The Maple Shade Town Forest sits in a rolling forested swath between Brookside Road and Woods Hollow Road, where hilltops, saddles, and wetlands all run roughly northeast-southwest. Elevation ranges from around 500 feet near Brookside Road to around 760 feet in the northwest corner. The property has an interesting mix of wetland and stream features, including two wetland areas associated with stream headwaters. Hemlock forest and hemlock-hardwood forest are the dominant cover types.

Shortly after crossing a stone wall and entering the woods on a well-defined woods road from the open fields on the farm, one passes a small vernal pool on the right. Though not a pristine vernal pool due to its small size, hydrologic impact of the road, and possible human-caused origin, the pool nevertheless provides breeding habitat for forest amphibians such as wood frogs and spotted salamanders, and is very easy to access for educational purposes. Just a bit further in the woods, the road crosses a wetland surrounding a small stream that begins further north. Sensitive fern and cinnamon fern dominate this wetland (or at least were the most obvious plants on our spring visit), which also has scattered small elm and hemlock trees.

At its southern end, the stream begins to descend through a steep ravine. It is joined near the southern property boundary by a second stream that also originates on the property and receives the outflow from two ponds to the west. These long, narrow, peaceful, and isolated ponds have long been influenced by beavers, and their surface elevations may vary slightly depending on the level of beaver activity. They are surrounded by hemlock forest. Ledges are present along parts of their margins, and both drain to the northeast with water ending up in the previously described stream. North of the westerly pond, a narrow band of forested wetland fills a gentle saddle and gives rise to this stream. Seeps, mossy fallen tree trunks, and spongy organic soil characterize this area, where hemlock, red maple, sensitive fern, cinnamon fern, and ostrich fern occur.