Welcome to the West Rockhill Township Manderfield Preserve

The Manderfield Preserve lies within the 3.5 million acre Mid-Atlantic Highlands, a region of Pennsylvania, New Jersey, New York and Connecticut that forms a forested greenbelt around the densely populated areas of Philadelphia, New York City and Hartford. 

The Manderfield Preserve is part of the 1.8 million acre Pennsylvania Highlands region which extends along a corridor of high elevation forested land from the Delaware River at the New Jersey border to the Maryland border in Central PA.  What is a highland? A highland is another name for an area of high or mountainous land.

The Highlands have abundant private and publicly owned natural resources that provide quality drinking water, recreation, and economic opportunities and provide a vital link of forest between the Berkshires in New England and the Blue Ridge Mountains.  The US Congress designated the Mid-Atlantic Highlands as “Nationally Significant” when it passed the Highlands Conservation Act in 2004. The State of New Jersey recognizes the Highlands as a “Special Resource Area”.

Charles J. Manderfield, upon his death in 1957, bequeathed this land and specified that it be held in trust “for the use of the community and the public as a Woodland Preserve or Park… and…that the streams on the various properties shall be preserved intact for the public use and benefit, together with sufficient land adjoining same…”  

Remember to Leave No Trace but please do:

Take some time to walk the trails, breathe the clean air, smell the flowers, hug a tree, and observe the wildlife.

Stay on the trails - Exploring is fun, but overuse of natural areas can destroy vegetation and habitat.

Pack in pack out - A good hike isn't complete without snacks, but littering harms the environment. Take your food in, and your trash out!

Respect wildlife and visitors - Nature is for everyone, humans and animals alike. Therefore, be quiet so as not to frighten away the wildlife and you may be lucky to see some of the daily inhabitants of the Preserve.

Leave what you find - Everything is important to an ecosystem; never remove anything from the Preserve.

Take only pictures, leave only footprints.