On Saturday, we took our girls on an adventure to the Bear Legacy Adventure Trail in Bel Air, MD. I had heard of this place last year, and it sounded amazing! Trails combined with a variety of nature play spaces is the perfect combo for three active littles. We followed the address on the website, but it actually took us a bit past the parking lot. At the next roundabout, we turned around, but we didn’t park in the lot as it was already full. The Emmorton Elementary School is directly across the street, and we parked there. FYI, there are no restrooms here at all. We brought a small portable potty for the girls to use.
After parking, we crossed the street and moved through the lot to a picnic area. All three girls ran off to jump on wooden stumps, and check out Bear’s Band while we waited for friends. Stormy and Rainbow were excited that two of their besties and their mom would be able to join us.
When our friends caught up with us in the picnic area, I thought we’d start our hike on the white trail, but when five little girls see something they are interested in, forget the map! We followed our excited kiddos to a tree fort and a car they could climb in.
The woods were fairly wide open with little underbrush, just prickly vines and poison ivy. That meant we stayed on the hard packed dirt trails, and we could easily see the natural play areas sprinkled throughout the area. The bright colors many were painted stood out. Once we left the car and fort behind, Pebble was thrilled to discover her favorite book turned into a storybook trail.
There are two storybook trails, and the second deals with an Eric Carle book. While Pebble would have enjoyed that, her sisters and friends had already moved ahead to a wooden climbing platform.
This adventure wasn’t so much a hike as it was a “chase the kids through the woods as they excitedly run from play area to play area.” It was a child’s paradise of play opportunities, all outside in the fresh air. Stormy and her friend soon spotted another tree fort, this one brightly painted, and all the girls were off again. As they played in the new fort, we could hear them pretending it was pirate ship and they were on the hunt for treasure!
We left this awesome fort behind when we spotted a preschool group moving our way… The trails here are wide, and the lack of underbrush makes it easier to spot people, perfect when social distancing. From the “pirate ship,” we continued to follow trails through the woods, exploring as we went. The girls found teepees made of sticks to play in, and trees with climbing handholds. We also discovered a super neat bridge made out of an old log with planks nailed into it, and a boardwalk over a large muddy area.
As we looped back toward the car, we passed the pump track where kids can bring their bikes and enjoy riding them up and down dirt moguls. Stormy was fascinated and begged to bring her bike with her next time we come back here.
We took a break from exploring to eat a picnic lunch in the parking lot of the school, and then headed back to the trails to do one final loop. The girls had a blast climbing under a wooden arch, practicing their balancing skills on logs of different heights, and finding more teepees. We ended our adventure at a play area with giant monster tires the girls could climb on.
Pebble was the first to show signs of exhaustion. She insisted on being carried once we left the tires behind, and promptly passed out on the car ride home. Stormy also fell asleep on the ride home, but Rainbow was wide awake. Will we come back? Maybe, but there are so many other places to explore first. That said, I highly recommend this place for anyone who wants to run their kids ragged! Have fun and happy trails!