Howard County Bird Club
Marriottsville Road Detailed Information
Both open and forested areas along the railroad tracks and the river are a fine combination, producing interesting flyovers as well as a wide variety of nesting and migrant bird species.
Habitat: Mostly floodplain and upland deciduous forest. Some fields can be accessed by following trails upstream and upslope.
Layout: The bridge where Marriottsville Road crosses the South Branch of the Patapsco River provides access to a section of the 14,000 acre PVSP which runs 32 miles along the Patapsco River. The river is the boundary between Howard County and Carroll County. The North Branch of the Patapsco merges about a mile downstream; below that point Baltimore County lies across the river. There is ample parking between the railroad tracks and the river. There are no facilities at the parking lot. This is a no fee area. The McKeldin area of PVSP (fee area) 0.7 miles north on Marriottsville Road in Carroll County has facilities.
Best Time to Visit: April and May; late spring and summer for Neotropical breeders; September.
Birding: The area in the vicinity of Marriottsville Road can be highly productive and is worth visiting in the breeding season as well as in migration. In April and early May it is one of the best areas in the county for Cerulean and Yellow-throated warblers. Look and listen for Yellow-billed Cuckoo, Acadian Flycatcher, Yellow-throated Vireo, White-breasted Nuthatch, Wood Thrush, Blue-winged Warbler, American Redstart, Ovenbird, Kentucky Warbler, Scarlet Tanager, and Indigo Bunting. An option for multiple birders is to leave a car at this location, drive the other to Henryton, and hike back 1.3 miles.
Note that there is heavy weekday morning “rush hour” traffic along Marriottsville Road which can result in stop-and-go traffic south from the river all the way to I-70. For example, a plan to start at Marriottsville Road for a short while and then go to Bon Secours or Henryton could run into this traffic.
Upstream – Follow the railroad tracks a few hundred feet past a small stream. Birders then have a choice of following the active railroad track, taking a trail along the river, or walking a trail on the wooded hillside which parallels the tracks. Both trails rejoin the tracks in about a half mile where the tracks cross the river into
Carroll County and enter the Henryton Tunnel.
The dirt trail along the river is generally level for the first half mile from the parking lot. It rejoins the tracks just before the bridge at the Henryton tunnel. Many birders will turn around here, returning along the tracks back to the parking area. A few hundred feet along the tracks toward the parking lot an alternative return route is to take
the trail which emerges from the woods on the uphill side. This trail splits almost immediately. One trail leads uphill (and is described in the Henryton Road section). Take the other trail on the uphill side paralleling the tracks. This one is in the woods and often above the railroad cut, offering views into the fringe of trees along the river. At about 0.4 miles along the forest trail, just a tenth mile from the parking lot, a short detour up an uphill trail leads to a large field where birds such as Brown Thrasher, Indigo Bunting, and even Wild Turkey are possible.
Downstream – The downstream trail is accessed by crossing Marriottsville Road and walking along the railroad tracks. In a few tenths of a mile a trail on the forested (uphill) side parallels the tracks. At approximately 0.6 miles, there is a small pond and wetlands area. The trail loops around the pond and rejoins the tracks in the McKeldin Rapids area. This trail can be followed approximately two miles to Woodstock Road, the next car access point. As with all PVSP trails, there are multiple trail junctions, affording access into the upland forest and fields.
Driver Road – Another PVSP access point for this section is from Driver Road which loops east of Marriottsville Road, beginning immediately north of the Bon Secours entrance road and exiting just
before the Patapsco River bridge. There is room for four or five cars to park on the shoulder opposite a mailbox at 950 Driver Road. An approximately two-mile round trip down to the river in the McKeldin Rapids area will offer a variety of habitats including long distance views down a power line, passage across a very large brushy field where Prairie Warblers nest, a forest walk down a stream valley, and the small pond and wetlands mentioned
above. There is a complex network of trails at Driver Road and a PVSP complete trail map and compass and/or GPS device are recommended for travel in this area.
Highlights: The McKeldin Rapids, approximately 0.6 miles east (downstream) of Marriottsville Road, along with the large pool below them, are worth investigating during periods of normal rainfall.
Handicapped Access: The large parking lot is level and mostly gravel. Walking from the lot in either direction is initially difficult walking on the rough gravel along the active railroad tracks. The upstream river trail is level. Neither is recommended for the mobility impaired.