Stone Hills Preserve

Stone Hills Preserve Stone Hills Preserve is part of one of the largest contiguous woodlands in Montgomery County.

Known as the Unami Forest, it is a vast, interconnected mosaic of mature forests, rocky outcrops, and more than 24 miles of streams. The high ecological value in this landscape results from an extraordinary combination of overall size, unique forest and meadow plant communities, interior forest nesting bird species, and high quality streams. The property that comprises Stone Hills Preserve was onc

e the home of Frank Hartmaier. Frank was raised there and later lived there with his wife, Elizabeth, and their daughter. Frank and Elizabeth shared a deep love for the land and its beauty. In the spring, Stone Hills is filled with ephemeral wildflowers including Virginia bluebell, yellow trout-lily, and spring beauty. But no matter what time of year, the forest trails are a treat for visitors seeking a quiet patch of nature.

Catch bugs! Climb trees! Flip rocks! No, these are not new family-friendly curses. They're simple things anyone and ever...
09/04/2026

Catch bugs! Climb trees! Flip rocks! No, these are not new family-friendly curses. They're simple things anyone and everyone can do with their kids to keep them engaged in the outdoors amidst the chaos of the back-to-school season. And let's be honest...you could probably benefit from a little extra time outdoors, too.

Other fun nature-play ideas include:

🗺️ Treasure hunting. Hide a natural treasure, then make a map showing where to find it.

🧚‍♀️ Crafting a magical residence. Fairy house, gnome home, or toad abode, make a tiny house for the other residents of your yard...real or fiction!

⛵️ Building a natural boat. Is it a pirate ship? Vikings? Make two (or more) and race them down a stream.

🪵 Constructing something together. A swing, a shelter, or a simple hammock, it doesn’t need to be grand.

🛶 Kayaking. A classic!

Bonus tip: Just be present. Whether it's the playground after school or the sidelines of a soccer field, nature can be found almost anywhere by those who go looking for it.

📸: S. Badiyah Austin

Berkeley's polypore is a parasitic fungus that causes butt rot in oaks and other hardwood trees. Should we intervene? No...
08/28/2026

Berkeley's polypore is a parasitic fungus that causes butt rot in oaks and other hardwood trees. Should we intervene? Nope... removing the fruiting body we can see won't stop the rate of mycelium growth within the tree.

📸: Kate Rash, Taproot Photography

Northern maidenhair fern (Adiantum pedatum) gets its botanic name from a Greek word meaning "unwetted," because the leav...
08/21/2026

Northern maidenhair fern (Adiantum pedatum) gets its botanic name from a Greek word meaning "unwetted," because the leaves easily shed water and stay dry, and the Latin word for "footed," describing how the leaf divisions look like a bird's foot.

📸: Kate Rash, Taproot Photography

Invasive species spotlight: The mimosa tree (Albizia julibrissin)--native to Asia--was introduced to our region by famed...
08/14/2026

Invasive species spotlight: The mimosa tree (Albizia julibrissin)--native to Asia--was introduced to our region by famed botanist William Bartram. In fact, Thomas Jefferson obtained some seeds from Bartram and planted them at Monticello. The species outcompetes native vegetation, particularly in disturbed habitat like roadsides and stream banks. A single tree produces thousands of seeds that can remain viable in the soil for many years.

📸: Kate Rash, Taproot Photography

The Pileated Woodpecker digs characteristically rectangular holes in trees to find ants. These excavations can be so bro...
08/07/2026

The Pileated Woodpecker digs characteristically rectangular holes in trees to find ants. These excavations can be so broad and deep that they can cause small trees to break in half.

📸: Kate Rash, Taproot Photography

There is a myth that bumblebees "shouldn't be able to fly." The misconception arose in the 1930s when an aerodynamicist ...
07/24/2026

There is a myth that bumblebees "shouldn't be able to fly." The misconception arose in the 1930s when an aerodynamicist mistakenly applied fixed-wing airplane equations to the insects, failing to account for their rapid, twisting wing movements. Instead of simply flapping up and down, bumblebees beat their wings in a fast, figure-eight motion. This rapid movement (up to 240 times per second) creates tiny, low-pressure air vortexes (miniature hurricanes) above their wings that act as a suction, generating enough lift to keep their heavy bodies airborne.

📸: Preston Wilson

When I Am Among the Trees, by Mary Oliver When I am among the trees,especially the willows and the honey locust,equally ...
06/23/2026

When I Am Among the Trees, by Mary Oliver

When I am among the trees,
especially the willows and the honey locust,
equally the beech, the oaks and the pines,
they give off such hints of gladness,
I would almost say that they save me, and daily.
I am so distant from the hope of myself,
in which I have goodness, and discernment,
and never hurry through the world
but walk slowly, and bow often.
Around me the trees stir in their leaves
and call out, "Stay awhile."
The light flows from their branches.
And they call again, "It's simple," they say,
"and you too have come
into the world to do this, to go easy, to be filled
with light, and to shine."

📸: Kate Rash

While the entire mayapple (Podophyllum peltatum) plant is highly toxic to humans, its compounds have led to live-saving ...
06/16/2026

While the entire mayapple (Podophyllum peltatum) plant is highly toxic to humans, its compounds have led to live-saving cancer-fighting medicines. A patch of mayapples often consists of a single massive organism that spreads underground via rhizomes.

📸: Kate Rash

The large boulders at Stone Hills Preserve were formed 200 million years ago. As Africa separated from North America, ho...
06/09/2026

The large boulders at Stone Hills Preserve were formed 200 million years ago. As Africa separated from North America, hot magma pushed into the Earth's crust. The magma cooled into a hard volcanic rock called diabase. Over millions of years, weather washed away softer topsoil, exposing the hard rocks. Then, during the Ice Age, freezing and thawing cracked the bedrock into loose boulders you can enjoy on your hike!

📸: Kate Rash

Anyone else think sassafras leaves look like dinosaur footprints?📸: Kate Rash
06/02/2026

Anyone else think sassafras leaves look like dinosaur footprints?

📸: Kate Rash

Address

Laver Road
Schwenksville, PA
19473

Telephone

(610) 353-5587 Ext 505

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