Maurice Saul Wildlife Preserve (Tour)

This tour was curated by: Rose Valley Environmental Advisory Council

Entries on This Tour

1. Saul Preserve Points of Interest S1 Mill Race

As you proceed on the Old Mill Trail from the Saul Preserve kiosk, you will see on your right the remains of a stone mill race. The mill race was originally constructed in 1789 of stone from the nearby stone quarry to divert water from Ridley Creek to the Old Mill. This was the head race, the part of the mill race that turned the mill wheel. Further past the gap in the mill race, which is the remanent of a sluice gate opened in high water to protect the mill from flooding, was the mill dam on Ridley Creek. The tail race to return the water from the mill to Ridley Creek no longer exists, but would have crossed where the parking lot is today.

2. Saul Preserve Points of Interest S2 Mill Dam

As you proceed past the Mill Race on the Old Mill Trail you will find the remains of a dam along Ridley Creek. Rose Valley started when Nicholas Stimmel built the first mill here in 1789 to produce snuff, a popular 18th and 19th century smokeless tobacco He created a dam on the creek with stone from a nearby stone quarry to provide water power for the Old Mill. The mill dam eventually was repaired and improved by Antrim Osbourne for his 1861 woolen mill.

3. Saul Preserve Points of Interest S3 Saul's Roost

Proceed about 50 yards on the Overlook Trail. To the right at the Connector trail you will see a stand of white pine trees. This is the area of Saul's Roost. The pines, and hemlock trees to the left, and the dead oak before you, were planted to provide saplings for the Rose Valley Nursery. Pines are ideal habitat for great horned owls, who safely roost their brood above the forest and also stalk their prey through the night sky.

4. Saul Preserve Points of Interest S4 Stone Quarry

Proceed about 30 yards up the Wolf Tree Trail from the Old Mill Trail. Just past the Connector Trail, on your right, you will see a very large sycamore tree and a stand of ostrich ferns. Just behind these is the Stone Quarry, mostly shist, which provided the stone for the mill dam and mill race. If you walk in about 20 feet, you will see the stone bench wall, about 4 feet tall and 12 feet wide. On the very left lower edge is a vertical score from a previous core boring of stone.

5. Saul Preserve Points of Interest S5 The Wolf Tree

Proceed from the Old Mill Trail about 400 feet up the Wolf Tree Trail. Look up and above you to the right, at a very tall and uniquely shaped tree with wide branches, towering over most other trees in the woods. This is The Wolf Tree, the only one of its kind in the Saul Preserve. These trees were planted before the forest, are very old, and now an important part of the woodland ecology,

6. Saul Preserve Points of Interest S6 Saul Allee

Proceed into the Preserve about 1/3 mile, on either the Old Mill or Wolf Tree trails, or the Overlook Trail further up the hill, to the Saul Allee Trail. On the floodplain adjacent to Ridley Creek, you will notice a large open lane with mostly tulip trees, northern basswood and mountain basswood on either side. This is the Saul Allee (tree lined walkway), so named for this stand of trees, planted for the Saul's Rose Valley Nursery, and then allowed to grow and mature in place. These trees are approximately 70 to 80 years old. The Saul Allee is both the name of the trail and our last point of interest in the Saul Preserve.

This Tour is a Hiking Trail.

Maurice Saul Wildlife Preserve

Created by Rose Valley Environmental Advisory Council on June 1st 2023, 6:29:46 pm.

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Description

The Maurice Saul Wildlife Preserve is a 17.5 acre bird and nature sanctuary along the scenic Ridley Creek in Rose Valley, PA. The 0.8 mile out and back forest route includes connecting walking trails that are both kid and dog friendly. Parking and the trail are behind the Old Mill, and a QR coded map at the trailhead kiosk shows the paths. There are wayside trail markers along the way, and numerous points of natural and historic interest.

Entries on This Tour

Maurice Saul Wildlife Preserve

Description

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