Crow’s Nest: Your first visit / First Friday hike
By Daniel Barringer, Preserve Manager.
Have you ever wanted to visit Crow’s Nest Preserve but don’t know where to go, or what to do here? We want to make sure you have a great experience here, so we offer a few options for orientation.
Photo: Daniel Barringer
First, know that Crow’s Nest Preserve is open every day from dawn to dusk, free of admission charge. Our parking lot is located in the meadow just north of our visitor center barn at 201 Piersol Road. You can read more about Crow’s Nest on our website here.
Our trails are fairly well marked but we are always looking for suggestions. (By the way, I wrote a blog post on November 22, 2020 about your first visit—but enough has been updated since then that I don’t bother linking to it here. For example, we no longer offer support for the Natural Lands app, instead we direct people to the AllTrails website as a guide.)
You can use the AllTrails website and app to navigate our trails. The AllTrails entries for Crow’s Nest have been reviewed for accuracy and the mobile app can show you where you are located on our trails.
You can also watch videos of visitors walking our trails on a YouTube channel, Quiet Places, like this recent one here. These are filled with the sound of birdsong, burbling water, and crunching gravel underfoot and I find them very relaxing to experience.
We host a series of family events here on specific subjects like spring ephemeral wildflowers, geology, and birding. Our barn is used for plein air painting classes, contra dances, yoga and sound meditation, not to mention our summer camps and all year around kids’ after school and homeschool nature clubs. Look for events listed on our Natural Lands website; to narrow it down, search on Crow’s Nest or click here.
If you’d like a general orientation to the preserve, please join us on one of Natural Lands’ “First Friday” hikes. On Friday, September 6, Martha Moore and I will lead people on a walk around Crow’s Nest that should serve as a good orientation to the preserve. Find out more information and register at this link.
And if you have questions or would like to make an appointment for more information when visiting the preserve, feel free to contact us.