Read on for notes from our great hike at Kelly’s Run Nature Preserve that includes a bit of everything: parking, water features, pretty scenery for photography, climbing, manageable elevation changes, and great hiking partners. Mark had me choose our hiking location this outing. I had read about a hike in the Kellys Run Nature Preserve.
A few winters ago (December 2020) Mark and I hiked in the adjacent Holtwood Nature Preserve with our dog, Charlie. It was a cold day with icy patches on the rocks. I took a hard tumble from one of them but we enjoyed the trail and wanted to return. Sadly, we didn’t get back there with Charlie but this time we had our adventure buddy, Theo.
Parking
It’s great to hike where there is ample parking. We parked at the lot near Pollinator Park on Old Holtwood Road. After an hour of driving, Mark was grateful for the well maintained porta johns. A lone volunteer in the parking lot greeted us and offered us advice and a free map. Admirably, the voluteer was still there four hours later when we returned from our hike.
Water Features and Scenery
We started down the Kelly’s Run trail toward the river. Soon after we started, we saw a family with young kids who stopped to take pictures of a tree. It seemed odd until we got there. The tree was infested with lantern flies. Lantern flies are an invasive species that were first seen in this area in 2014. The tree’s bark had turned black and it looked like there was some sort of slime on it. Later on in the hike, we saw another infested tree.
Near the river, you walk along Pinnacle Road which is a narrow road closed to traffic. It’s basically a paved hiking trail. There is an old bridge with nothing more than a frame where the trail turns northeast back into the heart of the preserve.
The hike is scenic. There is water, lots of textures with the rocks, wildflowers and more. This portion of the trail is adjacent to a stream and provides plenty of great photo opportunities. Of course, Theo took a splash to cool off. After a short climb, we took a detour along the Conestoga Trail to the overlook. We stopped for a snack and then headed back to Kelly’s Run Loop.
Climbing
Walking along the stream can be a little tricky…unless you have 4 legs like Theo. We humans took our time on the wet rocks. It’s pretty moderate rock climbing, but it was enough for Mark to split the seam in the crotch of his pants. Along the trail, we saw several people including some with small children. I would not have attempted this trail with small kids and certainly not with any person who has balance issues.
As suggested by the volunteer who provided the map, we took a detour about half way up the hill on Kelly’s Run. We headed northwest on the Conestoga Trail toward the Pinnacle Overlook. While Conestoga had some rocky climbs, it has a nice overlook of its own.
At the overlook were several groups of people utilizing the picnic tables. We also encountered a large group of young Amish people (including women in bare feet) who took some time to admire the beautiful scene.
Heading back, we chose the Pinnacle/Fire Line Trail. It met up with a portion of the Conestoga Trail, which took us back to Kelly’s Run. We continued along the creek. Not realizing that the creek split, for a short stretch we were headed in the wrong direction. After searching in vane for the blue and orange trail markers, we headed back along the stream.
Elevation Changes
Back on track, we turned east heading back to the parking lot. Here, we hit a portion of the trail that was pretty steep. At least that is the way it seemed. Looking at the elevation chart from the Outdoor Active app, it wasn’t much steeper than earlier portions, but it was six miles into the hike.
Much of the trail in this section is surrounded by rhododendron. In must be quite a sight in the springtime. The hike after that final climb was pretty easy. We got back to the parking lot. Theo jumped into the truck and crashed for the ride home. As always, he probably did twice the distance we did. That would be about 15 miles.
We really enjoyed the preserve and the trails. We like the challenge of some elevation and climbs, without ever feeling any strong danger, and we like the variety of scenery. There are more hikers than we generally see, but it is not crowded in any sense of the word. Theo even got to interact with another Labrabor and a Golden Retriever! Our Sunday hike at Kelly’s Run checked all the boxes for everything we think makes a great hike.
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