Best Hiking Trails in Brightside Farm

Overview

Brightside Farm is a park in Charleston Township, Pennsylvania. There is a paved path that follows the rough perimeter of the park, and various grass paths that interconnect. This is a fantastic place to bring young children, walk your dog, or enjoy nature.

From Charleston Township:
In 1996 the Township purchased 20 acres of the Brightside Farm located on the northeast side of Yellow Springs Road in order to preserve it from impending development. In 2000 the Township added 55 additional acres to the parcel with the purchase of the rest of the farm with the help of a significant grant from Chester County.

The Township is committed to preserving the farm as an agricultural asset for the residents to enjoy and a portion of the property is under a conservation easement with the French & Pickering Creeks Trust.

For the past several years, the farm offers over 50 garden plots to township residents. A small fee is assessed to defray some of the costs of the garden. The program has been very popular, and residents meet new friends and old, and exchange ideas while growing their vegetables and flowers. Plots are approximately 20 feet square within a fenced-in area, and water is conveniently available nearby.

A walking trail is established around the perimeter of the farm. In the future, there are plans to make this a more formal walking and jogging trail with the availability of limited parking to encourage more public use of this township asset.

While the farmhouse is rented to a family and is not available for residents’ use, in the future the Township hopes to rehabilitate selected buildings to be used for community events, rentals, and other activities. The historic bank barn is a prime candidate as it could be renovated for use by the Historical Society for its fund raising dinner, and for town meetings and educational activities.

Getting Started

The parking lot is located off of Yellow Springs Road near Valley Hill Road. There is room for over 3 dozen cars.

When to Go

The park is open year-round.

Dog Info

Dogs should be leashed.