I love it here. It is so peaceful and pretty. I like that it is not crowded. Perfect place for a…read morewalk.

This is opening day and a beautiful one for a visit to the Arboretum at the Barnes Foundation…read more There is beautiful plant life everywhere, you can smell the soil the beautiful flowers, herbs and plants in the fresh breeze. Throughout the gardens you'll find many places to sit either in the sun or in the shade. It is very easy to find this location if you're on City Avenue on St. Joseph University campus there's a large street sign and information leading you directly to the Arboretum. Once you park hopefully you'll be greeted warmly as I was by Officer Blake who went over a little information such as hours and maps. This is a stop well worth making not only is it beautiful and serene it is also free!

Peaceful, pretty, lush with benches and trails. Power walkers, strollers (both kinds: baby…read morecarriages and leisurely walkers), kids exploring the creek and only steps from the post office and Merion train station. Lucky me! A 4-minute walk from our condo.

A peaceful, well maintained local park/garden with some spectacular trees. Check out the "umbrella…read moretree" with its oversized leaves. There was a Franklinia tree in bloom when I visited. The extra treat is its position along a creek that is shaded by shrubs and trees. Park benches along the creek for a little break. I look forward to returning with my young grandsons who would love to explore the creek!

This farm is beautiful anytime of the year. We went in July during the summertime and the flowers…read morewere in bloom and the bees were out, it was very pretty. Parking is a little far from the farm itself, but there is a paved walking trail to get to the farm. Once we were there, we headed to the farm. Once inside the homestead we were met with a tour guide. They were very well educated about the property and stories there. The buildings were fascinating. There is so much history, and artifacts inside. All the way down to the painting. I appreciate how they preserved alot of the original. We walked around the exterior gardens. The flowers were stunning. It was so cute to see the bees feeding on the pollen. There was a pretty good size gardens that had flowers and vegetables. The property itself was very clean and well managed. The bathrooms were also available and well maintained. I recommend dressing for the weather, and the interior can become hot. I highly recommend this as something to do when killing time or looking for something to do in the local area. It was very fun and fascinating. Takes about an hour or less depending on how many people. When we were there, there were not too many people. Maybe 1-2 other families.

Peter Wentz Farmstead has been on my list a few years now. Finally got a chance to visit this…read moreweekend. PWF is located inside a park similar to the Pennsylvania Colonial Plantation near me (Inside Ridley Creek State Park), however PWF is FREE admission while the PA Colonial Plantation charges. Two volunteers in the barn had amazing information on the oxen-in-training. The man was giving a very cool bovine lecture, and the woman was engaging as anything, especially with my child. The young man dressed as the Belsnickel brought said name Wikipedia page to life and had a very historically accurate costume. He had treats for the kids, but my kindergartener was a tad scared (not too scared to take the candy though). These cool folklore touches go deeper than anything I've seen at the PA Colonial Plantation, and I feel lucky to have been there to meet him! The volunteers in the Visitor's Center were very welcoming and informative! They even had free ginger cookies to cheer everyone up on a cold day! This Visitor's Center is much more sophisticated than the PA Colonial Plantation. They have didactics and video on the site history. It was too crowded to watch this visit, but I will catch it next time. Both Colonial historic sites have volunteers in period costumes standing by to give history lessons on farm life in that period household. Both sites have animals to visit (sheep, chickens, turkeys and oxen), although PA Colonial Plantation also has pigs and a horse or two. Both sites offer house tours, festival days, special activities, and summer camps. The quality of information and enthusiasm of the volunteers is equal at both sites; all of these historian-volunteers are amazing, with loads of fun information to teach. I know the variety and number of demonstrations is always more than a handful at PA Colonial Plantation fest days, which I expect with paid admission. What is offered free at PWF is impressive, but not as varied and prolific as PA Colonial Plantation (such as their blacksmith shop, rifle demos, beer making, pottery making, etc). Again, at the colonial plantation near me, I expect to spend a couple hours on all the demonstrations and activities. At PWF this weekend, we probably had about an hour's worth of browsing IF we had been able to brave cold winds for the long line awaiting a house tour. I know the Fall Festival and other festivals days here offer a lot more to do, but it seems to get overcrowded due to its free admission, and without a fence or natural boundary to enclose the farmstead, they can't control that flow of people very well. That would be my hesitation for future visits. Even in Jan freezing temps with fierce winds, loads of people were there, even very small toddlers. Idk if the weather made people cranky or not, but the crowd here was MISERABLE. We DelCo folks are not pushy, sullen, and crabby when we visit our plantation (which is actually also closed all winter because of the cold), but boy were these MontCo peeps rude! The volunteers are so sweet and kind but not a single visitor returned my smiles, and I got many scowls instead. One senior visitor blocked me in the hallway of the information office, preventing me from getting to my child. When I said "excuse me" to get past, she very reluctantly got out of my way, with a giant dirty look. Ten stars for the volunteers and free offerings; negative star for the local d!ckheads who visit.

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.

A nice little dose of park life tucked behind a library!…read more Even though I was more than familiar with the Luddington Library, the Bryn Mawr Gazebo park right behind it is something that I've overlooked for decades, and would have continued to overlook if it weren't for the incredible Bryn Mawr Summer Twilight Concert Series, where I've enjoyed seeing the likes of Hoots & Hellmouth and Vienna Teng perform. Beyond the concerts, this gazebo comes with a ton of park life amenities tucked within a tiny space. There's a playground for kids, a community building with public restrooms, benches to lounge in, elaborate greenery, and some hidden tennis courts. for a park so tiny it really works in a lot! The summer concerts really are the best part that has been going on for decades, and they have a passionate local following. Now that Rising Sun Presents has also stepped in to help with the booking, it has also ensured that some known acts blend into the local flavor.

The BM Gazebo is in a cute little park next to the Ludington Library and has a few benches, a small…read morechildren's playground, and some tennis courts. I used to walk my dog through here, he liked the lush green lawn and I liked the benches. The real fun here is the summer concert series. They have shows through the summer with some great acts including Dar Williams, and this year one of my favorites, Hoots and Hellmouth. Tickets are cheap, you bring your own chair or blanket, picnic, and hang out on a nice summer night and chill to some good tunes. Most people BYO but you need to be sly about it. Otherwise the Ardmore Music Hall usually has some of their fine bartenders on hand serving drinks. Lucky to have this a few blocks from my house and take advantage of it regularly, check out the schedule! https://www.brynmawrtwilightconcerts.com/

I can't believe it took me so long to visit Longwood Gardens, but I finally visited with my husband…read moreover this past weekend, and I can now agree with everyone who recommended it me - it's incredible. Longwood Gardens is a public garden, but it has to be one of the best in the country. It's huge (more than 1,100 acres) and incredibly beautiful. We arrived around 11:00 am on a Saturday, and it was already getting crowded. Be aware that Longwood is popular! If you arrive during peak hours - especially during certain times of year when they have special attractions, like around Christmas - it will be crowded. You might even have to park in a parking lot further from the visitor center and take a shuttle. But at 11:00 am on a Saturday - the first day of August and quite hot - we had plenty of parking available to us in the main lot when we arrived. We pulled up our tickets, which we had bought ahead of time online, and walked right through the visitor center to the gardens. Given it's so large, there are several areas to visit. We decided to do more of the outside areas first to visit them before it got hotter or more crowded. Then we had brunch at 1906 Fine Dining and continued exploring the areas closer to the restaurant. The highlights of our visit were seeing the Italian Water Garden, the Flower Garden Walk, the Chimes Tower, the Eye of Water, and the Waterlily Court. All of these spaces were incredibly beautiful. Depending on the time of day you visit, something else I'd say that cannot be missed is the Main Fountain Garden Performance. Booming classical music came out speakers I couldn't even see while the 1,719 jets of the main fountain put on a show to the music. It was incredible - completely amazing. (This is running daily at least through November 1, 2026, and when we were there it ran about every 2 hours.) If you're there in the evening, there's the Illuminated Fountain Performances on most Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays (also through November 1, 2026). (There are a few more summer nights with fireworks shows at the fountains this year, so if you're interested in that, check out their website for the dates.) We had a lovely lunch at 1906 Fine Dining (separate review for that) - but there are other options for dining if you're looking for something more casual or less of a splurge. I really enjoyed exploring the gardens for the first time. Something I look forward to is that Longwood changes with the seasons. Summer isn't my favorite (I'm grumpy in hot weather), so I look forward to visiting in spring (flowers!!!) and fall (colors) - even winter. It was still a wonderful experience in summer, even if a little hot for me. But Longwood is a treasure. Now that I've been, I look forward to returning.

Longwood Gardens in the summer is absolutely gorgeous! We spent about 3.5 hours there on Saturday…read morebut easily could've roamed for longer--we saw the main fountain garden, east and west conservatories, children's garden, waterlily court, chimes tower, eye of water, canopy cathedral tree house, and Italian water garden. The fountain shows are super impressive--I would highly recommend timing your visit to see at least one if you're there on a weekend (we saw both the 11:15am and 1:15pm, they each last about 10 min. You can view from the main conservatory overlook area benches or down by the biggest fountains by the pumphouse. They play music and it's just incredible. There also are tons of water falls everywhere! Very nice and well maintained, not buggy. Everything is beautiful. There were tons more to see but we grew hungry! I would just caution to eat beforehand as the food options here are overpriced (think $7 for a bowl of soup)

The gardens and paths behind the Art Museum are beautiful. The flowers and plants change with the…read moreseasons of course. It's a nice place to walk or sit. It's also a great place to let the littles run around. A small cafe has drinks, sandwiches and other food. There is a bike rental stand. Restrooms and a water fountain are at Lloyd Hall at the end of the parking lot. Boathouse Row is also a nice walk.

Went for yoga in the park hosted by Philly Parks and it was fantastic. The area is quiet clean and…read morepeaceful.

The idea behind this little farm is interesting, but ultimately there isn't much to see here. They…read morehave a few animals on site, including a handsome horse, an ice cream shop and a very tiny playground geared towards super young kids. There's also no shade so it is sweltering in summer. Worth checking out if you're close by, but nothing unusual and there are better farms around.