Calvert Cliffs is a popular Southern Maryland destination for families—and the sharks’ teeth and fossils discovered there lately have brought the park even more attention. But there are many other amazing gems worth making the trek to Calvert County for. About 17 minutes northwest of Calvert Cliffs is a unique parcel of land owned by The Nature Conservancy and managed by Calvert Parks called Battle Creek Cypress Swamp.
This park contains 100 acres of one of North America’s northernmost sites of naturally occurring bald cypress trees. This natural national landmark was once home to animals like mammoths, who roamed the forest over 100,000 years ago. Today it hosts not just bald cypress trees, but also golden-colored Prothonotary warblers, Northern parulas, hooded warblers, and ground-foraging Louisiana waterthrush. In late summer, visitors can enjoy the blooms of a vast variety of flowers, including cardinal flower, threatened red turtlehead (Chelone obliqua), and pink lady’s slipper orchids. The arboreal gray treefrog makes itself heard in the evenings.
Bald cypress trees are very unique looking, especially in the swamp setting. A wooden boardwalk makes a loop through the swamp where you can see the cypress knees — parts of their roots that burst through the ground and form knobby knee-like stumps. It was way different than anything I’ve seen this far north. We did the loop twice.
This place exceeded my expectations. We started at their nature center, which had animals, displays, and things to play with. It was great for small kids. They let my son feed the fish and the turtles. We spent a good amount of time in the center before we went out and walked the path.
Bring your camera for this one. Just keep an eye on the little ones to make sure they don’t run off the edge. They have additional hiking trails but we did not do any of them.
Battle Creek is a must-add to your list.
Note: Currently, the Nature Center is closed because of a fire last winter that damaged the building. Calvert Parks are making repairs and hopefully, it will reopen soon.
Address: 2880 Grays Rd, Prince Frederick, MD 20678
Cost: Free
Distance from Annapolis: An hour
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