From May 6th to May 30th, Quiet Waters Park and the Friends of Quiet Water Park Sculpture Committee hosted a fairy house event inside the park. Fairy Houses, created by local families and school groups, were on display along the Holly Trail, which started at the Holly Pavilion, just downhill from the Visitor Center. The event kicked off on May 6th with a festival, which included a fairy tea party, and a presenter telling fairy stories, among other things. My girls love going down to Annmarie Gardens for their fairy house event that occurs every summer, so I thought this exhibit could be a fun outing for Pebble and I while her sisters were in school.
Quiet Waters Park is located at 600 Quiet Waters Park Road in Annapolis, MD. It is very easy to locate! Like Downs Park, Fort Smallwood, and Kinder Farm Park, there is a $6 admission fee, unless you purchase the pass that allows unlimited access to all 4 parks for an entire year. Once we entered the park, Pebble and I parked near the Holly Pavilion to walk the trail and see the fairy houses. The Holly Trail is paved, so very stroller friendly! Pebble ran ahead to see what she could find. The fairy houses were tucked into the woods on either side of the trail, and Pebble zig-zagged back and forth trying to see everything. By the time we reached the overlook, which gave us a stunning view of Harness Creek, the fairy trail was done. There were a lot of houses, but they only covered a small fraction of the trail. Pebble and I backtracked to the car, checking out the tiny homes for details we’d missed the first time we’d walked by. It was super neat to see all of the work that went into these homes, but we both wished the fairy walk had been a bit longer, and maybe that the homes were spread out more…
After we got back into the car, I drove further into the park, and down to a lot near the South River Overlook. Pebble and I walked another paved pathway down to the overlook, and then we took the stairs down to the water’s edge. Pebble immediately hunted down rocks she could toss into the water. She also picked some of the gorgeous wildflowers growing on the hillside below the overlook. It was a beautiful day, and the view from here is stunning!
I let Pebble play for a bit, throwing rocks and sand into the water, along with leaves and whatever else she could find. Then we followed the trail back to the car, and drove to yet another lot inside the park, this time the lot for the playground, which has been renovated in the last few years. For some reason, I had never taken my children to the playground at Quiet Waters Park before, and I’m not sure why. Rainbow definitely prefers Downs Park, while Pebble loves Lake Waterford, and Stormy likes any park with monkey bars. Just as a FYI, I didn’t see any restrooms in the park, but there were porta-potties close to most of the lots we parked in.
Pebble and I followed the paved path through a small meadow, over to the playground. The playground was at the bottom of a hill, reached via steps or a paved ramp. From the top of the steps, we had a perfect view of everything the playground offered. There is a large swingset for older kiddos, as well as a tall play structure. There is also a smaller tot area, complete with swings for the younger set. Pebble explored everything! She loved the music area in the tot area, as well as jumping from tree stump to tree stump to reach a climbing board up into the small playset. On the larger playset, she couldn’t get enough of the tall twisty slide, and she had fun doing the scavenger hunt. There was also a piece of equipment shaped like a cave, open on both ends that kids could climb up on or through. Pebble was easily able to climb up, but had a bit more difficulty getting down.
All in all, we had a wonderful morning outside in the fresh air exploring the park. When we finally headed for home, Pebble asked to come back with her sisters as she wanted more time on the playground. There is just one problem with that… The playground didn’t have a set of monkey bars, the favorite playground essential of both Rainbow and Stormy. Quiet Waters is a great option for us if we are in the area, otherwise we will stick to playgrounds that all three kiddos will happily play on. Happy trails!
https://www.aacounty.org/recreation-parks/parks/quiet-waters-park