Todd Nature Reserve

Todd Nature Reserve
367 Kepple Road
Sarver, PA 16055

No restrooms available; no dogs allowed except service animals

Todd Nature Reserve is more than 220 acres and includes just over five miles of trails. ASWP owns additional properties and easements around Todd Nature Reserve that increase the total protected area to more than 500 acres. The reserve is a designated Important Bird Area (IBA) and there are no restrooms or other amenities on-site. However, Buffalo Creek Nature Park, which is just two miles away on Monroe Road, has restrooms and other amenities available Tuesday-Sunday between 9 am and 5 pm.

Todd Nature Reserve is our most untouched property and to best protect the habitats and animals in this space, pets are not allowed. Bikes and motorized vehicles are also prohibited. The trails are open dawn to dusk 365 days a year, free of charge. Respect plants and animals by leaving them in their natural habitat and by staying on the trail. 

All outdoor activities involve some risk, including falling trees and branches, wet or slippery conditions, and interactions with animals and insects. In using the trails at Todd Nature Reserve, you are agreeing to assume those risks. 

Consider becoming a member of Audubon Society of Western Pennsylvania to help maintain this special place.

Download the Todd trail map and trail descriptions

Loop Trail: Red (2 miles)

This trail leads through various forest habitats including upland oak-hickory, the edge of hemlock ravines, and young red maple stands where were once farm fields. Near the pond, one can look east across fields to the farmhouse where young Clyde Todd visited his grandparents in the 1800s. Rocky portions, one stream crossing, occasional wet spots, and moderate grades. Walking time: 60 minutes

Ravine Trail: Purple (0.8 miles)

One-way trail with one option to join Loop Trail after about 1/3 mile. This trail follows Watson’s Run through a mixed hemlock-deciduous forest. Several rocky stream crossings, which require wading or challenging rock hopping. Caution: stream rocks are slippery! Please respect our neighbors and do not continue downstream onto private property beyond the end of the trail. Walking time: 35 minutes

Ghost Pipe Trail: White (0.6 miles)

Named after the whitish smoking pipe-like plant which appears on the forest floor in early July, and one of the easiest walking trails. This trail is travels through upland forests in the middle of Todd Nature Reserve. Rocky along the northern section only, and the grade is gentle, except for one moderately steep short connector section near the cabin. Walking time: 20 minutes

Polypody Trail: Orange (0.3 miles)

Named after the small evergreens polypody fern that grows on huge boulders along the western section of this trail. Intersected by Indian Pipe Trail, the eastern segment is level through a young forest of red maple and black birch trees. The western portion connects the uplands to the Watson’s Run valley and is moderately steep and rocky. Walking time: 15 minutes

Hemlock Trail: Green (0.2 miles)

The trail leads from the upland forest to shady streamside hemlock groves. Various hickories, maples, and oaks surround dense clusters of hemlocks. Soggy footing in places during wet weather. Watson’s Run is crossed once by rock hopping. Caution: rocks can be slippery. Walking time: 10 minutes

Warbler Trail: Blue (0.15 miles)

This trail follows an old logging road built in the late 1950s when many hemlock trees were cut down after being killed by a lopper moth outbreak. Gentle grade with a few rocks. Walking time: 10 minutes

Pond Trail: Yellow (0.5 miles)

Meanders through former meadows that were once farm fields, but have now reverted to crabapple thickets and young aspen-red maple forests. Splits at the pond (built in 1969) and connects with Loop Trail in three places. Almost level with just a few muddy areas and a section with tree roots to step over. Walking time: 15 minutes

Shoop Loop: Red/White (0.9 miles)

This trail explores the newest addition to Todd, the site of the former Shoop Homestead. You will begin in an early successional forest with species such as big-toothed aspen. New explore a meadow – a unique habitat that provides important food and cover for birds, pollinators, and wildlife before you loop back through the forest portion of the trail. Areas of the trail may be wet after rain. Walking time: 30 minutes

Audubon’s first property

W.E. Clyde Todd’s passion for birds led him into a career studying birds. Before becoming the Curator of Birds at Carnegie Museum, as many associate him, Clyde Todd worked for the U.S. Biological Survey, as well as for Dr. C. Hart Merriam, as an assistant in formulating the new concept of life zones. Mr. Todd held the position of Curator of Birds from 1899 to 1945, and then became Curator Emeritus until his death in 1969.​

In 1942, Clyde Todd approached Audubon Society of Western Pennsylvania with an offer of land situated near Leasureville, Butler County, PA. The land, was a portion of his grandfather’s Hazelwood Farm, the place where his passion for birds began. His gift to the society marked the first parcel of land owned by the society, and it was Todd’s hope that the land would be kept in perpetuity as a wildlife sanctuary. In the years that followed, Mr. Todd assisted in acquiring additional lands. By early 1970, the reserve stood at 160 acres, and encompassed the streams and valleys that embody the property today.

In the 1990s, ASWP added an additional 15 acre tract along Kepple Road to the property. Recently, ASWP purchased a 100 acre tract mostly south of the nature reserve. The lands act as a buffer to the core parcel of the reserve, and protects the view scapes of the area. ASWP will continue to protect W.E. Clyde Todd’s wishes by maintaining a reserve on the land where he grew up, and the property that bears his name.

Todd Nature Reserve is unspoiled and contains difficult terrain. The property is not currently ADA accessible.

For accessibility needs or questions about any of our sites, please contact Brian Shema at 412-963-6100 or bshema@aswp.org.

For accessibility needs or questions about any of our programs, please contact Chris Kubiak at 412- 963-6100 or ckubiak@aswp.org.

All other questions regarding accessibility or inclusion can be directed to Jim Bonner at 412-963-6100 or jbonner@aswp.org.