Neversink Mountain Preserve

Neversink Mountain, whose name is derived from the indigenous Lenape word, “navasink,” meaning “at the promontory,” watches over the complex ecotone between the City of Reading and the verdant valley of the Schuylkill River. 

The mountain’s spectacular, albeit ephemeral, resort community attracting pleasure seekers from as far as Philadelphia through the 1930s. After the hotels had burned down, the mountain’s trees timbered, and its lithic soils quarried, the people of Reading stopped paying much attention to their guardian in the south.   

In 1992, following the Natural Heritage Area Inventory’s acclaim, Neversink Mountain rose to new prominence thanks to its remarkable concentration of sensitive biodiversity, especially considering the mountain’s urban proximity. 

With financial support from the William Penn Foundation and the Clinton Earl Trust, Berks Nature launched a campaign to acquire and protect Neversink Mountain.  

Over the next 10 years, in cooperation with Berks County and the City of Reading, Berks Nature facilitated the acquisition of over 450 acres on Neversink Mountain. Today, a total of 540 acres are owned or leased by Berks Nature for management and public use and another 55 acres are preserved under private conservation easements. 

Berks Nature continues to serve as the 900-acre mountain’s primary steward, and in the scars of the Neversink’s past injury hope and healing have taken root. 

Over nine miles of hiking trails now trace the abandoned railway tracks, allowing people to explore and enjoy Neversink’s natural gifts without further fragmenting its wildlife habitats. These trails take visitors past breath-taking vistas of the Schuylkill River and City of Reading, most notably at the McIlvain Pavilion and City Overlook.  

Thanks to some progressive thinking and a partnership between the Metropolitan Edison Company (Met-Ed) and Berks Nature, a forest clearing that cuts through Neversink Mountain from end-to-end functions more as a wildlife habitat than a man-made disturbance. 

Met-Ed manages this clearing as a successional grassland – one of the most threatened habitat types in the U.S. –  providing a critical sanctuary for the community of sensitive species that call these transitional spaces home. 

Other efforts to restore native wildlife habitat on Neversink Mountain include the construction of a vernal pool, which play a critical role in the life cycle of many amphibians. This pool will also help mitigate stormwater flow and erosion on the mountain making it a boon for mountain’s entire ecosystem.  

Please follow our trail safety and ethics to minimize your impact but maximize your experience! 

• There are no restroom facilities, drinking water stations, or telephones available on the mountain, so please plan your trip accordingly. 
• During your visit, bring a phone with you to conveniently reference this trail map and to call for help in case of an emergency. This map identifies several landmarks to help you remain oriented on the mountain. 
• If you visit during a hunting season, wear bright colors (or plan to visit on a Sunday when hunting is prohibited).  

All visitors should embrace the Leave No Trace ethics of outdoor recreation. Respect the land, water, and wildlife by staying on designated trails, carrying out all trash, and leaving vegetation and wildlife undisturbed. Cutting of trees and plants, alive or dead, is prohibited. 

Prior to Berks Nature’s involvement, the majority of Neversink Mountain was privately owned. Several private properties still exist on the mountain, so please respect our neighbors and do not trespass on their land.  

• Park open dawn until dusk. 
• Stay on the trail at all times. Deviating from the defined footway can cause erosion, damage sensitive plants and habitats, and violate property rights. Trail building is prohibited. 
• Dogs are welcome! For everyone’s enjoyment and safety, please keep your dog leashed at all times. 
• Share the trail as bikers and pedestrians are both permitted. Remember, pedestrians have the right of way.  
• For the safety of all trail users, all motor vehicles are prohibited. This includes All-Terrain Vehicles (ATVs) or dirt bikes. Violators will be prosecuted. 
• Do not block emergency access gates. 
• No alcohol. 
• No fires. 
• No hunting without permission. Hunting is permitted to an approved, limited number of individuals. 
• Overnight camping is prohibited.