It’s primetime to be outside
and enjoy Bucks County’s beautiful
fall foliage, and there’s no
better place for Bucks students to
do this than at Tyler State Park.
“What is this park?” asked Jose
Vazquez while hanging out with
friends in the cafeteria.
Tyler Park’s most popular
entrance is at the intersection of
Swamp Road and the Newtown
Bypass, only a minute from the
Bucks Newtown campus.
Students can easily walk into
the park from campus by following
the path near Tyler.
According to its website, Tyler
Park has four miles of hiking
trails, 10 miles of biking trails,
and even nine miles of bridle
trails.
Many Bucks students can be
seen walking
on the trail
that connects
campus to the
park.
Some of
these students
appreciate
the conv
e n t i o n a l
draws of the
park.
“In the
summer I like
to go wading
[in the creek]”
said 18-yearold
communications
major
Emily Stricko.
“I like to
hang out in
Tyler Park
because it’s
close to campus
and it’s
so pretty in
the fall,” said 19-year-old Lauren
Benton, a social work major from
Buckingham.
As with any public place, Tyler
Park has its “rules and regulations.”
Bucks students should know
that “failing to fully cover with
opaque clothing one’s genitals,
pubic area, buttocks and female
breast below the top of the nipple”
is prohibited without written
permission of the
Department of Conservation and
Natural Resources.
However, some Bucks students
choose to ignore this rule and are
drawn to the many “secluded”
areas in the 1,711 acres of Tyler
Park. “It’s a good place to ‘get
busy,'” said Carlos Sarmiento,
a 20-year-old business major.
Some Bucks students take
advantage of these secluded
areas in other ways. “I know
some kids go over there and
smoke weed,” said 18-yearold
psychology major Molly
Kaiser. “I get high in the park
almost every day,” said one
Bucks student who preferred
to remain anonymous. For
those Bucks students who
aren’t particularly interested
in making use of the “secluded
areas,”
there are
plent
y
of other winter activities to
look forward to. When the
creek freezes, ice skating is
permitted near the boathouse
warming area.
The park also has great
places for sledding and tobogganing.
Check out the slopes
below the upper plantation
picnic area parking lot and
slopes west of the covered
bridge. Additionally, the hiking,
biking and equestrian
trails are not plowed after
snowfall and are great for
cross-country skiing. Before
winter strikes, students can
enjoy the park’s multiple picnic
areas, all of which have
clean tables, restrooms and
drinking water. All of the picnic
areas are surrounded by
mowed, grassy areas for
relaxing.
The Neshaminy Creek
meanders throughout the
park and provides good fishing
opportunities. In warmer
weather, anglers can expect to
catch sunfish, black crappie,
carp, smallmouth bass and
other panfish. In the winter,
ice fishing is permitted when
the creek freezes.
Anyone who enjoys Frisbee
may want to check out the
park’s 27-hole disc golf course
by the upper plantation picnic
area. Course maps with rules
and scorecards can be picked
up at the park office.
No matter what you’re
interested in, Tyler Park’s
many acres and various activities
throughout the year
make it a great place to spend
some free time and enjoy the
outdoors.