I’ve been limited in my ability to do “big” trips lately (probably since backpacking in the Smokies), but have been doing a lot of exploration that’s fairly local. Greenwell is an interesting little State Park in Southern Maryland, an old farm that has been (largely) allowed to return to a natural state, but also serves as the home of the Greenwell Foundation, which does public outreach and serves as home to a therapeutic program involving its resident stable of horses.

The park has lots of trails that are flat, and wide enough to serve as roads (at least for “gators” or small side-by-side vehicles), running between the Patuxent River and Cuckold Creek. Not surprisingly, it’s popular with horseback riders, and it belies its history of agriculture – there are still big, old oaks, beeches and poplar trees bordering areas that are filled with clearly younger (15-20 years?) poplars and pines, now growing where a cornfield once stood.

It’s also filled with birds, and deer, and snakes, and spiders (if you’re the first one walking the paths on a given day you’ll find LOTS of spiders), and butterflies, and all manner of other critters. Through the seasons, things change – and that’s a great thing about a local park: You can keep going back over and over and experience the same places at different times, and watch how the world evolves over the course of a year.

There’s nothing particularly special about Greenwell. By which I mean, there’s no big summit, no beautiful waterfall, no rare megafauna. It’s just a place slowly making the transition back from human cultivation to nature – it’s probably a LOT like a place near your home, and it’s worth your time to spend some time there, slow down and look.

Get Out There!