Maryland Geocaching Society
Cache Across Maryland 2010
This is one of ten caches placed for the 2010 Cache Across Maryland. Each location was picked specifically to give you a taste of the state and show you just a part of its beauty. By combining all ten, you'll be able to see why Maryland is truly "America in Miniature". We hope you enjoy them!
Herring Run Park
Crossing the bridge on Harford Road that lies between Chesterfield Avenue and Parkside Drive, it's hard to imagine that just below you acres of woodland exist in such an urban setting, but it does.The Herring Run is a tributary of the Back River located in Baltimore, Maryland. The 31 Square Mile watershed has its headwaters in Towson, Maryland, and flows through Baltimore and Baltimore County before connecting with the Back River. From there, the waters of the Herring Run flow into the Chesapeake Bay. The Herring Run also connects to the sub-tributaries of the West Herring Run, Chinquapin Run, Moores Run, and Redhouse Run It is home home to the usual urban wildlife . . . ducks, and seagulls and squirrels, but it's also home to foxes, hawks, and a wide variety of birds that live in the park year round or stop to rest on their way to somewhere else.
The park offers city residents a place to get away without having to leave town. There are bike paths, softball and soccer fields, and a paved loop for walking that leads into wooded area. There are sections of the park that seem so remote that it's a surprise to suddenly hear urban traffic as you approach Route One, which crosses right through the park.
Wildflowers stand alongside huge, old oak trees. Orioles, hummingbirds and woodpeckers - pileated and red belly woodpeckers - can be seen. But the most spectacular sight is the Great Blue Heron. The herons are year round residents, and you can see them gliding along the path of the stream as they fish, or standing (some a tall as four feet) stark still as they hunt small mammals on the shore. The herons are so big and so imposing that each new sighting seems almost surreal. Rainy days are great for bird watching.