Maxwell Hall Park: a 7.5 or 8.5 Moderate Hike, Your Choice

Maxwell Hall Park: a 7.5 or 8.6 Moderate Hike, Your Choice

Maxwell Hall Park, in Charles County Maryland, spans 670 acres and offers roughly 14 miles of trails winding through a variety of habitats, including woods, fields, hedgerows, and marshes. Its rolling hills provide scenic views and direct access to the sandy beaches of the Patuxent River—the longest river entirely within Maryland. At this location, the Patuxent is a broad tidal estuary, drawing waterfowl and gulls in winter and hosting terns and wading birds in summer.

The park is primarily made up of second-growth hardwood forests, with older trees found in stream valleys and some planted conifers scattered throughout. Fields are leased to local farmers, so most are cultivated, though occasional shrubby fallow areas can be found. Marshy creek outlets dot the river’s edge, creating excellent opportunities for birdwatching. Across the river you will see the Chalk Point Generating Station, an important source of electricity for the region.

There are six main color-coded trails, all clearly marked and well-kept. We will touch four of them on the 7.5 mile hike and five of them on the 8.6 mile hike. Terrain varies from steep hills to gentler slopes, generally descending toward the river. Streams crisscross the park, with bridges over larger ones and wet crossings at smaller streams. Marshes of varying size are located throughout.

Bring a lunch or snack that we will have along the way.

The 7.5 mile hike will end around 1:30 and the 8.5 mile hike will end around 2:00.

A leashed, well-behaved fido is welcome on this hike.

Time to Meet:
Please meet at 9:45 in the parking lot of the Safeway in Prince Frederick, which is at the intersection of Route 4 and W Dares Beach Road (see address and GPS coordinates below). We meet at the side of of the parking lot (by Route 4). We do NOT meet at Maxwell Hall Equestrian Center. We will leave promptly at 10:00 for the trailhead.

Contact Information:
Please use the comments feature for routine comments and questions. The hike Leader is Christa (410-610-6254). Call or text as needed.

Directions to Trailhead:

We meet at the Safeway parking lot in Prince Frederick, MD. The street address is 80W Dares Beach Rd., Prince Frederick, MD 20678. The GPS Coordinates are 38.545971, -76.590564. We meet in the parking lot at the side of Route 4. From there we carpool to the trailhead. We do NOT meet at Maxwell Hall Equestrian Center.

Details
Rating: Moderate
Distance: 7.5 or 8.6 miles
Elevation Gain: Approximately 600 on the 7.5 mile hike and 625 feet on the 8.5 mile hike
Pace: 2.0 to 2.5 miles per hour
Facilities: There is a portable toilet near the trailhead
Fees: no fees

Cancellation:
In the unlikely event that the hike needs to be cancelled, it may be cancelled up to the evening before the hike. Hikers will be notified through comments on this posting.

Weather:
The weather for this location can be found here.

Notes:
-Please note, you must sign up at by 9:00 PM the day before the hike.
-Please do not show up unregistered.
-Please keep this a fragrance free event.
-To find out more about PATC, click here.
-Consider becoming a member of PATC. To join, click here.