Last Sunday, the weather was gorgeous! We invited friends to join us at Patuxent River Park on Jug Bay down in Upper Marlboro, MD. When we arrived, the small parking lot was already filled. We parked with other cars in a nearby meadow instead. The Visitor Center and offices are closed right now due to the pandemic, but there is a walk-up window that is open at certain times. Bathrooms are located in a building nearby and are open.
Between our family and our friends, we had five littles, and those littles made a beeline for the observation tower! There is an elevator to the top for those that can’t manage the climb. I def recommend going up as the view of Jug Bay is gorgeous!
Once we finished soaking in the view, we climbed back down and took the dirt road over to the Patuxent Rural Life Museums.
The kids had fun checking out the restored old homes that were relocated to this site. All were adamantly opposed to the idea of living in a home with an outdoor privy!
Near the blacksmith shop, we turned onto the brown trail, and began to explore.
We followed the brown trail as it wound down across Walnut Creek on boardwalks and bridges. Then we climbed up a hill, and turned onto the green trail. We followed the green trail to its end at a scenic viewpoint, and turned around.
At the first intersection of the green and brown trails, we turned back onto the brown trail. Out of the two trails, the brown trail was much more interesting to the kids because it hugs the shoreline of Jug Bay. There are scenic viewpoints, and many boardwalks across the marshes. The kids loved looking for minnows, and throwing sticks and rocks in the water. We even saw osprey on their nests vocally letting us know we were too close!
The end of the brown trail was at Jackson’s Landing, an area where people can fish and launch boats. We climbed the stairs to the upper parking area, and headed for our cars.
We left this area of the park behind, and followed the park access road out to Croom Airport Road. Instead of making the right to head home, we turned left toward the Historic Croom Airport. Near the site of the old airport, we parked and checked out a Nature Exploration Area for kids.
The spider web was the biggest hit with our crew! Everyone loved climbing on it, and hanging off of it. Stormy, Rainbow and their friends also loved climbing up and down the stumps scattered throughout the area. Pebble had fun checking out the log tractor, and she could have spent hours transporting sand from a canoe sandbox to the mud kitchen.
At this point, we had been at the Park a few hours, and our friends, sadly, had to head home. We gave the girls two options. We could head home ourselves, or take one last walk through the meadow and woods to Mattaponi Creek to toss rocks in. Can you guess which option they chose?
It was a bit of a longer walk to the Creek than I expected, but the girls all gathered rocks to toss in. Pebble kept putting her finds in the pocket of my sweatshirt. Stormy held the bottom of her shirt, and dropped rocks in there. Rainbow enlisted her dad’s help with her haul. All three had an absolute blast throwing the rocks into the Creek.
Just as a FYI, on Sundays only you can drive your car around Croom Aiport, past the Native American Village, and onto this bridge. Once you cross the bridge, the road is dirt / sand, and it heads through Merkle Wildlife Sanctuary. There is a great lookout tower in the marsh that is a short hike from the road just past Mattaponi Creek. We did this drive two years ago and saw a fox. Merkle Wildlife Sanctuary, pre-pandemic, also had an amazing Visitor Center with lots for the kids to do and see.
All three girls had a great time on this adventure, and were utterly exhausted! Pebble never napped and went down hard that night! The fresh air made everyone hungry, too. The girls finished off our picnic lunch on the way home. I’ve never seen a bag of carrots get demolished that quickly! I highly recommend checking this place out if you get a chance! It is a hidden gem in Prince George’s County. Happy trails!