Mason Farm Biological Reserve

A fun and easy stroll. A wonderful escape within the city.

Beautiful short trail!

I love birding here. In the spring and early summer, walk out on the main trail and take a left at the fork. Keep your eyes peeled at the end of that straightaway for a prothonotary warbler.

What a wonderful place! I obtained the required permit online before my visit from the reserve's website. There are two parking areas, a southern one by Parker Preserve and a northern access point behind the golf course. The northern access point requires a creek fording on a low bridge. The website also has a link to the water gauge levels, if less than 5 ft, it is safe to cross. I chose to enter via Parker Preserve as I was unsure of the water levels.

The full loop through both areas came out to a little over 5 miles. The Parker Preserve trails were wooded, except for a pass through a beautiful meadow. The Mason Farm trails are mostly open through fields.

The back area around the Mason Farm loop by Siler's Bog used to have a boardwalk before it was washed out in fall 2018. This area was extremely difficult to traverse even after the lack of rain that week. I had to wade through mud and water, luckily, with waterproof hiking boots. It looks like there's a lot of damage being done there and I hope that some kind of interim boardwalk can be added again, with logs or such. I did spot my first night heron there!

An amazing spot for bird watching in the triangle. If you want to see field birds come here. I saw blue grosbeak which was a lifer for me. The trails are nice and similar to farm paths. Note there is a stream You have to cross to get to the parking lot. Also you need a permit from the botanical gardens