Outdoor Appeal: 10 
Setting: small, comfortable state park cradled in the Tohickon Creek valley
Explorable Op's: A ton. Although the park itself is small in comparison to others in the immediate area, like Nockamixon, the Tohickon Creek at Ralph Stover is easy to wade in plus High Rocks Vista section of the park is just over the bridge and up the hill. In addition there's a playground, grills, restrooms and pavilions to set up for a longer stay. It's a great place for kids to have some freedom and for parents to feel at ease that nobody will wonder off too far.
Difficulty: Moderate. The park is right next to the creek and flat for the most part. If you are going in the creek or following trails along the creek the footing can get tricky because it can be rocky, slippery or both. Beware, if you go the High Rocks section of the park the terrain is Tough.
Facilities: Rustic. There are pit toilets up the hill of the bridge parking lot. They are not very pleasing places to visit but they do add a little adventure to the trip. One of the restroom's charms is the corrugated, green, fiber glass roof, which makes everything appear slightly green when you're inside. Your eyes do adjust. The the novelty of it is that when you come out of the bathroom the natural light looks... well, it's hard to describe. Everything looks not quite the same as when you went in. And then your eyes adjust again and you go on with your day.
Review: It's hard to overstate my affection for this little slice of the Tohickon Creek. I've been to Ralph Stover countless times, with and without kids. It's a true gem in Bucks County. It's located close to a lot of other places that are worth a visit as well, so it makes it perfect place for just an hour or part of a day trip. Our last visit started out like many others. We first went to the playground. Despite the appeal of the creek, I like to push them to the playground first before they get wet. So if you've read the "Facilities" section above you already know about the "strange green light." How about the walnut wood stain? The answer to that lies in the field next to the playground - literally. Although you'll only find them there in the fall. The area is dotted with black walnut trees which not only provide the playground area with shade, but also throw down walnuts in the fall. A friend of ours, Tim, lives just over the hill from the park. He did us the wonderful favor of refinishing a table surface. He made walnut stain from real walnut. Go figure? I don't know how it's done but if you're looking to give it a shot, Ralph Stover Park is a good place to go collecting. While I'm off topic here, I might as well reveal the walnut fishing secret. Native Americans used to throw bunches of walnuts in a creek to catch fish. Yeah, I know it doesn't seem to make any sense. But it turns out that the husk of the walnut has something in it that stuns the fish and makes them floaters. Don't try it. It takes a lot of walnuts and it's illegal.
After monkeying around at the playground we headed back to the car to eat. We parked near the pavilion above. I love that there is a fireplace! I've always wanted to bring some wood to the park and have an evening hot dog and marshmallow roast. You'll get the details when it happens. We had a picnic lunch here and the boys were fascinated with the place. There are built in steps on either side of the fireplace for staking wood. This provided a full 15 minutes of entertainment for Max and Frank. They would climb up (I had to help Frank) and then look at each other across the face of the chimney to see how high they both were - pretty cute.
Then it was time to take a walk near the creek. Max wanted to go across the red bridge. As much as I like the park, the bridge is no fun. It has high walls on either side that you can't see over. It sort of looks like they builders were trying to mimic some kind of canal structure when they restored it. Anyway, the bridge doesn't offer much. On the other side Max found a trail that we took to the creek. The access to the water wasn't very manageable and the creek side itself was rocky so we stayed long enough to take a picture and headed back over the bridge.
The area directly under the bridge on the park side is perfect for little kids. The shore line is bedded with tiny pebbles so it's easy to walk. There are plenty of red, flat shale rocks for skipping and the water (when the creek is low) is shallow. Plus the bridge provides shade. It's a wonderful place to let younger kids run free and let them do some exploring on their own. That being said, it is a good idea to be respectful of others that are using the space. For example, if someone is fishing under the bridge you shouldn't unleash the kids to ravage the area until the he moves on to a different spot. And even though this is a relatively safe area when the water is low you still need to be extremely conscious of what your kids are doing and where they are. Last fall I went to this same spot with the boys. Frank was only a few month old and I was carrying him in the Baby Bjorn. Max was standing on the shore line casting rocks a few feet out in the water and I was right behind him feeding Frankie a bottle. For who knows what reason, Max started walking right into the water and was quickly up to his waist. He tried to turn back to shore but fell over. I had to run in to pull him out. He was never in any real danger but I would have never expected him to do that. We'd been around the same kind of water many times and he had never done anything like that before. So be very aware and ready to play goalie.Recommendations: First of all, there are lot of other places around to visit. High Rocks Vista (which is part of the park), Stover-Myer Mill, Cabin Run covered bridge, Van Sant Airport and Tohickon Valley Park to name a few. Tohickon Valley Park is a county park downstream from Ralph Stover State Park and it offers camping for tents, RV's and cabins plus a pool. If you are visiting in the summer, bring a bathing suit for the kids and a change of clothes. When Lake Nockamixon Dam is released hundreds of canoers and kayakers flood the park to make their way down the rapids. It's a real show and quite festive to bring the kids to see. And of course, hot dogs and marshmallows at the pavilion with the fireplace is still on my list of things to do at Ralph Stover State Park. Happy trails.
Explorable Op's: A ton. Although the preserve is a relatively small swash of land, it still has a wilderness feel to it. The creek is perfect for exploring because it isn't exceptionally deep. The trails are just long enough to give kids a real sense of accomplishment. They will feel like they are miles from the car but in reality it's only a few minutes away.
Difficulty: Moderate. We parked on the eastern most parking area on Raven Rock Road and from this starting point most of the trail loops in a meadow and is grassy with slight up or down pitch depending on which way you're headed. Along the Locatong Creek the trail can be quite muddy. Also, the jump down the ravine into the creek bed is a steep 10 drop. So for those reasons this hike is moderate with kids.
Review: Our trip to Wescott Nature Preserve was a short one for a reason I'll get to later on in the review. But the time we spent there up until the end of the adventure was darn nice. We were lucky enough to pull in the parking area about the same time as another car pulled in. A woman with a dog got out and I asked her for some suggestions about trekking through the preserve. She told me about the mud on the trail, the path to get to the creek bed and she let us use a few squirts of insect repellent, which I was thankful for. The meadow looked like the perfect place to pick up a deer tick. It was an impossibly beautiful July day when we went, with blue skies, a breeze and temperatures in the 70's. We made our way down the grassy trail and entered the woods. Before long the muddy section of the trail opened up before us and as the woman told me, I was definitely going to get muddy. Frank was on my back and Max handled walking through the mud pretty well. The path down to the Locatong Creek was only about a 30 second walk from the muddy section. This was a little bit of a challenge with Frank in the backpack and Max slipping down the slope, but all in all it was uneventful and no one got hurt - yet. The creek bed is perfect for kids to explore and it has the feel of a "secret spot" because it is nestled down in a ravine with the wall of the bank and the forest protecting it from the sun. You're maybe about a 1/4 mile from your car at this point but you feel like you're deep in the woods. I had enough foresight to put the boys in bathing suits so getting wet wouldn't be an issue. Frank, the one year old, had a good time walking in and out of the shadow pools, digging his hands into the tiny pebbles and, for one of the first times, throwing rocks into the creek. Max did a lot of the same but he felt he needed show his strength by choosing rocks about half the size of his head to throw in the creek. I have to admit, the splashes were impressive. But I tried to point out some more manageable stones for him to throw in while I was busy making sure Frank didn't take a header into the creek. But Max's luck ran out when he tried to maneuver over some large rocks while holding a long salami shaped stone. He slipped and fell and what was going to be a torpedo when launched into the water wound up smashing his fingers on the boulders he was walking over. It was obvious from the moment it happened that this was not a normal fall. He held his and out as if it was a foreign object that he just couldn't identify. On close inspect it turned out that his pinky finger got the weight of the stone. It was bleeding a little bit and turning purple and swollen. So the 1/4 back to the car, uphill, while carrying two kids - one in a bit of pain - seemed plenty long. We took Max to the doctor then the ER later in the day and he did indeed fracture the end of his finger, although we couldn't see anything on the X-ray. For many reason, Wescott Nature Preserve will always hold a special place in my mind. Besides the misadventure, we highly recommend the trip.
Recommendations: Little hands shouldn't throw big rocks! No, really, it could have happened anywhere and it was bound to happen sooner or later. But as always, I recommend taking your phone with you. Spraying everyone with insect repellent is also a good idea. Dress the kids in something that they can feel comfortable getting wet in and have a change of clothes back at the car. In light of the fractured finger, it's generally a good idea to have some first aid kit with you. But to be honest, if the injury is too big for cotton balls and band-aids then I'm heading to a hospital, quick! And even though Max did break his finger, there wasn't a whole lot anyone could do for it. They put a splint on it at the hospital just to keep him from bumping it. Finally, Dilly's Corner did wonders for everyone. Grandma and Grandpa met us there. We had ice-cream and french fries and the finger was forgotten about until our 3 o'clock appointment. All's well that ends in ice-cream. Happy trails.
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