MNPS Field Trip: Patuxent River State Park (Tuesday)

Sponsoring Organization: Maryland Native Plant Society 

On the last day of the decade we will visit the Patuxent River State Park straddling the Montgomery and Howard County line (our hike is on MoCo side). The park was originally created in the 1960’s in order to protect the water quality of the Patuxent River. We will explore along the managed trails upstream from the Triadelphia Reservoir. We will see native trees and shrubs in a naturally occurring successional forest alongside a mature pine forest restoration site. The trails include a diversity of ecosystems from hilly deciduous forests, to river floodplain, to pine forest, to grass fields that were once farmland.

Leaders:  Marney Bruce and Lynn Parsons

MNPS membership not required.

Bring: Water and snack if desired. Dress warmly.

Notes: Easy to moderate walk but if it is mild some sections of the dirt trails may be soft and slick. Hiking shoes or shoes with a good tread advised. Hiking stick may be an asset as well.

Cancellation Policy: Trip will be cancelled if raining or snowing. Call Lynn before 12 pm on Tuesday if you have concerns about whether the trip is cancelled.

Contact:(for additional information, not to register) Lynn Parsons, lynn.parsons@outlook.com, 202-415-9529 

Directions: From the Beltway, take Rt 97 (Exit 31), Georgia Ave north for 16.5 miles. The parking lot is 1.2 miles north of the intersection with New Hampshire Avenue (Route 650) on the left. It sneaks up on you at the bottom of a hill just before a small bridge crosses the river. You can use the enormous stand of bamboo on the left at the top of the hill before it as a landmark that you're just about there. If you come to Jennings Chapel Road on left or Old Roxbury Road on the right, you’ve gone past it.

Google map link https://goo.gl/maps/1z1PE5ZH9jaGe3QJ7

Trail map link: https://dnr.maryland.gov/publiclands/Documents/PatuxentRiverSP-TrailMap.pdf