Submit your own Adventure of the Week or picture playing in the snow here and keep an eye out for your adventure to be featured in one of our next Weekly Outdoor Adventure Guides!
Weather (Click Here)
Before you hit the trails or set up camp, make sure to take a second glance at the weather for this weekend!
Today's Moon Phase according to NASA (Click Here)
Waxing Crescent: "As the Moon moves eastward away from the Sun in the sky, we see a bit more of the sunlit side of the Moon each night. A few days after new Moon, we see a thin crescent in the western evening sky. The crescent Moon waxes, or appears to grow fatter, each night."
Hiking (Click Here)
Bill Burton Fishing Pier State Park, Dorchester County
Bill Burton Fishing Pier State Park consists of approximately 25 acres of park property including about one mile of trails. The trails and shoreline are open from sunrise to sunset. The Dorchester side of the fishing pier is open from 7 a.m. - sunset everyday except Christmas. The Talbot side of the pier is open from 7 a.m. - sunset every day except Christmas and is also closed from January 1st - March 31st. The piers are quite popular because of the variety of fish that can be caught including perch, striped bass, croakers, sea trout, and catfish. The pier adjoins Sailwinds Park via the walkway under the bridge. On July 22, 2009 the Board of Public Works approved re-naming The Choptank River Fishing Piers to Bill Burton Fishing Pier State Park in honor of Bill Burton, a reporter, writer and fisherman who has for more than 50 years chronicled outdoor opportunities for Maryland citizens. Mr. Burton was instrumental in preserving the bridge for a fishing pier when the new bridge was constructed. The consumption of alcohol at the Bill Burton Fishing Pier State Park is prohibited. Click here to download the trail maps for free.
Hunting (Click Here)
Be sure to consult your Maryland Guide to Hunting and Trapping for season dates and bag limits.
South Mountain State Park, Washington County
South Mountain State Park includes two hunting areas. A Maryland hunting license and knowledge of the Maryland hunting seasons is required. There is no hunting on Sundays. Access is limited, so be prepared to hike long distances. To improve your hunting experience, scout out the areas prior to hunting season. You may use the Appalachian Trail to access the hunting areas, but the Appalachian Trail Corridor is a non-hunting area. You cannot hunt until you are 150 yards away from the Trail in either direction.
Make sure your weapon is unloaded in the safety zones and also while hiking to your destination through non-hunting areas. Respect private property. Off road motorized vehicle use is strictly prohibited. Remember that many hikers using the trail may be unaware of hunting seasons. Boundaries are marked with yellow paint. A yellow line indicates you are looking into state property; a yellow dot indicates you are looking into private property.
History of our State Parks (Click Here)
Torrey C. Brown Rail Trail at Gun Powder Falls State Park, Baltimore County
Organized in 1828 as the Baltimore & Susquehanna Railroad, the Northern Central Railway (NCR) operated what is now the Torrey C. Brown Rail Trail until it was damaged by Tropical Storm Agnes in 1972. At its peak, the railway’s mainline extended from Canton in Baltimore to Sodus Point in Upstate New York. The railroad provided passenger and freight service to the online communities, connecting them with the cities of Baltimore, York and Harrisburg, and beyond.
As part of the massive Pennsylvania Railroad system, the railroad included 22 stops in Maryland and shipped freight and passengers between New York City, Washington, D.C. and Chicago.
Recognizing the abandoned rail line’s potential as a recreational trail, the department purchased the abandoned line between Cockeysville and the Pennsylvania Line in the early 1980s. Thanks to volunteers and a great believer and advocate for the trail, Dr. Torrey C. Brown, then secretary of the department, the first section of the Northern Central Railroad Trail opened to the public in 1984.
This is one of the oldest rail trails in the United States and is a popular recreational destination. In honor of Dr. Brown's overwhelming support for the trail, in 2007, it was renamed the Torrey C. Brown Rail Trail.
In 2015, the Torrey C. Brown Rail Trail was inducted into the Rails-to-Trails Conservancy Rail Trail Hall of Fame.
Evidence of the Torrey C. Brown Rail Trail’s railroad heritage is still visible today:
Whistle Posts: These white posts with the large black "W's" were installed to instruct train engineers to repeatedly sound a whistle (on steam locomotives) or air horn (on diesel-electric locomotives) as they approached a road crossing. The whistle pattern was typically two long notes, followed by a short and another long.
Mileage Markers: These white posts with black numbers painted on each side facing the trail were used to tell the engineer or other railroad workers where they were on the railroad. Facing the marker, the mileage on the right side indicates the distance to Sunbury, Pennsylvania and on the left side, the distance to the former site of the railroad’s Calvert Street Station in Baltimore.
Position Light Signals: Unique to the Pennsylvania Railroad and the Norfolk & Western Railway, these 16-foot poles topped with large disks once directed railroad traffic. Similar to modern traffic lights, these signals were controlled electronically from towers and stations. The signals notified engineers of recommended speeds or instructed them stop. Reproduction signals have been installed in several locations.
Animal Cams (Click Here)
This week tune in to watch the West Coast Sea Nettles Jellyfish Cam in Long Beach, California.
Beach Cam
In the winter months we all long for the beach. Take a look at whats going on at your favorite East Coast beaches right now.
