It was a hot Sunday, but I was itching to get outside for some fresh air after being home with sick kiddos the previous week. We decided to go check out the Annapolis Waterworks Park in Annapolis, MD. There are two entrances to the park, one on 450 and one on Housely Road. The trailhead on Housely Road is where the public can access the park, whereas the entrance on 450 is only for those who have purchased a permit from the Pip Moyer Recreation Center. The Park has a variety of trails open to the public, but there is also a section clearly designated as being only for those who have a permit. If you’d like to fish, you will also need a fishing license in addition to the permit as the permit allows one access to the designated fishing area. No worries! The permitted areas of the park are clearly marked on the map and on the trails as well, and can easily be avoided.
On Housely Road, there is no parking lot near the trailhead nor are they any facilities. You can either park on the side of the road in the designated area or park in the shopping plaza across the street. We parked near Petsmart in the shopping plaza, and geared up there. Then we carefully crossed Housely Road to the trailhead. Be careful, cars tend to fly on this road!
At the trailhead, there was large map of the Park’s trails. There were also QR codes that you could scan if you wanted to access a map of the Park or if you wanted to donate money toward trail maintenance. For cyclists, there was a bike repair station that included tools to fix one’s bike and a tire pump. One of the coolest things I have ever seen was here, too. It was called a Trail Condition Indicator with a red, yellow, and green light. The red light indicates it isn’t a good idea to hike as you might damage the trails. Yellow was a warning to use caution as trail conditions may be marginal, and green was good to go. On this beautiful day, the green light blinked steadily, and we set off into the woods.
Once on the trail, the shade of the trees brought the temps down to a more manageable level. We had to keep our wits about us, or, as Pebble says, “peel our eyes,” in order to avoid cyclists using the trail, too. There were other occasional runners and hikers, too, but the trail was wide enough for all of us, at least at the beginning. The trail was very well marked, the state parks should take note! Every juncture had signage, and it was easy to follow the hike I’d decided on. We stayed to the right at the first juncture, doing a small part of the Housely Loop, then took the Overlook Connector to the Woodland Loop. Once we finished the Woodland Loop we took the same trails back to the Housely Road trailhead.
The hike was a bit longer than I’d calculated, not the first time that has happened, and we did about 3.5 miles. The girls had a great time checking out hollow trees, jumping over or off of roots and stumps, looking for wildflowers, and throwing rocks into the Old Annapolis City Reservoir. We even discovered a bike ramp for cyclists that the girls enjoyed jumping off of. None of us could imagine doing that jump on a bike as the jump was on a very steep hill!
The only issue we had with this entire trail was the tree stumps. When the trails were created, small trees must have been cut down. Those stumps are now in the middle of the trail, sticking up a few inches. When we started the hike, many of these stumps were spray painted orange, but that wasn’t the case on the Overlook Connector or on the Woodland Loop. We all had to watch our feet carefully so we didn’t trip. Other than that, it was a beautiful walk in the woods. If you are looking for something to do outdoors, this is a great option. With all of the little loops, you can easily customize the hike to your needs and abilities. Pebble hiked the entire time, but was definitely done at the end. She just wanted to relax on the couch the rest of the day, as did her sisters. We are glad we checked this place out, and definitely plan to return another time to hike some of the other trails. Happy trails!
