Self Guided Hikes

Visiting with a group

With 365 acres and more than three miles of trails, we welcome groups to explore our forests and fields, ponds and streams. Click here for directions to visit the Center. English and Spanish versions of our trail maps can be located at the Visitor Center.

Three children run down a path in a springtime forest.

Self Guided Groups

If your group would like to visit the Schuylkill Center, please contact Beatrice Kelly at [email protected] at least one week ahead of your visit. Groups of 20 or more will pay a small fee of $5/person. Your fee supports our work to take care of this wild landscape, trails, and Visitor Center.

If you’d prefer a guided field trip, visit our field trip page to learn more about how our environmental educators can provide hands-on exploration and observation of nature.

Guidelines for self-guided groups

  • Please stay on the trail. Over sixty years, this landscape has been transformed from farmland to forest and meadows populated with native species. To protect this sensitive ecosystem, we ask all visitors to stay on the trail so that the nature we care for will thrive.
  • Share the trail. Schuylkill Center trails are used by many groups, including our Nature Preschool classes and visiting school field trips. If an educator-led group moves into an area that you are enjoying, please allow them use of the space.
  • No pets please. While we love all our animal friends, the Schuylkill Center is a safe haven for native wildlife, and it is our priority to provide them with a safe home. Service animals are always welcome.
  • Leave no trace. The Schuylkill Center features many sensitive natural habitats that wildlife rely on to survive and thrive. Help us preserve the quality of these habitats by leaving them just as you found them:
    • Take trash with you or dispose of it in trash cans located in the Visitor Center.
    • For your safety, please avoid walking within five feet of ponds and streams. Want to get a closer look? Cattail pond has a small boardwalk that makes an excellent spot for observing the water.
    • Do not throw objects (including natural objects such as rocks, sticks or acorns) into ponds or streams.
    • Do not disturb or remove wildlife or native plants.
    • Schuylkill Center educators will often place learning materials such as nets or art supplies at locations along trails for students to use. Please do not disturb or remove any learning materials you may find.

Thank you for visiting us at the Schuylkill Center. If you have any questions, please get in touch with us at [email protected]

Download our trail map here or view it online below.

A graphic of a trail map of the Schuylkill Center.