Great for a quick, easy hike to the river and back. Be careful of ticks though! We found over a dozen on ourselves and (mostly) our dogs. And additional ones once we got home.
The fort trail was less muddy than the falls trail, and they both go to the falls locations anyways. The smaller crick was dry and not running (in March), most likely just during melting runoff or a heavy storm.
Careful with small kids, the banks are steep and offer no barrier to the gully bottom.
This is dog friendl. The preserve website is on Google maps locations service. Check that out for more answers and PDF...
Read morePlenty of parking . Unfortunately , the parking area was filled with trash / scattered leftover food. The rest of the park was clean. Short little hike with river access . Bring bug spray . I would advise knee high boots only as the majority of the trail is water / mud !! Easy hike with the appropriate footwear . For wildlife : I only saw frogs , some birds and definitely snakes . Be mindful - you can hear the trucks & cars on the highway through the entirety of this hike . Well...
Read moreThe area is very nice and it wasn't very busy. Be forewarned that the trails are FULL of poison ivy and plan accordingly. It's really impossible to avoid even sticking to the trails. The sound of the expressway is most noticeable at the start of the trails but eventually slips further into the background. We saw lots of little toads which were fun. Bugs are pretty bad in summer so I agree with reviewers that spring would be best...
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