Nature in Your Backyard

This week we are going to spend some time in Montgomery Township exploring two extensive natural areas that connect to each other and offer plenty of walking trails and wooded areas.  We will then end up, literally, across the street in Lansdale at .

Off of Lansdale Avenue on Pecan Drive is located a small parking lot that leads to the first area of dedicated open space.  An open, grassy field leads to a foot bridge that crosses the headwaters of the Wissahickon Creek — which eventually flows into Fairmont Park in Philadelphia and beyond.   

Meandering trails twist and turn throughout the wooded area, some in close proximity to the creek.   If you are lucky, many forms of wildlife can be viewed— including white tailed deer, fox, and hawks.

A right-of-way for the Montgomery Township Sewer Authority runs through one end of this area creating a wide walking path that is generally kept mowed during the summer months. If you follow this path southwards, it will adjoin another large swath of wooded open space.

At one time, this parcel of land was part of the property that belonged to the Knapp family whose homestead remains at the corner of Knapp Road and Route 202.   This historical house, which is on the National Register of Historic Places, has been painstakingly restored and is the home of the Montgomery Township Historical Society.

The Knapp property was originally settled by Welsh immigrants around 1700, and the original part of the homestead was built around 1760.  The acreage of the farm and woods was split up and sold over the years.

This wooded natural area can be accessed from Knapp Road from an almost hidden pathway near the twin bridges that cross the Wissahickon.  There are several trails that wind through this area with the creek crossing here and there.

Both of these natural areas actually almost form a continuous park with Wissahickon Park which is located directly across Knapp Road.  This park, part of the Lansdale Parks and Recreation Facilities, consists of 17.8 acres that run along Norway Drive from the 700 block of East Main Street to Knapp Road, and the Wissahickon Creek flows through the center.

On the Knapp Road side of the park, wooded areas predominate with patches of grassy areas here and there.  Bordering on Main Street is the award winning section of the park that features infiltration basins and a riparian corridor with walking paths interspersed.  These new features to the park help to filter runoff water before it enters the creek, thus reducing pollution.  Several picnic tables and benches offer opportunities for a quiet spot for a meal on your lunch hour or an impromptu picnic.

The final area that sits nearby is the Hidden Valley Park, and it has certainly been named appropriately.  There are two ways to access this area of passive open space — one from a long lane off of Main Street near Nino’s Pizza, and the other from Hillside Drive near .

This park is tucked in behind the Wissahickon Park Apartments, which at one time was the home and office of a local veterinarian, Dr. Robert Dreisbach.  The Wissahickon Creek also crosses through these 8.9 acres, and they are considered open space and a conservation area.  

These passive expanses of open space and park land create an extensive area for hiking and just enjoying nature.  If you are looking for a long hike while communing with nature, check them out.  You don’t even need to leave town.