Patapsco Valley State Park, MD
I remember reading that most Cracker Barrel restaurants will allow you to stay in their parking lot, I checked a few sites for their overnight policy. I found a Cracker Barrel in Linthicum Heights, MD, about an hour from College Park, MD. The AllStays had a few comments from people that stayed there. One suggested that it was loud in the morning because of trash pickup. I’ve dealt with noisy locations many times even at nice campsites. As I pulled in, there was a guy in a Subaru arranging air mattresses in the back of his car. I said hello and wished them a goodnights sleep. They told me they had checked with the restaurant to make sure it was OK to stay there. It was raining and I went in to see what desserts they had. I ordered a warm slice of apple crisp pie. It was a little gloppy, but I ate most of it.
When I got back to the car, it was close to 10pm and all the lights of the parking lot were shining on the front of the car. I put up the privacy screens on all the windows but the back. One of the nice things about this location was that they had motion sensors on the lights. So, around 11pm the lights went out. There was a Northrop Grumman office building in the back, but the lights were far enough away that they weren’t noticeable. Around 2am, I opened the car doors to let in fresh air and got out to stretch. This kicked on the lights in the parking lot. Sorry neighbors. I noticed, that three trailers had pulled in on the other side of the trees and two more cars.
I woke around 7:30 and went into Cracker Barrel for breakfast. I ordered French toast and was surprised when they delivered real maple syrup. My neighbors were having breakfast as well and stopped to say hello. They were on their way to Florida, taking a few extra days to get there and see things along the way. They were trying to avoid the high costs of hotels and decided to car camp. They were from Maine, and I told them how much I enjoyed hiking in the state.
I found a Starbucks nearby for coffee and spent a little time doing some online things. The people at this store were very friendly. I stayed until slightly before noon and then headed to the Patapsco Valley State Park.
The park wasn’t far away. There was a 3 USD charge to enter the park. The Patapsco State Park is Maryland’s second largest state park. There were no discounts for seniors, but there was a yearly park pass for 10 USD which give you access to all state parks for the year. After paying my 3 USD, I found an empty parking lot at the first fork in the road at the park entrance. I came to do the grist mill trail which runs up the river. Unfortunately, it was closed for trail renovation. I rode part of it until I got to a place where it wasn’t possible to get any further.
The Patapsco river valley has a long industrial history. There are plaques in various parts of the park that talk about the history of that area of the river and how things changed over time. The railroad still is active in the valley.
This river used to feed a valley with a lot of industry. As houses have been built and the watershed depleted, the river doesn’t flow like it used to. There is a damn further up the river for controlling the river flow as well. I wasn’t able to get there on the bike. A plaque near the parking area reads as follows:
Before the state park was established, the Patapsco Valley was home to many industries including iron, cotton and flour mills. Remnants of the valley's industrial past can be found all along the river. Visitors can learn more about the park's history at the Avalon Visitor Center.
I turned around and rode the road up the west side of the river and came to a parking lot. I met a young guy in the parking lot and he told me to join him, he was going to ride some of the trails. About 5 minutes into a very steep ride, he lost me. I clearly wasn’t going to be able to do that trail with the tires I have on the bike.
I turned back and found the yellow trail (Ridge Trail). This was a moderate hiking trail in AllTrails. but at times it was very difficult on the mountain bike. I don’t have the big nubs on the bike, which would have helped with some of the climbs.
Although this was difficult, I had a lot of fun riding this trail. There were a couple of mountain biking groups and most of them were flying on these trails. It was fun to watch them maneuvers downed trees, large roots, rocks and narrow trails. At the end I felt I had improved my mountain biking skills. I could have spent many days in this park.
There are so many trails in this park, but unfortunately I wasn’t able to get to some of them with the bike. Click the map to see more trails.
Click Map: Access to the PDF. Red arrow points to the Ridge Trail (yellow)
After getting back to my car, I pulled out the cooler and made a couple of avocado, lettuce, and Gruyere cheese sandwiches.
I found a planet fitness nearby and took a shower and looked for a restaurant.