This cache takes you to the far end of Stateline Woods Preserve. The ONLY designated parking for this cache can be found at 814 Merrybell Lane. From Old Kennett Road, Follow Merrybell Lane up the hill until you see the gravel parking lot for Stateline Woods Preserve under a large white oak tree to your left. Navigate the defined trail network through a variety of habitats to access the geocache (there are many possible routes to the GZ, but following the orange-blazed "Woodpecker Woods" trail is recommended). See the preserve kiosk for more information. Please do not trespass onto neighboring properties and stick to marked trails until you reach the GZ. Endure the magnificent meadow, formidable forest, captivating creek, and placid pipeline, then reap your reward at this revival of Stateline Woods Preserve's first Geocache!
Stateline Woods Preserve (SWP) is an 82-acre parcel of land located in the south-central portion of Kennett Township, in Chester County, Pennsylvania, and is owned and managed by The Land Conservancy for Southern Chester County (TLC). The preserve is situated in the Piedmont Physiographic Province, a large area of rolling hills that contain the headwaters of many our local streams such as the White Clay, Red Clay, and Brandywine Creeks.
The landscape can best be described as a relict of nineteenth and early twentieth century subsistence farming activities. The site has a long history of agricultural use, as evidenced by the large open areas and hedgerows dominating the north and east portions of the preserve. The historic landscape present at the SWP is a remnant of the agricultural heritage of the region. Large open upland meadows flanked by hedgerows are a typical scene in undeveloped areas of Chester County. Although there are no dwellings present at the SWP, one feature present evokes the former use of the land by early inhabitants. In the center of the preserve is a ruin of a dam on the main stream that flows through the preserve.
The site is topographically impressive, with an elevation change of 160 feet, ranging from over 395 feet in the northern portion of the preserve to 235 feet at the point where the main stream exits the preserve at the southern boundary. The underlying geology is metamorphic rock from the Wissahickon Schist Formation.
The site is hydrologically significant for several reasons. It contains, in a forested matrix, several first-order streams and a second-order stream. These streams are in the Red Clay Creek watershed, part of the larger Delaware River basin. In addition, a high-quality wetland complex is found in the center of the mature woodland in the western part of the preserve.
The woodland areas at SWP are of varying age and composition. The vast mature woodland in the southwestern half of the preserve where this geocache is located is close to a large mature woodland to the west that stretches to and beyond the Delaware state line to the south.
Please consider supporting the preservation of this crucial nature preserve by becoming a TLC member at tlcforscc.org/memberships.
This cache was placed with permission by The Land Conservancy for Southern Chester County.