and I'm pretty sure I spotted a couple of herons near the water too. You do hear planes since the airport's close by, but it doesn't really bother me. Kind of adds to the strangeness of the place in a way I actually like. One thing worth knowing: the mosquitoes are no joke. I skipped bug spray once and regretted it pretty quickly. If you're going in summer, just bring some, especially if you're planning to hang around near the water.

Beautiful landscape horrible place to run. Should be called Rocky Trip Trail. Maybe it's because…read moreI'm a beginning runner but no way.

The lower part of this trail is fabulous. It is full of amazing hidden beauty…read more The northern section was more solitary while I was there. It takes you to Fair Acres and beyond. Parking is extremely limited at the Valley Road parking lot. One solution to not having a parking option there is to park at the YMCA. They have a long trail that leads from their property on to the Rocky Run Trail. But they don't advertise this. There is no signage. It's up to you to find the entry trail into the forest. How to do this: Simplest way is to park in the rear lot. Find the retaining wall. The entrance to the forest is there. Take the first trail to your left. Go beyond the picnic table area and bear left. Follow the trail until it intersects with the Rocky Run Trail. I recommend going leftwards. This will eventually take you past a small sewage treatment plant. Cross Valley Road and pick up the trail again. And this is where it gets really interesting.

Large lake and great for kayaking! Clean restrooms and plenty of parking. Boat launch area is…read moregreat!

Many memories here. Gotta love this place. I've been coming here for 2 years now and it's great. I…read morewish you were allowed to swim in the water though. They should start checking the bacteria levels. Also the boats are really expensive. Those are just minor changes. Overall 4/5 stars. Well done Marsh Creek.

By now, I've been to a number of Natural Lands preserves, and while all of them are naturally…read morestunning in their own unique ways, Stroud is most easy on the eyes, as one helluva photogenic preserve! 571 acres of GORGEOUSNESS!!!!!!! Sunsets are beautiful here. Many visitors were there just to hike up the hill to see the sunset. Some were even there with professional photographers, for a couple's shot in the moment. I wasn't able to hike the grassy trail with a stroller, but I got some shots of it setting behind the trees, and it was still beautiful to watch from the lowlands. This preserve features a paved trail, mowed grass meadow trails, and dirt woods trails. The terrain varies as explained, so be aware that bikes and strollers, etc. will have limited access. That said, the paved trail was quite long, and we didn't have time to finish with fading twilight, hence there is plenty of exercise to be had on each type of trail. Obviously the meadow trails leave you open to sun exposure, so be prepared in summer months. I did not feel too many bugs along the paved trail, but I would worry more about them in the meadow or woods, so consider repellent if you plan to explore those areas. Also, while I hike my local park on a daily basis with no symptoms, my allergies went nuts with the variety of grasses and trees at this preserve. There is ample free parking in the gavel lot. The East Branch Brandywine creek is very close to the parking lot, so if you plan to kayak, canoe, etc., it is not far to carry anything to a slip. There is also a smaller Taylor Run stream on the property, but it's not big enough for watersports. The Natural Lands website says some of the acreage is working farmlands, and yes, there are rolling hills of hay crop all over the place. There are some old buildings on the preserve (homes, barns, spring houses, etc.), but any I encountered were prohibited areas, and are not approachable for the public. This was unusual for other Natural Lands properties I've visited. According to their website, one of the stone homes dates to 1740, and is on the National Register of Historic Places, however it is being lived in, thus the notices not to proceed beyond designated boundaries. Also unlike other Natural Lands preserves, there is a lot of scientific study/research going on at this preserve. There is evidence of data collection in various places, and their website explains ecological projects run by the Stroud Water Research Center. Stroud is the only preserve in PA to be part of the Environmental Protection Agency's National Monitoring Program, to evaluate how human inhabitancy affects water quality. Natural Lands hosts various events at Stroud (low-cost admission, and pre-registration required). For example, in August they are hosting a splash in the creek for kids, and in September they'll have an evening Harvest Moon Hike and S'mores!

This is a perfect place for a quick-ish and relaxing hike. There are several different options and…read moremost of them loop. I did the red trail loop which is a bit longer. It's through some grass and along some private properties. I went on a Friday afternoon and there were not many people there. There are great views and clearly marked trails. Parking can be difficult.

Trail = 5 stars! Not…read moresure why Yelp combined all access points for this trail into one listing??? Not allowing multiple listings for different access points prevents those unfamiliar from knowing there are other areas to park. The Knowlton Rd lot is already problematic and constantly full, so whatever, I tried to provide listings for the other lots. Annoying, Yelp, and not in service to the community. Try Mt. Alverno Rd near Iris Lane (toward the Pennell Rd end) Or in Lenni lots of people park at the top of the trail off Lenni Rd near Station Ln

Great running/bike/walk path! From what I saw, there are a couple designated parking lots which…read moremade it accessible. The parking lot was very full, but I guess that is to be expected on a Sunday morning when it's 55 degrees out in January. The path was about 3 miles long and paved the entire way. It also had some nice rolling hills and was quite scenic as well.

Half decent scenic route. 4/10 in terms of difficulty-…read moretrail is pretty good workout for uphill and downhill 2/10 for trail management. The trails at certain points were extremely overgrown and poorly marked. Lucky there is cell reception and I could use it to navigate correctly. But certain areas are way too overgrown resulting prime tick habitats to the point where certain grass areas I can physically SEE ticks sitting on grass overlapping the trail.

Here's the official description: "Located along a 20-mile stretch of the Maryland-Pennsylvania…read moreborder, the State Line Serpentine Barrens, the largest occurrence of Serpentine Barrens in the eastern United States, contains some of the last major remnants of serpentine grassland and savanna in eastern North America. " But what this means to you and me is that its just a fantastic; eerie; unearthly natural environment to go seek out and hike in. Of especial interest to horticulturalists and wildlife biologists; students; geologists, arborists, sylviculturalists, ecologists--sure. It is all that. But just in general --a fun and free place to roam around if you're simply an outdoors enthusiast. There is no one here; its deserted; and filled with all sorts of strange trees, shrubs, flowers, grasses, and lichens. You can really get your nature on; a really 1-on-1 experience.

Brandywine Creek State Park is always well-maintained and there are plenty of resources online to…read morehelp map out a day in the park. I like to do hikes closest to the nature center because it's a great meeting point. None of the hikes in the park are very long, but there are plenty of trails on all trails that help you to link existing trails together! This time of year is the best for hiking because it's still pretty cool and everything is green and lush!

November 8, 2025 - Beautiful park. About a 2 mile paved walking trail. There are also natural…read moretrails off of the paved trail some go along the water. It had rained the night before so the trails were a little muddy and the wet leaves made things slippery so I stuck to the paved trail. One trailhead has restrooms and picnic tables. They allow bow and arrow deer hunting season but it is clearly marked. A family of deer crossed my path right in front of me. You can see one deer jumping across the path in one picture. The mom and baby crossed in front of me and I could hear rustling in the woods so I waited patiently for the dad to appear. Very peaceful. When the trails are not muddy, make sure you explore off on them. This is part of the Delaware Greenway system - make sure you check out all the other paths.