Sun, May 24 · 2:30 PM EDT
Please note; during the warmer months, especially on the weekends, this park charges a fee to enter. It's $3 for in-state, & $5 for out of state license plates. Also, the drive down River Road to the Orange Grove parking lot can take up to 10 minutes if the park is crowded. Please leave yourself enough time to get there.Another important factor to consider is that May 24 is the Sunday of Memorial Day Weekend. If the parking lot is full, we might have to switch to a different trail for those who are still interested in hiking with us that day, even if the plans have to change due to overcrowding.
We will meet between 2:15 pm & 2:30 pm. We will start as close to 2:30 pm as possible. If the weather turns out to be unpleasant in the morning , we will push this hike off by a few hours, weather permitting, but we want to try to keep it on the same day. If the parking lot is full , we will change parking / hiking locations (the Note at the end has my alternative trail idea) or we can try for a later time that day. Adam & I will do our best to get there around 2 pm so that we can assess the parking situation & reach out to people that are on their way, if we need to adjust our plans for the day. If people would like to leave a comment about their preference, it might save us time on the day of the hike, in case we need to change plans on the fly.
This hike will be a 3 mile loop. Our journey will begin by crossing the swinging bridge from River Road to the Grist Mill trail (where we ended last time.) When we reach the end of the Grist Mill Trail, there is another bridge; the Grist Mill Walking Bridge, very appropriately named. That bridge is not as long or wobbly (in my opinion) as the swinging bridge & has more wood slats down & more "side paneling". From there we will walk along a narrow trail next to the road (inside of the guard rail) & make our way over to the Bloede Dam Trail. The Bloede Dam & River Road Trails start pretty high up & have a few rocks that we needed to walk around or climb over. If you are afraid of heights, please reconsider hiking with us on this trail. We are always glad to have anyone join us, but we do not wish for anyone to have a panic attack while out on a trail.
https://www.alltrails.com/explore/recording/evening-hike-2139875?u=i&sh=c68rvg
As always, come prepared for the weather, bring some form of hydration, any hiking supplies you need, and some good topics for conversation! See you all there!
NOTE: I found this trail on AllTrails, which is only a 13 minute drive from the Patapsco Avalon area. I believe that I have hiked it before with Abdullah, but I might not have time to scout it again before the day of the hike. The good thing about having this as an alternative hiking option is that there are 3 different parking lots which all lead right onto the same loop in different locations!
