Easy and beautiful trails with great scenery. Once you've passed the blue route, the noise of…read morenature takes over. Deer, chipmunks and squirrels are frolicking around. Disc golf course can be "human loud" on the weekends.

Fun fact: Decades ago, this property was the site of the Haverford State Mental Hospital, which…read moreoperated from 1964-1998. In 2006 Haverford Township sold the property to a developer with requirements that part of the land be kept for public recreation. These 5 miles of trails are the result, along with a rec center, dog park and athletic fields. On an unusually warm winter day Sheba and I went for a hike along the trails. We entered by the rec center, then followed the creek bed to the meadow & back. We passed a pollinator garden and some disc golf sites. It's a lovely hike any time of year. Trail markings are minimal, this would be the principal reason for a 4 star review. We could see the heavy autumn rains have taken a toll in a decent amount of trail erosion, leaving mazes of roots spread across the paths. As the property borders a busy highway we never quite got to the peaceful sounds of the deep woods. I highly recommend you have a photo of the trail map with you as it's not hard to get turned around. Wear good sturdy shoes, and a walking stick is not a bad idea. We swill definitely be back.

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!

It was a chilly fall morning to take a hike around Taylor Arboretum! This was a perfect COVID…read moreactivity..very few people out and enough room to social distance from others! We took the walk along the creek and stopped along the way to observe all the different types of trees--it was nice to see the holly trees still had berries that the deer didn't eat up! I like this area because it seems that it is a quiet place to enjoy in all seasons!

Taylor Arboretum is a hidden gem that isn't very busy. You can walk around the woods, along the…read morewater, or in open grassy areas. There are many birds to be seen, especially along the water, and it's just a very relaxing place to take a hike or a walk. Or have a picnic! Parking is ample. I do not believe they have restrooms, and if they do then they are easy to overlook. I will definitely be integrating this location into my birding rotation. It's definitely an overlooked spot.

I offered to walk my friends' dogs, to help during a tough time. I am so glad I reached out,…read morebecause they suggested I take them to nearby East Goshen Township Park, and my favor to others turned into such a fun trip for me today! By a little past 3pm this place was already very crowded. Joggers, walkers, strollers and dogs were all over the walking trails. The playground was mobbed. Though it was unseasonably warm for early March, there were only two people on the basketball courts, no one on the tennis courts, and no one on the ballfields. But parking lots were full with playground- and trail-goers. I have to say these trails are pretty fun, and the playground is pretty bomb. So I fully understand why so many people were hanging there! The trail meanders around the perimeter of the park, with pretty Chester County landscape views. It is somewhat curvy and hilly, so if you want straight and flat, look elsewhere. My friends' dogs had a ball. My son, too, had a blast on the playground! He loved the swings and the sand pit. I can't get him into sand at the actual beach, but he loves sand pits. This one is very large and has cool backhoe type ride-on devices for the kids to operate to shovel and dig. There were also two huge sand funnel stations, and a bunch of standard beach toys lying around. The sand was clean of debris, not even a fallen leaf, which was very cool, and impressive for this time of year. There are a number of playstructures, with all kinds of fun apparatuses. Slides, swings, climbing walls, net climbs, puzzles on the walls of the clubhouse niches, merry-go-round, (for lack of a known name) gyrating stand-on devices, and the cup seat that does a 360. Also, a metal web swing, bouncy rides, and the pièce de résistance, a magnificent flying saucer attached to a friggin' zipline!!! IDK how this got approved because it is potentially dangerous, but man, this is the coolest thing ever! The kids were in line constantly to ride it, and you could tell who is there every day practicing because some were masters at making that thing zip back and forth. They had about 45' of line to travel, and a ramp from which to launch. So awesome! My only playground complaint is that it's not fenced in, but otherwise this is an amazing place! Parents were all attentive, courteous, and looking out for one another's kids. One group ordered like 6 pizzas to be delivered to the playground pavilion, where they had a picnic dinner. Very fun!

Absolutely beautiful here! Family friendly. Dog Friendly. Welcomes all park goers. Trails. Beach…read moreVollyball. Great playground. Picnic areas. So much todo!

Darby Creek Trail is what it says it is. It's a trail that runs alongside Darby Creek. And given…read moreits proximity to the creek, that means many critters hangout around here. And THAT means if you are walking a doggo, as I am wont to do, then your doggo will have ample smells to snoof. It's made worse by having a beagle, as the beagle is notorious for smelling all the smells. Makes for a very slow walk! But the trail is well kept and paved. There are trash cans and recycling cans here and there. Dog poop bags at the beginning of the trail, so no excuse to not pick-up after your pupper. Trail is about 1 mile long. So down & back = 2 miles. There are markers every 1/4 mile if you don't want to go the whole way. Solid trail. Perfect for walking the puppers and letting them snoof. Siskel & Ebert give it 2 thumbs up.

We love this trail and if you have children, you can bring their bikes or roller blades or…read morescooters. There is lots of parking space and a playground for children to explore as well. I have seen people fishing - with permit.

You can tell the caretakers for this park put a lot of time into it. This is basically a bunch of…read morewoods trails, great for walking (the trails are a little soft so I wouldn't recommend bikes or wheeled anythings). They are great for runners or walkers. The paths are mostly all neatly trimmed in the warm months, with fresh mulch on the walkways. Some of the paths weren't trimmed recently, and it limited our walk because of ticks and possible poison ivy. But the ones under the majestic tall pines looked beautiful, and were very pleasant to walk. In the winter, these are great exercise in the snow (x-country skiing, snowshoeing or walking in some good boots). The entrance to the Upper Providence Park area is directly across from Rosemary Lane, off N. Ridley Creek Rd (the stretch between Rose Tree Rd and Kirk Lane). The areas near the creek get very muddy, so I don't recommend for certain dogs, or very young children. If you come prepared for mud you'll be fine. There are some neat cinder-blocks sunk into the swamp to make a stepping path across it to the solid ground on the other side (however, this area gets muddy often, so mud shoes would be recommended). The trails connect to the neighboring Louis W. Scott Memorial Park, and I am not sure if they are maintained by the same group(s) or not? The Louis W. Scott Memorial Park is an open field, with the ruins of a stone building beside it. The stone area seems to attract litterers, which is not pretty, and not sanitary or safe for children or dogs. Wish they kept that up better, but elsewhere it is clean and well-kept.

I love just about every Natural Lands preserve but this is one of my top picks!…read more There are trails on both sides of the road, and it's a huge preserve (520 acres) so I have yet to explore it all, but have been twice now and the meadow trail plus some of the woods I've explored have been great. No litter (NL preserves are always immaculately clean), trails all maintained and easy to navigate. And I don't want to jinx it but there were very few bugs even in June and July! This is a very picturesque property if you want an outdoor photo shoot! And the vibe is so peaceful, this is really energetically positive countryside!

I had a great time exploring this area today. I even brought my pup along and he had a blast…read more Trails range from beginner to slightly more advanced depending on which color trail you choose to follow. I mostly stayed on the red and purple trails. The red trail is definitely the most difficult with its dense forest and inclines. I didn't get the chance to explore all the area but we did hike 7 miles! Can't wait to come back

Crum woods is a lovely area to take a stroll; walk or hike through! I saw bicyclists; families…read morewalking their dogs and swimmers in the creek! Crum Woods has something for everyone! I enjoyed coming upon the outdoor amphitheater during my exploration..but I will see this be prepared for the different elevations on your walk! Be prepared and be agile! Overall, it is a great area to enjoy nature!

This probably belongs in "hiking" and "parks" and "pets" if there is such thing…read more.. We were looking for good places to take the dog where she could run around (preferably off leash) in grass or leaves or something. There's a website, believe it or not, for hiking with your dog, and this spot was in the top ten. I was semi-familiar with Swarthmore as a college, but had no idea they had all of this random land quasi-on-campus that was available for public use. Bonus: apparently it's Swarthmore spring break. Empty campus + lots of available visitor parking + relatively empty woods = dog in overjoyed exhaustion. There seem to be plenty of visitor-access parking lots around, we basically found the first one on campus and wandered over to the Scott Amphitheater. Our limited information indicated that there would be some kind of network of trails in that general region and that once we hit said trails it was kosher to let the dog off leash as long as she was under "voice control." As we made our way toward what looked like the beginning of a trail, we met a very nice woman and her very nice collie. The collie was on leash, but had clearly just enjoyed a nice dog-exhausting walk. We wandered a few yards down the trail and let her loose: bliss. There isn't really a single trail to a destination or a loop or anything like that. We took several forks, backtracked, wandered down what might have been a trail or might have been just random leaves having fallen in a semi-path, etc. There's plenty of space to explore and the trails range from 100% level and easy going to a bit more rocky and climby oriented. I didn't see any maps or other signs of civilization/development, but we followed various trails to what I think might have been the edge of Scott Arboretum. (Five different specimens of twelve different kinds of holly -- all labeled -- tipped us off.) Near that area is a pretty big meadow/clearing with some random stone-henge-looking arrangements that made a good place to stop and play fetch for a bit. The review we read on the dog hiking site seemed to indicate drinking fountains and dog bowls, but I didn't see anything like that, so if it's hot and/or you plan to be out for a while, bring water (your dog will be fine though, as there's a fairly clean looking stream/creek right alongside many of the paths). We ran into five or six other dogs -- all off leash -- during the approx. three hours we wandered around. Everyone was super-friendly and their dogs were excited to enjoy some random play as well. It's a bit of a hike from Philly (too bad Septa won't allow dogs), but worth it for some non-dog-park variety, I think.