Where to go on Hikes near Stevenson University During COVID-19

In my last post I talked about places to walk in Owings Mills, near Stevenson's Owings Mills Campus.  In this post I will be sharing 2 beautiful places to hike around Stevenson University.

Soldiers Delight Natural Environment Area

• Soldiers Delight Natural Environment Area is about 15 minutes away from Stevenson Owings Mills Campus.  If you follow Dolfield Blvd to its end, and take a right on Deer Park Road, it will be a few miles down on the ride hand side of the road.  There is a decent amount of parking, but you have to be careful not to block anybody in!
• This is such a beautiful hiking trail, and it showcases a lot of open plains type area.  The trail starts off in the woods and leads to a huge open plan area that is free to roam.  The picture above showcases only one of the amazing views Soldiers Delight Natural Environment Area has to offer!  This trail leads very close to the end of the Red Run Valley Trail that was mentioned in the last blog post.
• I would highly recommend this trail to anyone who is adventurous and loves to be out in nature!  This is the biggest and best hiking sport inside of Owings Mills, and definitely is worth the struggle, even if you don't like to hike as much as the people you choose to go with!  This is not the best spot to hike on a rainy day, as the beginning of the trails are all filled with puddles, so plan accordingly!

Patapsco Valley State Park

• Patapsco Valley State Park is about 20 minutes away from the Stevenson Owings Mills Campus.  If you get on 795 South, and then merge onto 695 South, you're well on your way!  You take exit 15b onto route 40 West, and it is a few miles down the road, very visible with signs.  This is extremely easy to get to, and very obvious, as there are signs everywhere that direct you to the state park.
• The Hiking trail at Patapsco Valley State Park travels along the patapsco river, and is such a beautiful location!  The park also has a campground, as well as fishing, kayaking, and numerous hiking spots!  This park has so many different trails, that it would be near impossible to explore the entire park!!  There are the easy main trails that families travel on, as well as the harder, longer trails that more advance hikers travel on.
• I highly recommend going to this park during the season of COVID-19, as it is a fantastic place to spend an entire day!!  Patapsco Valley State Park is the perfect family hiking spot!!  It is complete with everything a family could want, from hiking spots, to disc golf, to picnic areas!  The trails range from short and simple, to long and difficult, so this is a spot for all ages and hiking skill levels.  I think this is one of the best hiking spots in Baltimore County!!

Tune in for my next blog post, which will feature a look into next years Stevenson Men's Lacrosse team, and how the Mustangs will move forward as a community from this cancelled semester.