Bentley Run Wetlands

A beautiful place to hike and explore in the northwestern corner of Pennsylvania is the Bentley Run Wetlands, two miles northeast of Union City in Erie County. This 350-acre property is protected by a permanent conservation easement held by the Western Pennsylvania Conservancy, which protects the property from development and allows public access and recreation.

About a third of the land is managed by the owner, Nuveen Natural Capital, for sustainable forest harvests, while the remaining land is wetlands and a variety of other interesting land types and habitats.

Bentley Run Wetlands is in the South Branch of French Creek watershed, an area of farmland, forests, streams and wetlands. This landscape is defined by past glaciation, which deposited sands and gravels, including limestone and other minerals, that have produced rich soils.

The land has a view of Union City Reservoir, a public water supply adjacent to the property and supplied by Bentley Run. The conservation easement protects a forested buffer along the wetlands and reservoir.

The wetlands host a marsh, swamps mixed with northern hardwoods forest, a beaver dam and 20 species of rare plants and animals. Also, a swampland of eastern hemlock surrounds a forest of black cherry, yellow birch and red oak. Snowshoes work well for a winter hike into the property to track wildlife, which may include mink, foxes and wild turkey, or even a snowshoe hare.

A logging road serves as a hiking trail. Visitors can gain access to it through a gate near the state game lands parking lot on the east side of Hoyt Road.

For more information about the Western Pennsylvania Conservancy and visiting this property, visit WaterLandLife.org and search Bentley Run Wetlands.