Articles
Take a Hike Through Southern Maryland
Story by Judy Colbert
Southern Maryland: This is Living
Photography by Mike
Stringfellow
Updated and corrected May 2006.
Throngs of people are attracted to the multitude and variety of hiking trails and paths in Southern Maryland. The problem isn’t whether you can find a suitable trail, but which one to pick. Do you want solitude or lots of company? Trails and paths that are hard, moderate, or easy? A long or short walk or hike? Terrain that is sandy, swampy, or forested? Hey, there may be more choices than Baskin-Robbins has ice cream flavors. Here are some of your options.
Calvert County
Within Calvert County are the aforementioned Calvert Cliffs State Park, Flag Ponds Nature Park, Cypress Swamp Sanctuary, Jefferson Patterson Park & Museum, Kings Landing Park, Annmarie Garden, Kings Landing Natural Resources Management Area and Parkers Creek.
Within the Calvert Cliffs 1400 acres are a 1.3 mile wooded trail that leads you to a 100-yard protected stretch of Chesapeake Bay beach, renowned for its fossil hunting, and 13 miles of trail through woodlands, past ponds, creeks and marshland, into a picnic area, and the opportunity to view wildlife (squirrels, rabbits, turkeys, and deer).
At Flag Ponds, you’ll see wildflowers, particularly the Blue Flag Iris (for which the park is named) most abundantly in the fall, as you wander a short, half-mile trail or along longer trails.
Cypress Swamp is the northern-most stand of cypress swamp, complete with knees (but no Spanish moss) and those cute fuzzy vines climbing up the trees are poison ivy, so it’s particularly important here that you appreciate by viewing and photographing, not by touching. Although there’s a boardwalk for touring the swamp, there are some natural woodlands between the nature center and the trail.
Annmarie Garden’s path take you to more than a dozen major art pieces, as a gallery without walls.
At Kings Landing, trails meander through meadows and upland forest and a boardwalk lets you see marshes along Cocktown Creek.
At Parker’s Creek, with its 7000 plus acres— of which 76% is forested— you’ll find one of the few streams that drains directly into the Chesapeake Bay. There’s a mini “continental divide,” if you will where most creeks drain into the Potomac River before heading out to the Bay. The area is filled with endangered plant and bird species.
Charles County
Charles County is the home of Cedarville State Forest, Smallwood State Park, and Gilbert Run.
Cedarville State Forest located in both Charles and Prince Georges County has a number of trails, including Holly (5 miles), Heritage (3.5), Plantation (2.5), and Swamp (2) that are shared by bikers, hikers, and equestrians. They are easy to moderate, but you have to watch for poison ivy and sumac. Of note, the Cedarville Bog, leading to the headwaters of Zekiah Swamp, has several carnivorous plants, including the roundleaf sundew and the northern pitcher plant. As home to more than 50 species of trees, it’s a natural haven for wildlife and birds. There’s a charcoal kiln (on the Heritage trail), a reminder of the days when the woods provided tons of charcoal that heated many state park buildings throughout the state.
Smallwood State Park has trails wandering through the hardwood forest, totaling about two miles.
Gilbert Run is a 180 acre wooded parkland with a 60-acre fresh water lake (fishing, rowing, and boating). Surrounding the lake is a 2.5 mile trail, the first half of which is fairly hilly but has a number of stations identifying beaver habitat, duck nesting areas, and numerous tree varieties. John Snow, park ranger, says you can pick up a map with the information about each station at the park office. The second half of the trail is flat, but there are no stations or identifying information. The park is open from March through November. There are also picnic areas, and a nature center with a 150 gallon aquarium.
St. Mary’s County
In St. Mary’s County, you’ll find trails at Greenwell State Park, St. Mary’s City, St. Mary’s River Park, Point Lookout State Park, St. Clements Island State Park (accessible only by boat).
Located on the Patuxent River, Greenwell has several miles of marked foot trails throughout the 166.6-acre park. There are ten miles of marked trails open to the public all year, ranging from easy (Blue, Green, Yellow, Gray, Historic Barn Slay Ride Hill, and River) to moderate (Red and White) to hard (Orange). Depending on which trail you select, you may see old tobacco barns, wildlife, a tidal pond, or hardwood forest. Some of these trails are restricted to foot traffic only, and some trails are closed during the hunting season.
The five miles of the St. Mary’s City trail takes you past the historic points of the old settlement as seen in today’s eyes and offers great views of the St. Mary’s River.
An 11-mile trail circles a 250-acre lake at St. Mary’s River Park, and it’s used by hikers, bikers, and those on horseback.
Point Lookout State Park, with its variety of trails, offers numerous challenges for novice to moderate walkers and hikers as it skirts Lake Conoy, the Potomac River, and Chesapeake Bay. It’s particularly popular in the spring and fall as birds migrate through the area and in August and September as monarch butterflies migrate. Be careful of poison ivy.
These are just some of the many options within Southern Maryland. Besides enjoying nature and the many wonders of the state, regular walking is said to help reduce the rate of breast and other cancers, the risk of heart disease, stroke, diabetes, depression, and even impotence. Of course, there’s always the benefit of potential weight loss from a regular exercise program.
Southern Maryland Parks
Annmarie Garden on St. John
Dowell Rd, Solomons
(410) 326-4640Battle Creek Cypress Swamp Sanctuary
Gray’s Rd, Prince Frederick
(410) 535-5327Calvert Cliffs State Park
1650 Calvert Cliffs Pkwy
Route 765, Lusby
(301) 872-5688Flag Ponds Nature Park
(South of Prince Frederick)
(410) 535-5327Gilbert Run Park
Route 6, 7 miles east of La Plata
(301) 932-1083Greenwell State Park
25450 Rosedale Manor Ln, Hollywood
(301) 872-5389Historic St. Mary’s City
P.O. Box 39, St. Mary’s City
(800) SMC-1634Jefferson Patterson Park
10515 Mackall Rd, Saint Leonard
(410) 586-8500Kings Landing Park
Huntingtown
(410) 535-2661Parkers Creek
C/O American Chesnut Land Trust
Scientist Cliffs Rd, Port Republic
(410) 586-1570Point Lookout State Park
Scotland
(301) 872-5688Smallwood State Park
2750 Sweden Point Rd, Marbury
(301) 743-7613St. Clements Island State Park
c/o Point Lookout State Park
P.O. Box 48, Scotland
(301) 872-5688St. Mary’s River State Park
C/O Point Lookout State Park
P.O. Box 48, Scotland
(Between Leonardtown & Lexington Park)
(301) 872-5688Zekiah Swamp
Cedarville State Forest
Route 4, Box 106 A, Brandywine
301-888-1622