Six years after the COVID-19 pandemic lockdowns drove Marylanders into the great outdoors, the surge of visitors at Patapsco Valley State Park has yet to taper off.
“People found us and didn’t forget about us,” park manager Rob Dyke said.
With that heavy foot traffic in mind, Patapsco park officials and volunteers with the Friends of Patapsco Valley State Park will launch projects this fall to open access to one of the least-used parts of the sprawling park
They include building a pedestrian footbridge to Patapsco’s secluded Woodstock area and adding 10 miles of new trails — passing landmarks such as a granite quarry that produced slabs for the Washington Monument, a filming location for the 1999 horror film “The Blair Witch Project” and a stone bridge built by Jesuit priests.
These days, roughly 1.5 million to 2 million people flock every year to the park, which extends along 32 miles of the Patapsco River and spans Anne Arundel, Baltimore, Carroll and Howard counties. That’s a spike from the approximately 1 million annual visitors the park was drawing before the pandemic, Dyke said.
Patapsco’s newfound popularity is good for the park’s budget, 70% of which comes from visitor revenue. However, it’s also created challenges from overcrowding, particularly in southern parts such as the Avalon area, which reaches capacity and temporarily closes just about every weekend, he said.
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The Woodstock area, meanwhile, is much quieter.
“You can be out there and only encounter a dozen other people,” said Jim Miller, the Woodstock trail captain for the Friends group.
Perhaps that’s because it lacks parking, except for a few semisecret access points used by mountain bikers, including Miller. The planned pedestrian bridge across the river’s north branch will change that, connecting Woodstock to the McKeldin area’s parking lots.
The project will open to bids Monday, and officials hope to award a contract for construction before the end of the year, assistant park manager Joe Vogelpohl said.
“We’re excited to pull people out of more developed areas into an area that’s not as well utilized,” he said, adding that the Woodstock area’s attractions include old ruins, beautiful overlooks and cool rock formations.
While park and state officials are taking the lead on the bridge, the Friends groups volunteers are focusing on building the new trails to accommodate people with accessibility challenges. Adaptive trails are typically designed to be wider and smoother, which makes them popular with people who use adaptive bikes and handcycles, along with equestrians and intergenerational hikers who prefer to walk side by side, said Dave Ferraro, executive director of the Friends group.
Patapsco already boasts the first adaptive trail system in Maryland. The Friends group completed 5 miles of adaptive trails in the McKeldin area in 2024 and has secured $650,000 in grant funding and donations to build more in Woodstock.
“So many people think building trails in a natural resource is intuitive, but it’s a real blend of art and science,” Ferraro said.
The Friends group organizes six public trail work days a year in which volunteers build new paths and perform maintenance on existing ones. The events are popular and often lead to a waiting list for volunteers.
The group also plans to install trilingual signage in English, Spanish and Korean at access points.
“We’re building this trail system for every user,” he said, “including people with mobility issues, people who don’t speak English, who ride horses, who hike with their grandkids.”
Officials with the park and the Friends group say there’s no official date yet for when the projects will be completed. Still, they’re looking forward to seeing more people enjoying the Woodstock area’s stunning views, swimming and fishing spots, and natural areas spared from invasive species.
Miller isn’t worried about the Woodstock area getting overrun with visitors like other parts of the park, he said.
The undulating landscape, miles of trails and distance from the parking access likely will disperse any throngs of adventurers.
“You still have to make it up there,” he said.
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