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• > Hiking, Trails, and Preserves
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Hiking, Trails, and Preserves

Since the completion of the Chester Creek Conservation Plan in 2001, there have been several key acquisitions or improvements of open space in the Chester Creek watershed:

• The 22 acre Sleighton Park added by Middletown Township.

• The 128 acre Patterson Tract acquired by Thornbury, Delaware County, as passive riparian open space, as well as a small tract of wetlands and riparian open space on the West Branch.

East Goshen Township obtained and implemented a Growing Greener grant for a major channel redesign and floodplain restoration along 2,000 feet of Chester Creek along Reservoir Road.  

The Chester Creek Watershed also offers an excellent series of hiking trails, with more in the planning stage.

• Middletown has four trails: the Darlington/Cornucopia, Linvill, Indian Lane, and Rocky Run.  Rocky Run Trail connects to Tyler Arboretum and Ridley Creek State Park and crosses the Natural Lands Trust Darlington Preserve. For a map of these trails, click here.

• Thornbury Township’s (Delco) Environmental Advisory Council (EAC) has been actively maintaining a two mile network of trails along the East Branch of Chester Creek.

• Thornbury Township (Chesco) is implementing a grant to design a network of trails throughout the Township.

• Aston Township has approved the construction of the first two miles of the six mile, multi-use Chester Creek Rail Trail, that will eventually run from Wawa to Upland. The trail, the project of the Friends of Chester Creek Trail will link to all of Middletown’s trails.  For more information, click here.

• The Delaware County and Chester City Planning Departments continue to lead efforts on the East Coast Greenway that will eventually connect Chester City’s riverfront areas and parks with a biking trail along the Delaware River.

See the listing of public parkland , preserves, and trails in the Chester Creek watershed. Chester County Parks Department has also published a Chester County Nature Preserves Guide.