Dallas, PA - 17 Acres - Open to Public
Forest Echo Bird Sanctuary
The 17-acre property, located off West Center Hill road in Dallas Borough features a 0.6 mile loop trail through a bustling forest. Songbirds, woodpeckers, birds of prey, and more call these trees home. Small mammals like chipmunks and squirrels are plentiful, and you might even catch sight of the herd of whitetail deer who populate the Sanctuary.
The Land Trust would like to thank Wyoming Seminary and the Dallas Borough community members for helping to make this conservation project reality.
Forest Echo Bird Sanctuary History
In 1907, Rachel and Dr. Sarah Wyckoff of Kingston purchased 17 acres as a bird sanctuary and summer retreat. The Wyckoffs stewarded this idyllic piece of the Back Mountain until Rachel’s death in 1946. Rachel bequeathed her family property to the Wyoming Seminary Preparatory School with instructions to “Maintain the 17 acres of wooded lands around her cottage known as Forest Echo as a sanctuary for birds.”
Wyoming Seminary followed those wishes faithfully but eventuallyrealized some changes would be needed to guarantee the land remained a
sanctuary into perpetuity. In 1993, the North Branch Land Trust recognized the sanctuary as a priority project given its proximity to Huntsville Reservoir and increasing development pressure in the area.
Visit Forest Echo Bird Sanctuary
- The Forest Echo Bird Sanctuary is located on the 400 block of West Center Hill Road, Dallas Borough.
- Visitors may drive past the Sanctuary signage to the small timber-framed parking area near the Old Wishing Well.
- The Forest Echo Bird Sanctuary Trail begins at the Old Wishing Well and loops back to the parking area.