Frederick County Watershed

Hike date:  April 3, 2011



Rock Structure in the forest

If you are looking for a little variety in terrain look no further because the Frederick county watershed has it for you!  This place, aka the Frederick County Municipal Forest, offers everything from trout fishing, mountain biking, hunting, and hiking.  This location is extremely popular to all types of cyclists so if you are headed out on a weekend expect to be sharing trails with bikers.  On some occasions I have run into groups of 30 or more people out biking here.

Battle Creek Cypress Swamp to Calvert Cliffs State Park

Hike Date: Sunday May 1st, 2011


Battle Creek Cypress Swamp

Cypress tree base with knees showing

Today our first stop brought us to Battle Creek Cypress Swamp.  This small sanctuary is devoted to the preservation of one of the few remaining cypress swamps in Maryland.  It is a nice place to visit, but for you avid hikers, there isn't much here to hike!  A short boardwalk through the swamp and a few small trails around a field are all that is here.  It is a neat place to visit but not a place you can spend a day at.  An important thing to remember is the areas limited hours so plan accordingly.  We slowly enjoyed the area and had walked from the front to the back within an hour.  Since this area was quite a drive from home we had a back up plan already planned out.

More C & O Canal Adventures: From Point of Rocks, MD to the Lander Lockhouse

Hike Date:  Sunday, April 10th, 2011

Todays hike took us up to the Section of the C & O Canal towpath from Point of Rocks in Frederick County up the the Lander Lockhouse.  Hiking this time of year gives you the opportunity to see wildflowers blooming, and listen to all the frogs and toads calling.  Parking was minimal along train tracks so be prepared to parallel park.  As with all of hour hikes on the towpath, remember that you must walk back to where you parked.  Our hike was three miles each way.

Lander Lockhouse

Along the hike there are two lockhouses.  These served as homes for the lockmasters and their families.  They had to be available at all times to open locks for boats passing through.  While the C & O Canal was only operated between 1831 and 1924, many of the lockmasters families continued to live in the houses well into the middle part of the 20th century.  These lockhouses are now rented for overnight guests.

Trout Lily

Monocacy NRMA Civil War Trails

On Sunday, March 20th, we headed out to do some hiking in Frederick County, MD on some of the famous Civil War Trails in the area.  Our destination was the Monocacy NRMA.  The trails were a bit muddy, unmarked, and there were also some creeks to cross so boots are recommended on this one.  We walked around for a while and discovered an old lime kiln along the trail. After a quick look at this piece of history we continued our adventure along the trail.

C & O Canal Adventures Part 2: Dickerson to Mouth of Monocacy

March 17th, 2011

Todays hike brings us to another section of the C & O canal tow path.  For starters at the Dickerson side there was a much smaller parking lot than Great Falls but a lot more open parking.  The majority of the traffic on this section was bike riders so it wasn't quite as crowed as Great Falls. The views of the canal and river are quite nice here, minus the walk past the energy plant. We also spotted a few critters along the way.