Crow’s Nest: Preserve conditions update

By Daniel Barringer, Preserve Manager

We’re making progress clearing trails at Crow’s Nest. The trails are open with some significant caveats.

The parking lot is still closed due to ice. I plow it after each snowfall, but there is ice under it all and I can’t clear it down to bare gravel. It is slippery enough that I can make the 4wd truck with snowplow pirouette across it gracefully with no traction. It’s like an ice rink tilted so that all the cars would pile up at the bottom, so there is a barricade across the driveway which is plowed down to bare pavement. There’s room for one car there and a sign letting you know it is okay to park there.

Local roads are still lined with high banks of snow so it is occasionally difficult for two cars to pass.

The trails are still knee deep in snow, so unless you have snowshoes or cross-country skis you are probably only going to want to walk in the footsteps other visitors have already made. We haven’t had many visitors so it’s really hard going.

Aubrey and Liz in the photo below are breaking trail and are using a chainsaw and kombi tool to cut bent and broken trees out of the way yesterday. It was not fun due to the depth of the snow but they kept in good spirits.

All of our wooded trails have been cleared of fallen trees: The Creek Trail, Deep Woods Trail, Fox Hill Trail, and Hopewell Trail. There are still trees down in farm fields but I think our time will be better spent cleaning them up when access to them gets a little easier.

Each day brings new, difficult weather so trail conditions are likely to change. Check with us before you plan your trip.

We are still holding our kids’ programs. Since there is no parking we are having the parents drop the kids off one-by one at the barn.