Copperfield Nature Trail

This park was surprising in a number of ways.  It's surrounded by the city and by subdivisions, and it has obviously received pretty hard use, so you never have the illusion of being in some sort of pristine area--the trails are wide and the ground is hard packed and there is a bit of trash. But even though the landscape had been pretty extensively trampled, it still has some surprisingly pleasant bluffs, a nice long stretch of waterfall where a little runnel trips down a hill, and a largish pond.  So even though it's highly modified, the bones of the natural world show through.  It was somewhat busy on the March evening when I visited, and you have to cross a significant road (Braker) at one point, but it's also pretty shady and green.  Also, someone with a whimsical sense of humor has installed a turtle sculpture on the ferny walls of a little bluff.

I just discovered this place. I started at Copperfield Park off of Yager near Parmer and hiked the whole length back to Yager, where I turned around and hiked the whole thing in reverse (I could have continued along Yager back to the park, but I where's the fun in that?). I was out for two and a half hours and only saw nine other people (four groups of two and other solo hiker), so I had a lot of solitude. Even though you never really forget you're close to homes and businesses (sometimes, you are practically in someone's backyard), there is still plenty of solitude.

Most of the trail follows creeks (Walnut Creek and a smaller creek that feeds into Walnut Creek), which had plenty of water in them today. There are several small waterfalls as well, which is nice. It is mostly wooded, so this would provide shade on a sunny day. Around where the smaller creek joins Walnut Creek, there is an interesting limestone wall with vegetation growing out of it and (today, at least) small springs that drip water down it.

The terrain isn't too tough, but it also isn't super easy. There are a few steep portions that would give people with knee problems trouble and one part that is on par of the creek bed which could get slippery in wetter weather.

There are two segments of this trail: The longer segment that runs from Copperfield Park to the Trotwood entrance of the trail and a shorter segment that runs from an entrance on Peggotty Place back to Yager. In between, you have to walk on a street through a neighborhood. The shorter segment of the trail was a lot less interesting to me than the longer segment, especially the last 0.3 miles approaching Yager: This part is just a path between two fence lines.

My phone died ten minutes into my hike, so I only got a couple of not-that-interesting pictures. I will return to take more pictures in the future.

This was a fun hike, we did just 1 mile with my son in the evening. We only saw one other person on the trail. Will come back later and do the complete trail.

This trail is clean and well marked.

Nice hike for me and my dog this afternoon, with almost nobody else on the trail.  Good opportunities for photography along the western leg on Walnut Creek, too.

There's a small lot to park in at Blakeney and Rotherham Drive.