Seneca Creek (PQ) and 4 Mi Hike Lake Shore Trail

Today we completed our 3rd Park Quest for the season, and had the pleasure of visiting a park that we might not have visited otherwise. Our quest at Seneca Creek was a great one for the kids. The focus of the quest was to learn about something that we sometimes overlook (or underlook?!) during our hikes -- the trees! We learned how to apply basic leaf identification (scaly, broad, needle-like), to notice the way that the leaves are displayed on the branches, the way the margins fall within the leaves. Noticing the basic features of any leaf, are they lobed or unlobed? Smooth or toothed?

This may sound a little boring but it's actually fun when you get to use these tools in a hands on environment. These were all features that the kids, especially A. were easily able to recognize and use -- and we did. The quest required us to correctly identify 12 different types of trees native to the area based on the leaves, type of bark, and branches. The latter part of the quest was another learning session (here the kids lost a little interest), where we read interesting facts about each of the trees we had identified, and used those facts to answer clues to unscramble a special message.

After doing all of this correctly, we were able to move on to the Bonus quest which included a hike around the lake shore trail (and a best shot at identifying 18 trees along the way). We did not identify all 18, but we really enjoyed this easy side of moderate hike around Clopper lake. We hiked approximately 4 miles today, there were some mild inclines along the trail, and roots to watch out for, but nothing major. We saw many trail runners, and mountain bikers using the trail as well. We also saw many other families & park quest-ers -- very family friendly here.

We identified a few native trees along the trail, and had the opportunity to see some wildlife, including a black squirrel (and many gray ones), a crane, fish, tadpoles and of course too many insects to count. We found mushrooms (we have yet to identify) that we call "pancake mushrooms" (see photo right). We also got a close up look at quite a few tree trunks where beavers had gnawed entire trees down (A. thought that was pretty cool)!

The park itself was dog friendly, so of course our 5th family member C. was along with us for the quest. He enjoyed the hike as well and took a dip in the lake mid-way through!
Overall it was a great day. Had the weather been a little cooler, it would have been perfect!

The Actual Park quest from the website is copied/pasted below...

Introduction To Quest
Your Park Quest at Seneca Creek State Park will take you through the Woodlands located at the park office and historical area. The park office is located on the grounds of which used to be the Clopper family estate from 1812 until 1955. The Clopper family enjoyed their natural surroundings and served as environmental stewards, planting a diverse group of trees on their land. This quest will take you through their Woodlands to learn about the value, uses, and diversity of the tree species and how to identify them using unique features.
Quest Information
The Quest begins at the Park Office: 11950 Clopper Road Gaithersburg MD, 20878
Print the worksheet from the website and complete the activity in order to receive your park quest stamp. You are encouraged to bring along your own tree guide to use for help with identifying trees.
This Quest is available daily from10 a.m. to 3 p.m. In the event that the park office is not open, Questers may call the phone number listed at the park office front door for assistance. The Quest will involve walking over uneven terrain and trails. The Woodlands trail is accessible to individuals with mobility impairments and stroller. The Lake Shore trail (3.7mi) is not ADA accessible or stroller friendly.
Quest Information
Print your Seneca Creek State Park Branches of Histor-tree Worksheet here.
Bonus Quest:
Pick up an Arbor Day Foundation tree identification guide from the Park Office or at the Clopper Lake Boat Center and take a four-mile hike around the Lake Shore Trail to learn more about trees and how to identify them using a dichotomous key. Boat Center schedule is subject to change, pending weather events and staffing. Please call ahead. 301-924-2127 or 301-963-8788 .
Park Information
A Jewel Close to the City: Seneca Creek State Park started as an 18th century mill operation owned by Edward Clopper. It is over 15,000 acres in size, with its outlying areas including Patuxent River State Park, Monacacy Natural Resources Management Area, and Schaeffer Farm. Activities offered include boating, fishing, disc golf, hiking, horseback riding, and picnic areas. Of note is our signature Greenway Trail, which extends 16.5 miles from Route 355 down to the Potomac River and our Disc Golf course, considered one of the best in the Mid-Atlantic area. Schaeffer Farm offers a popular multi-use trail system for mountain bikers, hikers, and horseback riders.
Seneca, comprised of 6,300 acres, extends along 14 scenic miles of Seneca Creek as it winds its way to the Potomac River. The Clopper day-use area contains many scenic areas, including the 90-acre Clopper Lake which is surrounded by forests and fields. Picnicking, boat rentals, trails, and a tire playground are just some of Seneca’s great recreational opportunities. A restored 19th century cabin and a self-guided path located near the Visitor’s Center will interpret the history of the local area. Nearby, the Schaeffer Farm Trail Area offers 12 miles of marked trails for hiking and mountain biking. For the more adventuresome hiker, the 16.5-mile Seneca Creek Greenway Trail follows the entire course of the river. During the month of May, the Schwartz Peony gardens and field plants are in bloom.

Tuckahoe State Park (PQ)

This was our second quest on the Eastern Shore, and consisted of a game of outdoor disc golf at Tuckahoe state park. This park has a lake for fishing as well as a campground, in addition to the disk golf course. We were pleasantly surprised that it was relatively "calm" on memorial day weekend, and we had the entire disk golf course to ourselves! We were there in the afternoon when the heat was at it's peak, and we didn't witness a lot of wildlife... Although there seemed to be an abundance of lady-bugs which M. (our 2 year old) enjoyed watching and holding.

The course itself is mostly out in the sun, there are a few areas of shade, which made for an extremely hot quest to complete! The disks were available to us for free from the ranger station near the lake. Best of all, this is yet another dog-friendly park, so we were able to bring C. along for this quest. Through out the short version of the course, several pictures were hidden trees and shrubbery to help us solve a series of clues (related to the wildlife and foliage in the area). After solving these clues, we had to unscramble the letters to solve a secret password for our PQ passports. D. (my hubby) and A. (our 4 year old) had a blast playing the frisbee golf despite the heat! I would say M. was a little young to really participate in the game, but she did have fun tossing the frisbees around and there were so many butterflies in this area she was busy watching them instead.

Below is the Park Quest description for Tuckahoe:

Disc Golfing With a Natural Twist

Introduction to Quest
Your park quest adventure at Tuckahoe State Park will take you through an exciting round of disc golf on the course located in the park. While navigating your way through the course, there will be answers to clues about local plants and animals. The answers found will unscramble to reveal a "secret word!"

Quest Information
This quest will allow teams to play a round of Disc Golf on the Tuckahoe State Park course. During their time on the course, the teams will look for the clues about plants and animals that will be recorded so the team can determine the secret password for placement in their Passport and for on-line registration. The Disc Gold course contains 18 holes but teams can play a shorter course from holes 1-7 with a return to their vehicle on holes 14 and 15 for a nine hole adventure although the staff recommends an entire round for fun!
Teams can use their own equipment of they can borrow equipment from the park. Discs are available for loan (or sale) at the park office (M-F 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.), at the lake concession building (Saturday and Sunday 8 a.m. to 8 p.m.) or in the campground from the camp host or at the camp store (limited hours Friday night or Saturday).
Question sheets will be available on-line for the Quest or on site at the Disc Golf bulletin board. Print Your Tuckahoe Worksheet here.

Park Information
Tuckahoe Creek, a quiet country stream bordered for most of its length by wooded marshlands, runs through the length of the park. A 60-acre lake offers boating and fishing. The park offers 20 miles of scenic hiking, biking and equestrian trails, flat water canoeing, hunting, picnicking, as well as a recycled tire playground for children. The park offers activities and special events on a seasonal basis.

Activities include day camps, canoe trips, Scales & Tales presentations and displays, and Challenge Course programs. Each weekend, Memorial Day through Labor Day, park staff offers a number of free family activities. Check out flyers posted throughout the park or call the park office for more details.

Wye Island NRMS (PQ) and 1.5 Mi Hike School House Trail

We launched the first of this summer's adventures with our Park Quest at Wye Island. An nature walk down the School House Woods nature trail -- easily walk-able even for our 2 year old. The nature trail took us through several sections of new-growth and old growth Maryland forest. And because of the "quest" the kids had the opportunity to learn about reforestation and some of the plants and animals native to that area on the Eastern Shore. We did see waterfowl, birds -- one of the most common forms of wildlife we witnessed were frogs... and something even more common than that (we even brought several home with us)... Ticks! This trail was a little less traveled than those we're used to -- near the end it was so overgrown we could scarcely tell where the trail led. The school house trail will take you down to an overlook of Grapevine cove, an inlet of the Wye River off of the Chesapeake Bay

The second part of the quest was another walk, this time down the Holly Tree Trail. Also an easy walk with a beautiful view of the 250+ year old (and very big) American Holly Tree. This section is where we completed the final portion of our quest, the rubbing for our passport! C. (our 6 year old German Shepherd) tagged along too. A nice get-away from suburbia for him :-)

Our actual quest here consisted of solving a crossword puzzle related to the plant and animal life on Wye Island as we walked through the park. We also had to unscramble a secret word for our PQ Passports, and finally completing a rubbing in our passport as proof that we completed the quest. We're saving the crossword puzzle for our scrapbook (I would love to post it but don't want to spoil the quest for other families!) I'm posting the actual quest below so years from now we'll be able to look back on it!

Altogether, this was one of the easier park activities that we've taken part in -- a great work-up to this year's family hiking season.

The park quest description for Wye Island:

A Puzzling Hike Through An Old Growth Forest

Introduction To Quest
Your Park Quest Adventure at Wye Island Natural Resources Management Area (NRMA) will have your team exploring an old growth forest, a quiet cove on the Wye River and admiring a beautiful 275-year-old American Holly.
Quest Information
The Park Quest Adventure at Wye Island begins at the entrance to the School House Woods Nature Trail parking area. The Quest team journeys along the School House Woods Nature Trail looking for clues to solve the questions on a crossword puzzle. This exploration through this old growth forest stand will allow the teams to explore and learn about the history of Wye Island, old growth forests and the animals that may be found in and around an old growth forest. The team will also visit the Wye Island American Holly to find the final clues to finish. To verify that a team has completed the Quest, they will finish the puzzle and write the final question’s answer on their passport along with a rubbing of the medallion located near the Holly Tree. For the Web log in for Park Quest, teams will record the secret word. The quest may be completed seven days a week from 8 a.m. to sunset. The loop trail for School House Woods and the trail to the American Holly is approximately 1½ miles and should take approximately two hours.

The staff also recommends that Park Quest Teams take the time to visit the Ferry Point Landing trail to explore another section of Wye Island while also walking through a unique field edge stand of Osage Orange trees and variety of wild flowers.
You may print your questions out before you arrive at Wye Island, or you may pick up the crossword puzzle in a box by the entrance to School House Woods. Print your Wye Island Quest Crossword Puzzle here.
There is no cost for visiting the park. Pets are permitted as long as they are on a leash.

Park Information
The Wye Island Natural Resources Management Area was established in 1976 to protect the island from development and to preserve the unique agricultural and natural heritage of the Wye Island area. Wye Island consists of over 2,450 acres and is home to a variety of wildlife species including the endangered Delmarva Fox Squirrel. There are over 12 miles of trails open to the public for hiking, biking and equestrian riding. Picnicking is available at the Grapevine Cove picnic area. Paddling is also an excellent way to explore and enjoy Wye Island. Wildlife is plentiful and visitors often see bald eagles, herons, deer, waterfowl and a variety of song birds.

Keeping a Pre-Schooler involved....

Our daughter is 2.5, and up to this point she has been pretty easily pacified in the child-carrier hiking pack with a little snack or juice to munch on while we're hiking. She's getting to the age where 1) she wants to test her "hiking" skills (for a little while anyway) and 2)she wants to be a little more hands-on involved. So we bring our carrier with us, and let her start out the hike with us. That usually lasts until she tires and/or gets a boo-boo, at which point she chooses to ride in the carrier!

Our son, on the other hand is a little older (4.5 years)and began hiking with us last summer, and we quickly found that he needed other ways to stay engaged in the hike, aside from the obvious (the hike itself and the end-point goal.. a spectacular view or just a feeling of accomplishment). We began with pointing out wildlife, plants, insects, interesting rock formations. This evolved into some hiking pre-planning...Us (my hubby and I) researching some key points about the upcoming hike that we were bound to come across(common native plants or animals, historical landmarks or natural landmarks like rivers). We then print out pictures of a few of these, and incorporate them along the way as a type of "scavenger hunt". Throughout the hike, our son is supposed to look for these things. If he finds them he gets to snap a photo of it (if it happens to be a fallen leaf or pine needle we allow him to press it in the log-book and take home).

This has been great for a few of reasons: 1) it keeps him engaged in what we're doing 2) it instills a sense of confidence when something is discovered 3) he LEARNS! Last year he learned to recognize fern which is common to our area -- and he still points it out when we're out! 4) it makes a great documented memory of each hike.

Of course it is a little more work on our part, but A's hiking log is something that has become very special to him! Although she is still young (2.5) M. has her own log this year.

This year so far, we have found it to be less necessary because we're participating in Park-Quest (many of the quests involve clues etc.) But I'm sure these logs will be used more throughout this hiking season!

Past family Hikes... and Bikes...

I am starting this blog a year too late... We began hiking & biking as a family last year when our son was just 3 (almost 4), and our daughter was 1 year old. We covered a lot of ground that summer even with a pre-schooler and a toddler! Our daughter, M. was obviously too young to get any real hiking done, so my husband and I took turns (ok... it was mostly him) carrying her in our REI child back-pack.

Our son, A. however, hiked each trail with us in full length! We were amazed at some of the hikes he managed right along with us -- his longest last summer being a section of the Appalachian trail to Annapolis Rock & Pine Knob, reaching a total elevation of 1,791 feet (610ft) gain. Not bad for a 4 year old! Photos of our route (left) as well as a few from the trail, and at our goal point, Annapolis Rock on the Appalachian trail (below).

Other routes included:

Great Falls National Park, a 3.37 mile hike on River Trail, Matildaville, and Patowmack canal trails. We found this park to be pretty populated. The Riverwalk trail was moderately rocky, but offered spectacular views of the river and the falls. This trail leads you down to the river bank allowing for another beautiful photo opportunity. The Matildaville and Patowmack Canal trails were a reasonable walk on wooded trails back to the parking area. Both of these trails had less of a view, and more of a historical nature to enjoy. Photos from this hike below:

Gunpowder Falls, a 3.81 mile hike on Jerusalem Trail, Little Powder Falls Trail, and Jericho Trail. An easy-moderate hike with a lot of history to it! We had the opportunity to see black-smiths at work, the old grist-mill (built in 1772), hike along the Gunpowder river, and a walk/hike to the covered bridge.

Catoctin Mountain park -- Cunningham Falls, an 4.76 mile hike on Hogs head overlook trail and back down the mountain on the Park central road... We ran out of daylight on this one! The hike up on hogs head overlook was moderately steep and slightly rocky, quite a climb (especially for A.) but the reward at the top (the view from hogs head overlook) is well worth it! We ran out of day-light on this one and ended up cutting down and hiking back to the parking via the park central road to save some time on the way down. Cunningham falls was amazingly beautiful, you have the option to hike here (which is what we did) or to drive up & park. We were a little discouraged to see so many hikers ignoring the signs for hikers/families to stay on the path behind the protective fence to prevent destruction of the fall base & river!

Greenbriar state park, a 1.6 mile hike on Camp Loop and Big Red trails. Two fairly easy trails that meet at the lake banks. We did this one early in the morning after a previous day of hiking Cunningham and camping out!

There were a few more trips from last summer that we didn't document, unfortunately -- one included a wooded hike at Patapsco.... Perhaps we'll opt for a documented re-do this summer!

Along with the hiking, D. and I did a little biking... at that age, we felt A. was a little too young to ride on his own, and with the help of Craigslist, we purchased a used Schwinn double bike trailer for $50 -- what a deal! Soon enough we were on our first "family" bike trip, 10.48 miles down the Cross island trail! What beautiful views, the best of both worlds, forested trail as well as water views. We saw snakes, rabbits, butterflies along the way. At our end point, the bridge to Kent Narrows we enjoyed a picnic lunch near the water before heading back to start.

Earlier this year in April, my sister and I re-did this trail sans-hubby. A., now 4.5 years old was finally deemed old enough to pedal this trail on his own. Other than the constant reminders to stay to the right, he did great! He pedaled a whopping 9.36 miles, and ofcourse our little M. (now 2.5) rode in the trailer. Once again on this bike trail we were lucky enough to see a quite a bit of wildlife, including waterfowl and deer.