I was in Gladwyne because I had to drop something off at house there. Only a minute or two away…read morefrom the home I was at is Saunders Woods Preserve and I decided to stop in. There is a medium sized parking lot towards the entrance of the preserve, which is convenient. I assume it could get a big crowded during the summer months. A large meadow that has path mowed down the middle greets you as you begin your walk. Eventually, the meadow leads to a wooded trail. Along the trail are some scenic sights including beautiful trees and a small creek. Overhead, you'll see many beautiful birds flying. Towards the summer, this seems like a nice place to see butterflies and flowers, too. There's also a historic building on this property, which is cool. There's a benches outside Altogether, Saunders Woods is a nice place to take a nice, casual hike!

4 stars for greenspace, but in the grand scheme of what Natural Lands has to offer, this is one of…read moretheir neighborhood trail spots, and not a grand destination preserve. This was my 12th NL preserve out of their current 20 properties. Saunders Woods is the second smallest preserve, and to give an idea, it is only 25 acres, while 90% of their preserves are over 40 acres, and 75% of their preserves are over 100 acres. That said, if you want a brief walk, or to sit in some serene nature, you've found a cool spot. This preserve has a swing on a tree that is wide enough to fit two adults. There is a meadow adjacent to the parking lot (one of the few paved lots at NL preserves), and the wooded portion is mostly the valley between surrounding residential neighborhoods. In the winter you can clearly see all the neighboring houses from the trail. It's great that this land has been made into a public nature preserve, and this suits locals as a wonderful spot to enjoy the outdoors. I don't recommend planning to visit if you are looking for a long hike, or a destination preserve with a lot to explore. Below is a list of all preserves from smallest to largest, so you can get an idea of the levels of wilderness they offer. Stone Hills Preserve 13 acres Sauders Woods Preserve 25 acres Stoneleigh 42 acres Hildacy Preserve 55 acres Wawa Preserve 98 acres Meng Preserve 101 acres Binky Lee Preserve 112 acres Willisbrook Preserve 126 acres Mariton Wildlife Sanctuary 200 acres Green Hills Preserve 201 acres Peacedale Preserve 222 acres Gwynedd Preserve 279 acres Harold N. Peek Preserve 344 acres Sadsbury Woods Preserve 508 acres Bryn Coed Preserve 520 acres Stroud Preserve 571 acres Crow's Nest Preserve 712 acres ChesLen Preserve 1,282 acres Bear Creek Preserve 3,565 acres Glades Wildlife Refuge 7,440 acres **Apparently 27-acre Sharp's Woods Preserve is now part of the Radnor Conservancy and is no longer a Natural Lands property.

One thing the Coronavirus has done is send me on new routes for walking the dog. I've actually…read morebeen letting him "choose his own adventure", which is how we discovered the Sharpe Park and Bird Sanctuary. It is quite modest, a corner spot on Haverford Station Rd and Montgomery Ave, but it has some statues\sculptures, trash cans, bird feeders and places to sit. Nice path thru and some pretty flowers. Doggo approves and loves to visit. One strange thing, we have only been there a few times, but each time someone road thru on a bike...I'd think no bikes were allowed in this little sanctuary. Anyway, if you are in the area, check it out, nice little spot we discovered on a new walk.

This is a multi functional park, you can come here for the water play during summer & winter for…read morethe market. We like this park, it serves a good purpose for the people both who living in the city and those are visiting. *Food*: winter market offers a variety of food and drinks, tasty and fun *Value*: it's free to come to the park, for events, most vendors take digital payments which is very convenient *Atmosphere*, comfortable, spacious and can bit crowded depending on when you are here *Service*: no service *Location*: convenient , walking distance to hotels, restaurants , bars, museums, parks, malls and stadium. *Parking*: there are not close by parking garages, doesn't matter where you parked there will be a little walk to the park Highly Recommended by @WineDinenVacay

We passed by the park on our way to breakfast…read more Flanking the western side of city hall, the park is a city block long and features splash fountains, a Starbucks, artificial grass with lawn games, shaded areas, benches & tables, subway entrances, a cafe, ice skating rinks in the winter and is where multiple community events are held.

Such a beautiful park in Old City/Society Hill. It is similar to Rittenhouse square but a little…read moresmaller. The grass was well kept. Lots of trees for shade, beautiful flowers and benches make it a perfect place to sit and relax! It also has one of the former Fairmount Park Guard Houses. I love to see these unique small structures being reused! The Eternal Flame monument is also in the park. Yeh park is not far from Independence Park.

Nice spot to stroll near the Liberty Bell and Independence Hall. A few blocks away and you're away…read morefrom the hustle and bustle. Nice tree lined park. Some history to read up on. Nice fountain. And, of course, the obligatory Washington statue.

Vernon Young Park is part of a trio of three great Township Locations - the other two being the…read moreco-located Ardmore Avenue Pool and the Ardmore Avenue Community Center (AKA "The Shack"). This is a very well kept moderately sized park in the urban village of Ardmore. It's down the street from the Ardmore Library, Post Office and the PALM (Positive Aging Lower Merion) Senior Center. The park has four distinct areas. First, the playground, which faces Ardmore Avenue and is directly outside the pool entrance. It has a high fence (so no toddlers can easily take off, as they are likely to do), some fairly new play structures and lots of wood chips. There are also a few benches and shade trees. Then there are the basketball courts, which run games pretty regularly, both league and pick-up games. They are in good shape, have bleachers and shade awnings over the bleachers. Nice touch. There are some tennis courts, also high fenced, in very good shape. Then there is the 'lower' playing fields with two baseball diamonds and lots of grass. In the warmer months there are many baseball, soccer and flag football games going on basically every afternoon and all weekend. It's only downfall is that it is a more urban park, meant to be walked to, so if you're parking there it can be a challenge. Ardmore Avenue is one of the busier streets so it's not a quiet, tranquil place, especially when the adjacent pool is open. It is, however, well kept and well used, and has something for just about everyone (except the person looking for a quiet spot to read - not happening here).

Basketball, small playground, two baseball fields, tennis.read more

This playground is a nice addition to a day at the Elmwood Zoo, especially for families with…read moreyounger kids. The play area is geared toward ages 0-12 and has a mulch surface. My kids enjoyed having extra room to run around, and there were a few tables nearby to sit at or snack. A few things to know before you go: parking is street parking only, which could definitely become a challenge on busy zoo days. The park is not fully fenced, so parents with runners will want to keep a close eye. I also didn't notice bathrooms immediately near the playground area. The park itself felt safe and was a good quick stop before or after the zoo. Just keep in mind that if it recently rained, the grassy areas can get muddy pretty quickly. Overall, it's a simple but convenient spot to pair with a zoo visit.

The Willisbrook Preserve is a large serpentine barren in the middle of Malvern housing…read moredevelopments. From what I've read about serpentine barrens, there is bedrock close to the ground's surface, with only a shallow layer of soil on top. This prevents growth of deep rooted vegetation, and typically causes some desert-like conditions. There was also information about Native Americans setting controlled burns of expanses of land in the Mid-Atlantic region, to create hunting grounds, and this too, helped caused the desert-like serpentine barren conditions. I am not an expert, so that's my summary from my tired mom brain, of what I read a couple years ago. But the gist was interesting to me, and I made a trip down to some serpentine barrens in the very south portion of PA to see them. It wasn't what I expected, and little did I know that this barren was minutes from my home! I was able to identify the geology and vegetation described in my research a lot better at Willisbrook, than I could at the other preserve. While not all of this preserve is representative of "PA desert," it was really neat to find the parts that are. I have one photo that gives a close up of the ground, where you can hopefully see what I mean. Ironically, much of the terrain held standing water (opposite of desert), and there was a significant amount of mud on the trails. It was miserable trying to walk it with a small child, and for those who don't want muddy dogs in their car, either don't bring them, or bring towels! All in all, this is a really neat place, but not fun if it's recently rained. Also, there were dogs off leash, which was super annoying, and their families were less than accountable for breaking Natural Lands rules. As I've mentioned in other NL reviews, I know this is a concern they are addressing, and it's not NL's fault. But it's annoying to those of us who love visiting, and DO follow rules. As with all NL preserves, this place is pristine clean, no litter anywhere, and free!

Beautiful location for a hike and all of the preserves in the area are absolutely gorgeous but I…read morereally like this one because the paths are always pretty clear.

This is, of course, the ultimate tennis club with one of the best lawns for playing the game…read moreanywhere.

I saw a mouse run across the floor while having coffee with a friend…read more Coffee wax good.