Lusby, MD – One of the most interesting things about Flag Ponds Nature Park, located at Lusby in Calvert County, is that it is an evolving landscape.
Millions of years ago it was part of a larger ocean full of life, the remnants of which can now be found on the shores of the Chesapeake Bay, but everything from the bay to the old growth hardwood forests within is in a state of metamorphosis.
And while it may be years yet before visitors ever notice, the forest is creeping closer to the Chesapeake in an area where once sand had claimed the forest.
Storms, winds and tide are ever shifting the fortunes of Flag Ponds, so named for the Blue Flag Iris that bloom abundantly from late spring to early summer.
Flag Ponds Nature Park is one of Calvert County’s most popular attractions, so popular, in fact, that sometimes on weekends and holidays the park has to temporarily close due to the high volume of vehicles trying to get in.
Weekday visits are the best, but at any time it is a wonderful place to be.
There are approximately three miles of hiking trails through old hardwood forests spread out over 545 acres featuring every type of habitat from wetland to deep woods.
On the woods trails the songbirds are abundant. In the marshes and wetlands are osprey by the dozen, kingfishers, egrets and dragonflies of every color imaginable.
Hearing the whisper of wings overhead near the bay, I looked up to see a bald eagle barely 15 feet above me, stunning in the refracting afternoon sunlight.
For hiking enthusiasts, the trails are wonderful and challenging at the same time.
There are steep hills.
For sunbathers, the beach awaits with plenty of room to spare.
For sportsmen, the fishing pier stretches out over the bay where bounty is just a cast away.
Flag Ponds is really a place that has everything, history so old it predates man’s emergence on the planet, when sharks, whales and crocodiles plied the waters of an ancient ocean.
As many visitors spend their afternoons sifting through beach sand in search of shark’s teeth as lay out in the sun working on their tan.
The coolest aspect of the park is that, even though their trails aren’t as long as some of the other parks throughout the region, it isn’t always how long the road, but where it’s going.
The trails at Flag Ponds lead to some pretty cool places.
Duncan’s Pond Trail, an excursion off to the side of the road leading to the beach, turned into a wonderful side path with overlooks, and a pond covered in lime green submerged aquatic vegetation that gives in an eerie neon look.
With those beautiful pink and white marsh mallows blooming nearby, the place had a surreal aspect to it I found enchanting.
What else would mom and the kids need? Facilities hither and yon, grills and picnic tables and a visitor’s center. There is a $4 admission fee ($6 for out of county), pets are welcome but must be on a leash at all times.
If Flag Ponds Nature Park hasn’t been on your “must visit” list, it should be.
It is, in my estimation, one of those places that reminds us what a special place Southern Maryland truly is.
Web site: www.co.cal.md.us/FlagPonds
Contact Joseph Norris at joe.norris@thebaynet.com
