Photography By Tim Tadder, courtesy Maryland office of tourism
Birding
“Late in the afternoon till dark during the migration season, thousands of snow geese come in to land one after another at Prime Hook National Wildlife Refuge. The show, which resembles snow squalls, goes on for hours. And should an eagle fly by, the entire flock lifts off together, and you can’t see the sky behind them. The sound of all of the wings flapping fills the air like the roar of Niagara Falls.” - Chris Bennett, manager, Seaside Nature Center, Cape Henlopen State Park, Lewes, Del.
“One day at Blackwater Wildlife Refuge, I saw a pair of great horned owls together in a sliver of woods only 20 yards deep just off the road and twelve separate bald eagles tending nests. The combination of the size, the number, and the grandeur of these birds in such a small area is amazing. And a great place to see Baltimore and orchard orioles is the Cromwell Valley Park in Baltimore County.” - Mark Schilling, Baltimore program coordinator, Chesapeake Audubon Society
“It’s a wonderful thing to wake up to the songs of wood thrush singing every morning here at Pickering Creek Audubon Center. We also have woodpeckers, scarlet tanagers, wood ducks, and yellow-billed cuckoos. It’s a great place to view all sorts of wildlife, not just birds.” - Mark Scallion, assistant director, Pickering Creek Audubon Center
Camping
“The Shad Landing Area at Pocomoke River State Park, 4 miles south of Snow Hill, Md., includes beautiful, shady campsites situated beneath tall loblolly pines. Only forty-five minutes from Ocean City and Assateague, it’s the perfect alternative to staying in a motel. Corkers Creek flows right by the campsites, and the park rents canoes for paddling along the stream. Eight miles away is Furnace Town with its old iron furnace and restored buildings. And unlike the campsites on Assateague Island, there are hardly any bugs. In the summer, the bugs on Assateague can run you right out.” - Bryan MacKay, author, Hiking, Cycling and Canoeing in Maryland, A Family Guide
“We’re at the point where the Chesapeake Bay and the Potomac River come together. Point Lookout is a great place to pitch a tent along the waterfront and watch the pinks and oranges of the sunset over the Potomac. Sometimes it looks like the sun is dropping right down into the water.” - April Havens, park ranger, Point Lookout State Park
Cycling
“I’ve ridden the East Coast from Maine to Florida - twice. We have the best cycling here in Sussex County, Del. There isn’t much traffic, and the county has done a great job of making the roads very bicycle friendly. Even Coastal Highway from Lewes to Ocean City is a great ride because it has dedicated bicycle lanes the whole way. For 25 miles you can enjoy views of the ocean and not worry so much about the cars.” - Larry Wonderlin, president, Sussex Cyclists
“Every Wednesday evening, spring through fall, we ride a 16-mile loop in Southern Maryland. From Accokeek, we pedal down Livingston Road, paralleling Route 210, Indian Head Highway, to the town of Bryan’s Road, and then down Marshall Hall Road to the Potomac River. Marshall Hall is a delightful rest stop with a boat launch and a view of Mount Vernon across the river. It used to be an amusement park and is now a historic site. We then head back to Accokeek on Barrys Hill Road to West Accokeek Road. The ride is open to everyone.” - Jim Hudnall, president, Oxon Hill Bicycle and Trail Club
“The roads on the Eastern Shore are flat, which makes riding easier. They’re smooth, have wide shoulders, and little traffic. Yet sometimes people think that riding flat roads can be boring. But roads like Route 213 pass by beautiful scenery, especially the Chester River, and offer the opportunity to visit lots of small, sleepy little towns, such as Chestertown, Worton, and Galena that you’d otherwise miss when just driving to the beach.” - Don Carbaugh, membership coordinator, White Clay Bicycle Club
“There’s a little bit of everything on the Baltimore and Annapolis Trail. Following an old railroad bed from just outside of Annapolis 13.3 miles to Dorsey Road in Glen Burnie, the paved bike trail passes by open meadows, woodlands, wetlands, horse farms, residential and urban areas, and even three shopping malls. There are hundreds of ways to get onto the trail, and it’s up to your imagination as to how far you’ll go. You can even continue onto the BWI trail that makes a 10.5-mile loop around the airport.” - Dave DeVault, park ranger, Anne Arundel County
Fishing
“The Upper Gunpowder wildlands are probably my favorite area of the park. It’s one of the premier fisheries in Maryland. Wild trout are pretty rare in Maryland, but the cold water from Prettyboy Dam keeps them alive year-round, and the insects encourage the fish to feed. Fishing is good year-round. I go there in January just to get away from the crowds.” - Andrew Hangen, park service associate, Gunpowder Falls State Park
“Surf fishing on Assateague is a nice way to get away from the crowds. You can look up and down the beach and hardly see anyone, even on some summer days. It’s a great place to put your feet in the sand after working all week. There’s no hustle and bustle; it’s very relaxing. There’s a nice drop-off close to the beach, so you don’t have to cast as far.” - Sue Foster, author, Ocean City Fishing and Crabbing Guide
“One good place is known as ‘The Airplane Wreck,’ where an old World War II plane sunk off of Tilghman Island in the middle of the Choptank River. There’s just a lump there now where stuff has grown around it. It was there way before my time, but everybody knows about it. Fish like to hang around structure, and that’s a natural reef that holds bait fish and other food.” - Jamie Latham, owner, Shore Sportsman, Easton, Md.
Hunting
“Pocomoke State Forest has almost anything you want - squirrel, deer, ducks. I’m sure you could find a rabbit in there, too. And turkeys - there’s a huge amount of birds down there. Everybody I talk to seems to get their limit there, and they seem real happy about it. You can wander in Pocomoke for a long time and never find another soul, even though it’s public land. Even on opening day of deer season, I only saw two other trucks in the section where I was.” - Lynn Jarmon, assistant manager, Delmarva Sports Center, Ocean City, Md.
“At Turkey Point and Roques Harbor in Elk Neck State Park, there is a healthy, abundant population of deer for bow hunting. It’s just recently been open to hunting in the last two years. There’s a mix of hunters, from the very serious to fathers and sons.” - Bill McKinney, ranger, Elk Neck State Park
Mountain Biking
“Uphill, downhill, smooth, rocky - Fair Hill [Natural Resource Management Area] has the best diversity for mountain biking. You’ve got wide-open vistas, pastures, covered bridges, log jumps, woods, and it’s so vast you can ride all day and not see anyone else. And there’s no traffic noise!” - Bill Short, secretary, Trail Spinners Mountain Biking Club, Newark, Del.
Hiking
“The 13-mile Calvert Cliffs hike is nice because it’s not just all woods. You follow the path out onto the beach, and when it’s hot, you can wade in the water or dig around for fossils before climbing up to the top of the cliffs. It’s a 1,000-foot elevation change that leads to a fantastic scenic overlook of the Bay.” - John Castell, president, Chesapeake Hiking and Outdoor Society
“Quiet Waters Park is a wonderful little county park with a 6-mile hike that mixes a paved and unpaved trail. The paved trail is a 4.5-mile loop. But off the pavement, the trail winds down to and then follows the South River through a series of creeks and coves. There are several great views of the Bay, and you’ll see plenty of deer and other wildlife in dense woods that you usually don’t find in a suburban park.” - Bill Shuman, president, Adventurequest Unlimited
“The Goldmine Loop at Great Falls on the Maryland side has it all: scenic beauty, a trail that’s easy to walk on (even with a stroller), and access to a more challenging trail. You can visit the Maryland Mine, which is an old gold mine, see the historic Great Falls Tavern, and the Great Falls Overlook, which is gorgeous. You can also add another 5 miles by hiking the Billy Goat Trail, which offers a great view of the Potomac River. The crowning achievement of it all is that during the summer, they sell ice cream at the Great Falls Tavern. What more could you want?” - Nora Palmatier, hike leader, Center Hiking Club
“The Pocomoke River State Forest Hiking Trail is located in a predominately loblolly pine forest, which contains a great variety of wildlife. The 4 1/2-mile trail is marked by white dots on the trees, and it’s close to Milburn Landing campground. It’s a thick forest, and you might see white-tail deer, bald eagles, osprey, red-tailed hawks, great blue herons, and even swamp warblers.” - William Yates, ranger, Pocomoke River State Forest
Horseback Riding
“There’s nothing like trying something new while your horse trusts you enough to do it. The Tuckahoe Equestrian Center can challenge you with all sorts of new things. You can cross the Tuckahoe River, ride in the woods where you have to weave around the trees and occasionally duck under branches, and gallop across rolling green hills and open fields. It’s just such a different place to ride and a great place to cement a bond between horse and rider.” - Susan Thompson, competition show rider
“Fair Hill is a pristine 5,623 acres whose history could fill a newspaper. It’s one of the few areas on the East Coast available to equestrians for just a $2 parking fee. It has easy-to-traverse hills, narrow paths, streams, and open fields. ‘America in Miniature’ is what they call it. I’ve been riding there for twenty years, and all the trails are my favorite. You see open land with no distractions, no power lines, or residences. As far as the eye can see, it’s all rolling hills.” - JoAnn Kricker, volunteer mounted patrol ranger, Fair Hill
Paddling
“Paddling through the sloughs of Virginia’s Eastern Shore Barrier Islands on the tip of the Delmarva Peninsula takes you back to another time. You won’t see any jet skis or pleasure boats. Instead, you’ll see real watermen at work, hauling in tons of dogfish to the drone of their boats and authentic watermen’s communities such as Wachapreague, Oyster, and Quimby. You can also paddle through a nice salt marsh at the Eastern Shore of Virginia National Wildlife Refuge. It’s like Chincoteague was fifty years ago.” - Judy Lathrop, owner, Atlantic Kayak
“One of the greatest aspects of kayaking is that you are very non-threatening to the wildlife around you. This affords the opportunity to view wildlife in its native environment in a manner that would not otherwise be possible. When paddling in areas such as Trap Pond State Park, you feel as if you’re in a Louisiana swamp as you glide through the black water beneath the tall trees. It is not uncommon to pass within touching distance of everything from turtles to any of the 250 species of birds that can be seen there. Not only do you see woodland birds, such as hummingbirds and warblers, but you also see coastal species like egrets.” - Mitch Mitchell, head guide/instructor, Coastal Kayak, Fenwick Island, Del.
“There are so many beautiful places to paddle in the Chesapeake area that it’s hard to pick one. But one of my favorites is the Tuckahoe River. Downstream the river opens up into tidal marshes. But heading upstream, the overhanging greenery embraces you, forming a dark tunnel to paddle through, and the water becomes incredibly clear.” - Mike Savario, co-owner, Amphibious Horizons
“Sea kayaking can be more than just paddling along flat, pristine waters. Out in the Atlantic Ocean, just off of Assateague Island National Seashore, the waves can be high enough that even motorboats are challenged. Kayaking becomes something entirely different. In two- to three-foot seas, riding the waves is akin to being at an amusement park - but without the long lines.” - Sunny Pitcher, president, Potomac Paddlesports
Scuba Diving
“Wreck diving off of Delaware and Maryland is a sport not only of wonder, but of opportunity. Some scuba divers prefer the clear warm waters of the tropics. But that can be one-dimensional in that you are usually only an onlooker and rarely a participant. On local dives, you can be more than just an interested observer of underwater life. You can be a lobster hunter on the wreck of the Washingtonian (a freighter that sank to a depth of 100 feet in 1915) deep in the ocean off the border of Maryland and Delaware, a spear fisherman in the shallow waters near Fenwick Island, or an artifact hound on the China Wreck (a wooden schooner filled with a cargo of china that sank to 50 feet sometime between 1867 and 1878) in the mouth of the Delaware Bay.” - Trish Boyer, captain, Surface Interval Dive Charter, Rehoboth Beach, Del.
Surfing
“Dewey and Rehoboth beaches offer excellent access to prime surfing areas, such as Chesapeake Street in Dewey, in front of the boardwalk in Rehoboth, and everyone’s favorite spot, the north side of the Indian River Inlet where two big jetties are surrounded by lots of sandbars. When riding a wave I get into The Zone. It’s hard to describe. But as the wave is breaking right on top of me, it creates an image of looking down through a barrel at a surreal mural, especially at sunrise or sunset. Colors just come spinning off the top of the water. - Jerry Seling, owner, Dewey Beach Surf and Sport.
“At Assateague, the waves break farther out, and it’s a longer ride. It picks up a swell better than Ocean City or Delaware. In Ocean City, it gets very crowded on the designated surfing beaches. If you go to Assateague, you can surf all day almost anywhere without the crowd.” - Salty Selthhofer, owner, Endless Summer Surf Shop, Ocean City, Md.
Windsurfing
“My favorite places to sail are Ocean City and Dewey beaches, Bay sides of both, since the winds are stronger and more steady. I have a lot of fun passing speedboats on my windsurfer. When I pass, I like to jump their wake and watch their expressions.” - Ross Cutler, author, Windsurfing in the Baltimore/ Washington, D.C. Area
“In the lower Chesapeake at our launch on Buckroe Beach, Va., it starts to get really fun when northerly winds kick up to 25 to 30 knots. Big, choppy water and clean wind that’s not coming over the land makes for great wave jumping. The Hampton area also has launches for all wind directions and all levels of ability, such as Ocean View, Chick’s Beach, Mill Creek, and Strawberry Banks.” - Glenn Woodell, former president, Windsurfing Enthusiasts of Tidewater.
“With a strong southeasterly flow, the winds are funneled up into Annapolis Harbor, creating some pretty decent waves to jump. Windsurfing here has given me more than twenty years of pure fun. There’s nothing better than cruising across the harbor and looking back at the city while the sun sets over the capitol’s dome. It’s an image I keep with me wherever I go.” - Mark Bandy, manager, East of Maui Surf Shop, Annapolis, Md.
Freelance writer Matthew Graham likes to spend most of his time outdoors. Beth Pryor contributed to this article.
Contacts
Birding:
Blackwater Wildlife Refuge
410-228-2677
Cromwell Valley Park
410-887-2503
Pickering Creek Audubon Center
410-822-4903
Prime Hook National Wildlife Refuge
302-684-8419
Camping:
Pocomoke River State Park
410-632-2566
Point Lookout State Park
301-872-5688
Cycling:
Baltimore and Annapolis Trail
410-222-6244
Fishing:
Assateague Island National Seashore
410-641-1441
Gunpowder Falls State Park
410-592-2897
Hunting:
Elk Neck State Park
410-287-5333
Pocomoke River State Forest
410-632-2566
Mountain Biking:
Fair Hill Natural Resource Mgmt. Area
376 Fair Hill Drive
Elkton, Md. 21921
410-398-1246
Hiking:
Calvert Cliffs State Park
301-872-5688
Great Falls State Park
703-938-8835
Pocomoke State Forest Hiking Trail
410-632-2566
Quiet Waters Park
410-222-1777
Horseback Riding:
Fair Hill
410-398-1246
Tuckahoe Equestrian Center
410-820-1668
Paddling:
Assateague Island National Seashore
410-641-1441
Eastern Shore of Virginia National
Wildlife Refuge
757-331-2760
Trap Pond State Park
302-875-5153
Tuckahoe State Park
410-820-1668
