Annapolis Rock
Patuxent River State Park
Annapolis Rock Road, Woodbine Maryland 21797
(horse trailer parking lot)
Amenities: No facilities.
Special Attractions: Extensive pine plantings regularly produce breeding and wintering owls; American Woodcock display in late winter and early spring; and a variety of warblers nest in the floodplain forest.
Handicapped Access: Limited. The large horse trailer parking lot and roadside pullouts offer a chance to see and hear nearby species; some offer a good view of the sky. Most trails are uneven, some rutted.
Habitat: Extensive pine plantings and deciduous woods, scrub and second-growth, upland and floodplain, cultivated fields, streams, a pond, a beaver-created wetland, and bird feeders in winter at the headquarters building on Annapolis Rock Road.
Layout: A small sign on the north side of Annapolis Rock Road indicates parking for horse trailers and other vehicles on the south side of the road. Enter through a metal gate and follow a deeply rutted lane to the grassy (sometimes muddy) parking lot (P1 on the Large Site Map). Upland trails originate here. Roadside parking along Annapolis Rock Road and Hipsley Mill Road (P2 – P5) provides closer access to floodplain trails. No facilities. Trails are unmarked. Cell phone coverage can be spotty. A network of well-established horse trails throughout the area; some cross tributaries such as Cabin Branch. Crossing narrow tributaries generally does not require waterproof footgear; however, crossing Cabin Branch does. During rainy periods, trails can be extremely muddy. Trails along the Patuxent River are described in the Hipsley Mill section.
There are no state-produced maps of the trail network. The main parking area on the south side of Annapolis Rock Road (P1) is marked by a small sign across from the entrance. Designed for horse trailers, you enter through a metal gate which is usually closed but not locked. The deeply rutted lane leading to the parking area can be difficult for a car with low clearance to negotiate, especially in wet, snowy, or icy weather. Parking is in a large, circular, grassy (sometimes muddy) area. Wide and easily followed horse trails (also used by hikers) fan out through patches of planted pines, along old farm fields, and through young deciduous woods. Trails are dry except after heavy rains or where they drop down to cross small streams. Trail access from additional small parking lots (P2–P5) along Old Annapolis Road and Hipsley Mill Road are described in the Birding section below. The trails leading from the parking lot where Hipsley Mill Road crosses the Patuxent River are described in the Hipsley Mill site guide. On the floodplain, there is a greater likelihood of encountering muddy trails or needing to ford Cabin Branch. It is safest to cross only at horse fords, which are generally gravel-bottomed and fairly shallow.
One of the wider sections of this linear park, Annapolis Rock has excellent habitat diversity. There are some good views of the sky. Much of the area surrounding the main parking lot used to be covered with annual herbaceous plants and young second-growth trees. A combination of pine plantings and natural succession is gradually changing the habitat and reducing bird diversity.
From P1, there are three trail entrances. With your back to the entrance road, A is to the right near the information board, B is straight ahead between posts, and C is to the far left. Exploring from each trailhead, whether “out and return” or a short loop, will provide a sense of the habitats found here. The parking pullout (P2) is 0.4 miles east of the P1 entrance and can be a suitable alternative if P1 has too much activity. From this point, one can cross Annapolis Rock Road and enter the extensive trail system (D). Take the first left into a little stream valley and continue straight at the junction past a derelict shelter to travel along the base of several overgrown fields. (They can also be reached from P4 as described below.) P2 also gives access to Cabin Branch at (E), a trail that begins a little west of the pullout and follows the branch north. Most birders will want to turn around in about 0.3 miles when a field becomes visible on the right. From this point on, the trail is in poor condition as it loops back to Annapolis Rock Road.
Floodplain: The third parking area (P3) is on Annapolis Rock Road 0.2 miles farther east, just before the intersection with Hipsley Mill Road. To explore the floodplain, look for trails running east from Hipsley Mill Road near the intersection with Annapolis Rock Road. Just north of that junction, a trail leads into a beaver wetland (F). At the intersection, on the south side of the bridge across the guardrail, a trail (G) leads uphill from Hipsley Mill Road. It soon crests and drops to the branch which you must cross to continue. Southwest of that same intersection, 0.2 miles along Hipsley Mill Road is a small field entrance (P4) with room for up to two cars. Don’t block field access for farm machinery. Walking from P3 to P4 on the road is possible but be aware it is up a hill and the road cut in places leaves steep banks with no shoulders. In the winter or fall, there are trails that lead from point G to I; by summer they may be so choked with briars as to be unrecognizable. To stay in the non-hunting area from P4, cross the road and enter the trail system at point H through a stand of mature White Pines. A suggested route is to take a right at the junction just past a fence line and follow the trail around to the base of several overgrown fields. Or, from P4, one can go east at point I (into the hunting area) on a trail that soon splits: the left choice drops to Cabin Branch, and the right choice parallels a farm field and eventually drops to Cabin Branch. If you choose to cross it, a horse trail follows the stream on the south (east) side about 0.4 miles until it joins the Patuxent River. It is also possible to follow a trail on the west side of Cabin Branch all the way to the Patuxent River.
A half mile farther south on Hipsley Mill Road is a wide gravel pullout (P5). This gives a view of scrubland from the road. From a path just north of the pullout (point J), one can explore two large scrubby fields crisscrossed with mown paths; all are within the hunting area once one goes off the road corridor. These fields can be especially productive spring through fall.
A GPS unit or a reasonable sense of direction is advisable if one chooses to wander the trails. The park headquarters is in a brick building on the north side of Annapolis Rock Road, a quarter mile west of the gated parking lot (P1). Feeders are maintained behind the building in the winter.
For more information on this state park, see Patuxent River State Park.
Compilers: Joanne Solem & Scott Berglund.
