I have been planning to write a post about this place for ages! My family and I have been here at least four times since the summer. When I ask my girls where they want to go hiking, both Stormy and Rainbow beg for the swinging bridge park! The Orange Grove / Avalon / Glen Artney areas of this park are easily the most popular and well known sections of Patapsco Valley State Park. We have had to learn a few tricks when it comes to enjoying this place. First, and very important, avoid on the weekends! We went once on a warm Sunday and the place was insane! Second, go early, right when the park opens if you can. The earlier you get there, the better chance you have of getting into the Orange Grove area. Rangers will close off access to this area if there are too many people. Weekday mornings between 9 and 10 are perfect!
Just as a FYI, there is a fee to enter the park, and I’m never sure as to what that fee is. I recommend bringing cash. Depending on the day and season, a ranger may be collecting that fee or you may need to drop the fee in an envelope and deposit in a locked box. This latter option is on the honor system and the reason I recommend cash. I think last time, we paid $2 to enter. Once you drive all the way into the Orange Grove area, there is a decent sized parking lot to park in, and there are bathrooms. Bring a mask as masks are required in the restrooms, and you may want it when crossing the swinging bridge. The bridge is narrow and you can’t social distance on it.
We always start our adventures here by crossing the bridge. The view of the Patapsco River from the bridge is beautiful! Plus, all 3 girls like jumping up and down on the bridge to get it to move more. Once you cross the bridge, you can go right or left on the Grist Mill trail. My girls always turn left in order to take a path down to the water’s edge. There is a large sandbar with tons of rocks that are perfect for throwing!
Once the girls have finished tossing rocks and climbing on and over driftwood, we usually walk back past the bridge and down the Grist Mill Trail. It is a paved walkway, and the girls love exploring on and off trail. Pebble loves finding sticks and dragging them along with her, even if the sticks are bigger than she is! With the cooler weather, there are fewer fishermen and more opportunities to play along the river bank. On this latest trip, there was plenty of icy puddles for the girls to find and smash!
We followed the Grist Mill Trail as far as the tunnel. Both Stormy and Rainbow always attempt to jump the stream within the tunnel, and often end up with wet feet! They also try to put sticks and other obstacles in the flow of water just to see what happens. There is a small waterfall here, rocks to clamber over, logs to balance on, and, of course, more opportunities to chuck rocks in the water. Due to the cold weather and the ice, we didn’t play as long. Once we stopped moving, we got cold fast!
By the time we left the tunnel and moseyed back to the bridge, it was lunchtime. We grabbed our picnic lunch from the car and snagged a table in a pavilion near the parking lot. We ate fast, enjoying the view of the river.
After lunch, it was decision time. Did we want to go up to see Cascade Falls or do a different trail? The Falls are pretty, but also very popular! It was the winter break, and kids were out of school. The parking lot was jammed with cars so we skipped the falls. Instead, there was a paved trail at the very end of the parking lot that parallels the river. It is similar to the Grist Mill Trail, just on the opposite side of the river. It was the prefect choice! So many icy puddles to slip on and crunch through!
When we had followed the trail as far as the location of the old dam, there were steps we followed down to a rocky sandbar. The girls had a blast exploring, and Stormy even discovered she could wet stones and “write”on the larger rocks.
After playing for a while, Pebble announced she was tired and asked to go home. It was a chilly day, but the girls played for hours! Pebble was out cold in her car seat before we reached the highway. Fresh air, some hiking, and lots of exploration put this park in our top five all time favorites. I definitely recommend checking it out, just be aware it does get busy! Happy trails!