When we asked members of our team where they go when nature calls, we expected a list of favorite parks, trails, and weekend escapes.
What came back was something more personal.
The team shared the places that steady them. The paths they know by heart. The gardens they return to each spring. The lakes tied to friendships and memory. The trails, creeks, rivers, and fairways that remind them to slow down, look up, and exhale.
Because sometimes getting outside is less about adventure—and more about returning to yourself.
Stillness
Some places restore us simply by asking nothing in return.
Julie Froelich pointed to Corinthian Gardens in Fairmount, calling it “a quiet little oasis” tucked beside the penitentiary behind high walls and an iron gate. She described floral beds, lilac trees, fig trees, shaded Adirondack chairs, and the soft soundtrack of crickets in the evening.
Zoe Draper Fox (our team's resident floral designer--check out @zoefoxflowers) echoed the sentiment, declaring it “SO SO GREAT,” adding that the big lilac was already in bloom.
For Kristin McFeely, stillness lives close to home. One reason she moved to Chestnut Hill, she shared, was access to trees, Fairmount Park, and the Wissahickon. “There is a trail head to the Wissahickon just behind my house… we are sitting by Cresheim Creek in five minutes.”
Sometimes peace is not remote. Sometimes it’s nearby and familiar.
Movement
For others, restoration comes through motion.
Sarah LoGiudice named Ridley Creek Park, the Bala Cynwyd Trail, and long rides on the Schuylkill River Trail stretching through Manayunk, Conshohocken, and all the way toward Valley Forge. An avid cyclist, her advice was simple: just follow the trail.
Amy Reese finds that same reset through hiking at Austin T. Blakeslee Nature Area and kayaking at Francis Walter Dam.
Dan Giannetto offered another version of movement: the fairways of Riverton Country Club, an old Donald Ross course near his home. He described it as walkable, social, and surrounded by beautiful old homes—a place where he has made lasting friendships over the years.
Not everyone goes outside for stillness. Some of us go to move, compete, wander, and feel alive again.
Water
Water has a way of changing the pace of everything.
Joe Morrison chose Lake Nockamixon Reservoir in Bucks County. It reminds him of growing up in the Midwest, he said, and has become a halfway point where he reconnects with friends from New York City and Quakertown. “And the fishing is pretty good too.”
Dan Giannetto also highlighted Rancocas Creek in South Jersey, where timing the tide right can carry you on a gentle float from Hainsport to Delanco on a summer day.
Amy Reese named Lake Harmony as one of her favorite places for rest and reset, while Kristin McFeely mentioned her little cabin in the Poconos on Lake Wynooska near Lake Wallenpaupack for peace on the water.
There is something about being near water that loosens whatever we’ve been carrying.
Beauty
Sometimes what restores us is beauty itself.
Several members named gardens and blooming landscapes that have become annual rituals.
Sarah LoGiudice praised Morris Arboretum, where kids can build fairy gardens, watch miniature trains, and explore among the trees.
Zoe Draper Fox recommended Andalusia and Glen Foerd along the river, Lemon Hill near Boathouse Row for its views, and the great botanical destinations of Morris Arboretum in Chestnut Hill, Longwood Gardens, and Winterthur. She mentioned making her annual lilac pilgrimage to Winterthur this season.
Amy Reese named Chanticleer Gardens in Fairmount as her local favorite.
Kristin McFeely added Longwood Gardens in Chester County near where she grew up.
Beauty asks us to notice. In noticing, we often feel better.
Community
What stood out most in these responses was how often nature and connection came together.
Joe Morrison uses Lake Nockamixon to meet old friends halfway.
Dan Giannetto found friendship through a local golf club.
Kristin McFeely tied Valley Green to the memory of getting engaged there eighteen years ago and Pastorius Park to our team's annual family photo shoots and summer concerts.
Even the most solitary trail often carries a shared story.
The Real Destination
No one mentioned needing to go far. No one talked about grandeur.
Instead, our team named creeks behind their homes, trails they know instinctively, gardens they visit every spring, lakes connected to old friendships, and places woven into the rhythm of everyday life.
That may be the real lesson.
When nature calls, we are rarely searching for somewhere new.
We are usually searching for somewhere that helps us remember who we are.
