The Multiple Preserve & Park Tour - Part 1

This post is going to be a little different from my previous ones since I covered more than one place in a single day. After thinking about it for some time, I realized that wanting to hike longer distances (6+ miles) was limiting the places I could explore. Over the last several weeks, I studied Google Maps and looked for a number of different parks and preserves that were all within a close proximity of each other and planned out my trip.

In all, I went to three different preserves (and park) this past Sunday, March 29th. I had intentions of going to several more but I covered enough distance in the three I visited to be satisfied with the number of miles I had hiked. By the end of the third preserve, I was pretty worn out and had also hiked just over 8 miles the day before at the John James Audubon Center at Mill Grove so the legs were already feeling a bit fatigued. Each of the preserves were different (of course) and had some highlights that are worthy of mention. 

The first place I explored was the Four Mills Nature Reserve. There is no printable trail map for this reserve as far as I could see but if you scroll down towards the bottom of the page, there's a Google Earth map that will give you the basic layout of the area. If you go to full screen view and take a screenshot of the map (make sure you zoom in a bit first), you can print it to bring with you. The place is pretty small and you won't get lost but if you're anything like me, the intention is to explore as much of the area as possible.  

Take note that the above also applies to the other two preserves I was at. In fact, most of the reserves/preserves I have intentions of exploring do not have trail maps. Getting a good screenshot and printing will be your best bet.

Total distance: 2.13 Miles
Avg speed: 1.8MPH
Avg moving speed:  2.53MPH
Total time: 1:11:10
Total moving time: 50:31
Conditions: Mostly sunny, 44 degrees
Difficulty: Easy

Address:
12 Morris Road
Ambler, PA 19002
GPS: 40.146746,-75.225885

This location is the headquarters for the Wissahickon Valley Watershed Association. Take note that this parking lot is pretty small and if you arrive while the office is still open like I did, you may not find a parking spot. I got lucky, there was one open spot when I arrived.

Four Mills Nature Reserve

When you pull into the parking lot, parking is on the left side, you won't be able to miss it. Opposite of the parking lot is the Four Mills Barn that has been converted into the offices for the WVWA. Just outside the entrance to the office is this bench and the water spigot. I'm not really sure why I took a picture of the spigot, perhaps it was just because of the rustic look it had, no pun intended!

The office building and parking lot for the reserve is about all you can explore before you have to cross over the Wissahickon Creek to get to the trails. As far as I could see, there were no trails on the side of the Four Mills Barn.

The Ambler Rotary bridge was officially opened in 2008. The parking lot was directly to the left of where I was standing when I shot this picture. 

Ambler Rotary Bridge

I crossed the bridge over the Wissahickon and as I always do, took some pictures of the creek. 

Looking downstream on the Wissahickon Creek

Looking upstream on the Wissahickon

A very short distance from the bridge that crosses over the Wissahickon Creek is another bridge that crosses over this small tributary. I'm not sure if this is the one listed on their website but this could be the Stuart Farm Creek. There are three different small creeks within the reserve that flow into the Wissahickon Creek.

Slowly but surely, spring is getting here!

Once I crossed over the Wissahickon Creek, I headed southeast on the Wissahickon Trail (also known as the Green Ribbon Trail).

Like my hike at the Audubon Center, the trails are in pretty good shape for the most part, but were a bit soggy as expected this time of year. 

This tree was tapped for its sap to make maple syrup but how they did it, I'm not sure. Directly below this was a pretty deep pool of water. 

Seeing the sun reflect off these trees (American Sycamore) is always much better in person than they are in pictures, especially with the blue sky in the background. 

Still a little bit of ice hanging around

I believe this creek is Spring Run

As usual, I took a wrong turn and ended up at this opening. I had plans of getting to this spot but not this early in the hike. The fenced in area to the right side is an asbestos waste disposal site...yuck!

I doubled back to find the trail I had turned away from, crossed over Stuart Creek and continued in a southeasterly direction.

This is one of at least a few stepping stone crossings at the Wissahickon Creek and Trail. I crossed over just to get pictures since this was pretty close to the edge of the reserve then turned back and kept heading southeast, at least for a short distance.

At this point, I was about as far south as I could go. The below picture is what I'm guessing to be from a water treatment plant, right next to the asbestos waste disposal site...yikes! Suddenly, I wasn't thirsty anymore! I joke but the irony of this was too much for me to ignore. I also bring water with me when I go hiking.

I ended up bushwhacking for a short distance on my return to the trail. What I had thought was a loop ended up coming to a dead end and instead of turning back, I followed along Stuart Creek until I returned to the trail.

I found this to be a bit on the unusual side. As I was walking past a tree, I found the remains of a bees nest on ground. The unusual part was that they were attached to the ground and didn't move when I touched them. I don't think I've ever seen a bees nest that wasn't covered or protected from the elements. Perhaps it was dug up at one time or another and left that way. What also impressed me was how large the "honeycombs" were, I could almost place my small finger into one of the openings. I wouldn't have wanted to stir that up had there been bees in there, who knows how large they were!

By now, I was walking alongside the fence (asbestos site) in a northeasterly direction and saw this piece of wood next to the trail.

Heading northwest towards the Wissahickon Creek

As you approach this bridge, the Wissahickon Trail continues on but I stayed in the reserve and turned back to the south.

Bridge over the Wissahickon Creek on the northwest side of the reserve

That was it for my adventure at the Four Mills Reserve and from there, it was on to my next objective, the Willow Lake Farm Preserve.

Total distance: 2.57 Miles
Avg speed: 2.25 MPH
Avg moving speed:  3.11 MPH
Total time: 1:08:38
Total moving time: 49:38
Difficulty: Easy

Approximate address:
7002 West Butler Avenue
Ambler, PA 19002
GPS:  40.1392941,-75.2434572

While there's no official parking specifically for the preserve, the trail head is right next to Liberty Lutheran in the northeast corner of a parking lot with plenty of places to park. Also look for CVS Pharmacy which is in the same development. 

Note that the map provided on the WVWA's website for the Willow Lake Farm Preserve is not very good. If you look up the preserve on Google Maps and change the view to terrain, you can get a good screenshot of the trails similar to what you see below, obviously without my tracks being in it. 

Willow Lake Farm Preserve

As you approach the trail head, the usual sign about the Wissahickon Valley Watershed is posted.

Someone lost an earring and a pair of glasses

As you're walking up the trail to the preserve, you'll see this kiosk station which looks and smells brand new. 

I passed the new kiosk station and immediately took a right in a southwesterly direction. 

This sign is alongside a road (I forget which) and to me is a little bit confusing. If you know the preserve is in the area but not exactly where, how would one determine what or where an office center is?

I guess it was a day for finding bees nests

Two trails were running parallel to each other, the one I was on was beginning to show signs that it was no longer being used. Not just the tree in the picture but you could also tell it wasn't being maintained like the others. 

Creepy tree hanging over the trail

By now, the unused trail had come to an end and merged with the more well maintained ones and headed in a northeasterly direction. To the right side of this trail are three very beautiful and large homes, much larger than I'd ever need. I'd love to have the land though, especially next to a preserve. 

I'm not sure what this is or was but it looks to me like it could of been for irrigation at one time. Giving this is a preserve, there's not really much as far as information or historical references.

I had a few choices as to what direction I wanted to go. I doubled back on a different trail to take a look at the above shed and wanted to get back to where I was originally headed so I took a right and continued heading northeast.

As you push further into the preserve, the thick bushes thin out a bit (just a little bit) and the area becomes more wooded. 

Another one of those sheds, I took the trail to the right heading southeast

A little further up the trail, it opens up into these fields of split rail fencing. At this point, you're not really in the preserve anymore but on the property of Willow Lake Farm. What I'm not sure of is if this is considered private property or if the public is welcome to walk around these fields. I did not see any "no trespassing" signs posted or any that stated it was private property.

As you reach the top of the small hill, the trail turns to the northeast. If you look in the background, you can see several horses grazing. 

This part was pretty awesome. As I got closer to the horses, they noticed me and started walking in my direction. 

This horse was pretty friendly and curious, it tried to get a hold of my camera. I'm glad I stayed back far enough where that didn't happen! I hung out with it for a little while and scratched its head. 

With the exception of a few, all of the horses were curious and friendly. Most of them walked up to the fence to greet me. 

Behind me were another two horses in another pasture. They also greeted me and I spent a few moments with them as well. 

I said my goodbyes to the horses and continued hiking between the pastures heading northeast.

This one had no interest in visiting with me and kept on grazing

Somewhere in this area was where I started to wonder if I was on private property. At the time, I hadn't looked at my map and thought I was still within the grounds of the preserve. Obviously, if the people who own this land didn't want me there, I'm sure they would have spotted me and asked that I leave the premises. The information provided on the WVWA website doesn't say anything about the horse farm other than a mention of it still being a residence.

Looking back to the pastures that I had just walked past

By now, I had turned back towards the preserve and was headed in a southwesterly direction. Unfortunately, these mothers had no interest in letting me get close to their babies and as I approached, they went the other direction. 

This colt/foal was nursing but as I was about the shoot my picture, the mother of this one also took off in the other direction before I was able to get my shot. 

Opposite of the pasture the mothers and their young were, a few more horses approached me. 

I returned to the actual preserve property and around this area, I got turned around a few times trying to figure out which direction to go. I guess this would be where a compass would have come in handy. I ended up taking a trail that wasn't the one I was looking for but it got me where I wanted to go. 

Some sort of animal hole, I didn't stick my head in to find out!

Like all of the other trails I was on, this one had a few water obstacles to work around but nothing too difficult.

My intention was to check out the Willow Creek that ran through the preserve but when I spotted it, it wasn't much more than a small stream.

Almost back to the car. If you look in the background, you can see the Liberty Lutheran building. 

That was it for my tour of the Willow Lake Farm Preserve. In all, a pretty cool adventure, especially getting to hang out with the horses for a little while. I think maybe later on in the season I may return to this one to see the horses again, that is of course if it isn't private property. 

From there, it was on to my next objective, the Prophecy Creek Park/Manor and the Briar Hill Preserve. 

Total distance: 2.81 Miles
Avg speed: 2.12 MPH
Avg moving speed:  2.94 MPH
Total time: 1:19:49
Total moving time: 57:27
Difficulty: Easy

Address: 
205 West Skippack Pike
Ambler, PA 19002
GPS: 40.1454202,-75.2500643

The above address is for the Manor House at Prophecy Creek and will bring you directly to a large parking lot. The manor is used for weddings and catered events and it almost looks like you're not supposed to be there, but it is a public park.  

Like the Willow Lake Farm Preserve, the trail map on the WVWA isn't the most descriptive and also doesn't show all of the trails that are at the preserve. If you're supposed to be on those unmarked trails, that I don't know.

Briar Hill Preserve and Prophecy Creek Park

When you get to the parking lot, you'll see signs welcoming you to Prophecy Creek Park and the Manor House. I first started my exploration of the park by circling around the manor to the south.

As you wrap around the back of the manor, you'll see this pond with the water fountains. I imagine that during the spring and summer that this area is very nicely landscaped considering the grounds are used for weddings and other events. 

Just south of the park and preserve, there's a small airport called Wings Field. 

It was originally my intention to cross over the bridge to check out the gazebo but unfortunately, the area was flooded and I didn't want to leave any footprints or cause any damage to the grass so I decided it would be best not to try. I could have walked on the rocks to go around the puddle but there was no sense in getting anyone upset with me for walking through a garden.

This is the second and larger of two ponds that are side by side and is to the left of the above picture. 

Once I was done at the manor house and park, I headed northeast towards the Briar Hill Preserve. Take note that at the moment, there is some construction going on at the park and you'll have to circle around it to the left side to get to the trail that leads to the preserve. You'll see some of the construction area in the pictures below. As you get close to the trailhead that leads to the preserve, you'll see this small pond to your left.

Interesting note here. Apparently coyotes and foxes have both been spotted at the park and preserve. Foxes I can understand but I didn't know there were coyotes in the area. Unfortunately, while I did see quite a few animal tracks (as far as I know, they could have been dog tracks), I didn't spot any foxes or coyotes...rats! 

Before you get to the preserve, there's a long straight stretch of grass trail leading to it. 

Welcome to the Briar Hill Preserve!

My first challenge of the day. It may not look like much but on the opposite side, it was pretty muddy and slippery. On my way back, I crossed this stream using a tree that had fallen over it instead of trying to jump over the mud. 

Looking back after crossing the stream

Another stream crossing. This time, I decided not to try crossing over it and turned around.  Normally, water this shallow wouldn't stop me but I was wearing my "supposed to be waterproof" hiking shoes...they're not.

Like the other two preserves I explored, most of the trails at Briar Hill Preserve are in pretty good condition.

 

This field is in the northwestern side of the preserve

I'm not sure what these wooden shed-like contraptions are but there were a few of them outside the pastures

After shooting the above picture, I turned around and spotted the remains of this old truck sitting in the woods. It wasn't too far back from the trail but I have to wonder if I would have seen it if it were summer. It's a real fixer-upper!

Also to the right side of the truck, there was also what looked like the remains of a building, maybe a barn or home at one time but all that was left were the remnants of a foundation.

Back to shooting pictures of the wooden...whatever you call them!

By now, I had circled back to the south, then looped back to the north and was walking alongside another pasture.

I briefly walked past the trail I wanted to turn on then circled back to the southeast. This was the only part of the preserve where the trail wasn't really in the best condition but was still easy to traverse. 

A small trail led directly to the water's edge of Prophecy Creek. I took pictures looking both upstream and downstream. 

Why did I take a picture of a pile of rocks? Because, I had walked through most of the preserve already and this was the only place I saw where there was a pile of rocks. Perhaps they could have been the remains of what used to be a building of sorts.

Not too far from the pile of rocks, I also found what looks to be the remains of a dam at one time. Unfortunately, I strongly doubt I'll ever be able to find any information on what was there at one time.

At this point, I was just about back to the parking lot. If you look in the background, you'll see a construction fence and in the next picture, the bulldozer next to the silo or chimney. This is the area you'll have to walk around should you decide to check out the Briar Hill Preserve.

That was the last of my explorations for the day and I'm glad I decided to try a multiple preserve/park adventure. It was different from my usual routine of finding a single place to hike and I found it fun to mix it up a little bit. In the Ambler area, there are several parks and preserves within a few square miles of each other which makes the travel minimal (except for getting there and even then, it wasn't too far). I have more of these preserves in my sights and will be having at least one more day of going to multiple places, if not two. 

I'm looking forward to being out on the trail again. Until next time, happy exploring and happy hiking!

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