New Garden Hills

In 2018, New Garden Township acquired the 137-acre property on Limestone Road, the site of the former St. Anthony’s in the Hills parish day camp. Historically, the site has seen mixed-use agriculture and the mining of Kaolin Clay. The Catholic Church (Saint Anthony of Padua Parish in Wilmington, Delaware) purchased and began to develop the property as a day camp in the late 1970s. The church continued to develop the property for the next 4 decades. Use of the day camp declined in the early 2000s and the camp fell into disrepair by 2015. New Garden Township obtained this unique property with the intent of preserving open space and developing a new municipal park. A revised Park Master Plan was presented on September 15, 2025.  Check it out below and stay tuned for future updates!

A portion of New Garden Hills is currently open to the public via the Phase I nature trail.

Kaolin Trail

The New Garden Hills Phase I nature trail is open! Kaolin Trail, at New Garden Hills, provides public access to the former Saint Anthony's in the Hills site for the first time since the property was acquired in 2018! The trail is open 7 days a week, dawn till dusk, unless otherwise posted. All park rules & regulations are in place and enforceable.   

Trailhead parking is located at 6742 Limestone Road, Avondale PA, 19311. The main trail corridor utilizes an abandoned service road and loops through an old soccer field, circling back to the limestone road trailhead. While exploring the old soccer field, trail goers pass through a recently completed riparian buffer where they can experience live-stake plant nurseries in action!

Please note that while the trail is open, the interior of the park is still closed. Restricted areas are clearly marked. Trail goers are asked to stay on the trail. Thank you and we look forward to seeing you on the trail!