The Hopewell Big Woods is a globally significant ecological resource, an expanse of un-fragmented mature forest extending over large areas of Chester and Berks Counties.

It is part of the federally recognized Highlands Forest region stretching from south-central Pennsylvania to western Connecticut, and is within the Schuylkill Highlands, one of the PA DCNR’s seven Conservation Landscape Initiative regions.

The Hopewell Big Woods forms critical habitats for rare and endangered birds, terrestrial wildlife, and plants; it includes important regional trails and natural recreation areas; it is a source and setting for exceptional value and high quality streams and drinking water; it features an increasingly rare dark night sky environment; and it is a rich repository of unique sites and features essential to the understanding of American history, particularly with respect to the Revolutionary War and the early years of the Republic.