I woke up to a rainy morning. The weather was cooler than it had been all summer and the air felt refreshing. After the rain stopped and only cloudy skies remained, I headed out to Trexler Nature Preserve. The Preserve has been around since the turn of the century when it was established by General Harry Trexler as a way to protect bison, elk and white-tailed deer. The Preserve also hosts the Lehigh Valley Zoo. I’d been to the zoo many times as a kid, but never walked any of the hiking trails along the lands. Today’s overcast skies made it the perfect day to hike these lands since many of the trails meander through open fields that are exposed to the sun. I parked in the lot off Orchard Road and got on the Border Trail heading north. The trail headed upward where there were nice views overlooking the farmlands below. The trail continued in and out of open meadows and through shady hemlock forest alongside Jordan Creek. I climbed up the trail to the top of the hill where I took a detour onto Park Road to have a look at a herd of bison roaming the central range. They looked very content as they lay in the tall grass. One of the cows had a calf who was sprawled out taking a nap. I took a few photos of the bison before backtracking the road and onto Fireman’s trail. This trail took me to Schlicher’s Covered bridge which was built in 1882. There are many historic bridges here in Pennsylvania that have been restored and preserved. I crossed Game Preserve Road and found the Elk View Trail which climbed on a single dirt track up above the creek and then into another meadow. The trail turned east and then south until I eventually reached the ford which you can actually drive through with your car. Above the ford there’s a footbridge that crosses Jordan Creek. I walked across it to snap a few photos before closing the loop by following the Trexler Nature trail back to the parking area. There was a good amount of up and down on this trek. I walked a little over five miles enjoying the diverse habitats of wildflower filled meadows, pasturelands with roaming bison, hemlock forests, ravines and wetlands. I really enjoyed my time here and plan to come back to explore more of the area.
