FEATURES
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80 Acres
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3 miles of trails
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Red Clay Creek
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Bird Blind
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Historic Dam
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Mason-Dixon Line
THINGS TO DO
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Hiking/Walking/Running
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Bird and Wildlife Watching
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Nature Photography
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Cross Country Skiing
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Mountain Biking
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Picnicking
Location & Directions
This property can be tricky to find. Visitors enter this property through a DE State Park; this property does not have accessible road frontage.
First-time visitors should enter these coordinates in Google Maps (39.808820253452964, -75.68178033310626), which will bring visitors to the old parking lot for Auburn Valley and the preserve's lane is at the back.
Look at the sign with the TLC or BRC logo on a post and a gate that is open during the day. If you put those coordinates in and turn on satellite view, you can zoom in and see the drive coming off the back corner of the lot the coordinates take you to. The drive is then hidden in the trees, but if you go up, you can see it come out of the woods and into the meadow to the parking lot along the state line
You must turn right off of Benge Road onto Farm Lane if coming from Rt 82 and continue back to the Auburn Valley State Park drive and then veer right after crossing the creek into the small lot. At the top of that lot, the preserve's dirt lane goes back and is one car wide with a few lay-bys where you can pull to the side to pass. It opens up into the back field and curves left to a small gravel lot and kiosk.
More about Marshall Bridge Preserve
Marshall Bridge Preserve creates a bi-state preserve as it lies adjacent to Delaware State’s Auburn Heights Preserve with trail connections between the two properties. The property contains 80 acres for walking, hiking, equestrian, cross country skiing, birding, nature study, environmental education, and other passive recreational activities. Trail segments meander through one of the last remaining diverse, contiguous, mature woodlands in Kennett Township, and aside wetlands, scenic view points, rural lands, and the state border with an original arc stone monument marking the line. When combined with Delaware’s Auburn Valley State Park, visitors can enjoy over 400 acres of preserved lands.
The preserve is located within close proximity to BRC’s Stateline Woods Preserve and Marshall Mill House Preserve, along the banks of the Red Clay Creek and Route 82 in Kennett Township. BRC is working on trail connections to directly connect Marshall Mill House and Marshall Bridge Preserves to help create a trail loop through the four preserves and to allow visitors to access the 10+ miles of existing trails across BRC’s three preserves and Delaware’s Auburn Valley State Park. Stay tuned for announcements regarding connections in both Pennsylvania and Delaware!
In August 2013, we installed an observation bird blind on the Marshall Bridge Preserve, overlooking a prime bird and wildlife-watching location along the Red Clay Creek and designed to blend in with the surrounding area. Visitors are able to view birds and wildlife behaving naturally, undisturbed by human presence. Not only does the blind give visitors the chance to see easily disturbed bird species, but they also benefit the bird populations, as they concentrate bird watching activity to concealed locations.
Thanks to a donation from a local foundation, we were able to purchase a high-quality Swarovski spotting scope for use during programs at the bird blind, as well as programming at other locations. Interested users may rent the bird blind for a small donation. BRC members may utilize the bird blind for free as a membership perk for a day of wildlife observation.
For more information on using/renting the bird blind, contact the office at 610-793-1090.
Map of Preserve
