School, Old

Tyler State Park, 101 Swamp Rd, Newtown, PA
Open daily, 7 AM to dusk
(215) 968-2021 Website Google Maps Tyler Map

Gravitas: Hiking: MTB: Proximity:

Special notes for parents

This is an old-fashioned park which is principally targeting families with kids. Lots of activities that you can do with your family, as described in the main review. There are some good beginner hikes, but experienced “hiker dude” kids will probably find them boring. Also some truly boring “hiking” trails, which are really just flat, paved sidewalks, so beware.

The focus of the park is Neshaminy Creek. Most trails are either paved or graveled (note horses in the distance) making footing easy and x-country skiing a real opportunity in the winter.

Tyler is an old school park. Yes, there’s some nature. You can hike, but mostly on paved or gravel paths. More to the point (and why it seems “old school” to me) it’s really about “activities”. Depending on the season you might find yourself riding a horse, paddling a canoe, playing “golf” with a Frisbee, swimming, fishing, cycling, sledding, or x-country skiing.

It’s about 25 minutes by car from Trenton, which makes it about 10 minutes further than the Mercer County Park in West Windsor, its closest competitor. But Tyler is much nicer. It’s built around Neshaminy Creek, which is slow moving, relatively warm water. In the early spring it gets stocked with trout, and in later spring I imagine there’s a good population of warm-water species to catch.

In winter, if we get snow, you can take the kids sledding, or strap on cross-country skis and go for miles on the wide trails through the flat to gently rolling terrain.