February 2019 by L L.
This is the very first preserve created under the Natural Lands org! On the Natural Lands website, they describe Sharp's Woods Preserve as "an island of nature surrounded by the suburban development of Easttown Township." This is aptly put. Sharp's Woods is a long and narrow 27-acre tract, that is basically enough room for the length of a stream, with a trail running parallel on either side of it. Bridges are constructed where needed, to cross the stream and its little tributaries. One bridge is currently out of commission (see my photo, and this is also noted on their trail map on the website --- Boy Scouts, where are you?). The trails basically form a long oval, with an off-shoot at either end. The stats on the website say this is a 1-3 mile hike. We did 1.75mi today because the remnants of ice, now thawing into mud, were prohibitive when walking it with a baby on my back, and dogs tugging my husband. The trails are au natural, with no gravel or pavement, and they are a little narrow in spots, where brush needs cutting because thorns were catching my pants, and getting in the dogs' faces. Under current conditions, this is not a leisurely hike, and takes some concentration and caution navigating mud, ice, uneven frozen spots, keeping your feet dry, and dealing with the bridge planks, where algae has greased it slick. This is all part of hiking, but again, some Natural Lands properties are more rustic than others, and this one is a bit more crunchy! The meat of the trail is the main oval, along that narrow stretch. You truly are almost in people's backyards as you walk it, on both sides. In the winter (now), the lack of leaves makes it very clear how close you are to the neighbors. I mention this because, while I appreciate any park or preserve, and always give a min of 4 stars for its mere existence, I would not recommend this preserve as a destination to explore, like I would with many other Natural Lands properties. There is a pretty trail, and stream, but look to your other side, and you're spying on these Berwyn homeowners. This place is very functional for neighborhood residents, and is a great resource if you are looking for a wooded place to jog, but it's not a place where you have enough open space to feel like you've gotten away from it all. Almost every pic I took had backyard in it somehow. I would anticipate that these trails are super muddy at most times of year, especially when snow thaws, or when it's rained a bit. Areas near the streams showed evidence of past flooding, and with what we saw today, from a thaw of about 1" of snow/ice, the ground was beyond saturated because water tables are already high. This is just something to note because I recommend hiking boots, or rain boots you can comfortably hike in, for this property. Note that in addition to the mud, the trails had a lot of tree roots in various spots, which was very pretty, and also very normal for hiking, but this is definitely NOT a place to try to ride a bike (and I don't know that it's permitted anyway). Unlike other Natural Lands preserves we've thus far visited, there is NO PARKING LOT here, not even a shoulder or gravel pull-off. We tried to visit this place a week ago, but the entrance is just a trailhead with a sign, at the curb of a residential street. We were confused, and did not want to get ticketed or towed so we went to Radnor Trail instead. I then called Natural Lands and was told to just park on the street. Even still, I totally thought I'd get a ticket. I live very close by, but not close enough to walk, and I know what my neighbors would do if random cars were parked on our street, and it's not nice. So I called the Easttown Twp police and confirmed with the traffic officer that I would NOT get a ticket to park on Byrd Drive for this trail. LOL, so it's all clear! As always, Natural Lands preserves are completely FREE, like a state park! Enjoy!
