One of my favorite hobbies is exploring local parks, gardens and forests. Since I moved to Baltimore, I’ve visited several Baltimore County parks, where I’ve hiked and attended events that involved kayaking, canoeing, sampling pawpaw fruit, and maple sugaring. Recently, I found out about Baltimore County’s Park Explorers challenge, which involves completing an activity and receiving a stamp at each of the county’s seven parks, with a prize upon completion. At the end of April, I picked up a park explorers' booklet at the Baltimore County Agricultural Center, where I enjoyed a spring day on the trails and visiting the animals. Then I drove across the street to meet the raptors at Oregon Ridge Nature Center, including Stella, a red-tailed hawk. The booklet has a brief overview of each park and fun information like how to identify trees by their leaves.
While writing this, I found out that the Gunpowder Valley Conservancy has a free annual Explore the Gunpowder Watershed Challenge, which usually runs from April to June. This year, there was an activity challenge of logging 20 miles either on land or water, and a passport challenge that involved collecting stickers from at least four participating locations for a T-shirt and raffle entry. The locations of the passport challenge included the Historic Jerusalem Mill Village, which has jousting tournaments (Maryland’s official state sport!), a visitor center, McCourtney’s General Store Museum, and a blacksmith shop.
I also came across the Maryland State Parks 25 in 2025 Adventure Challenge, which runs until November 15, 2025. Registered participants who complete at least 25 themed challenges via a photo scavenger hunt are eligible to win prizes. Themes include What a View!; Run-of-the-Mill?; and Geology ROCKS!
The Serpentine Barrens and Chromite Mine at Soldiers Delight Natural Environment Area and King and Queen Seat at Rocks State Park are two locations listed under “Geology ROCKS!” that I’ve visited. With 53 state parks, 25 natural resource management areas, seven natural environment areas, three rail trails, and two state battlefields in the Maryland State Park System, I’m excited to visit as many as I can before I graduate!
Spending time in nature has been shown to benefit mental and physical health (Keniger, et al., 2013). Forest bathing, or shinrin-yoku, a practice originating in 1980s Japan, has multiple benefits, including decreased depression, anxiety and stress (Paletto, et al., 2024) (Siah, et al, 2023) (Shirvell, 2024) by being mindful and present in nature. NPR Life Kit published a guide to forest bathing in 2023 (Segarra, 2023). Johns Hopkins University Hub also published a guide to the benefits of forest bathing in 2024 (Shirvell, 2024).
At Hopkins, the Office of Experiential Education offers backpacking, hiking, biking, canoeing, climbing, disc golf, fly fishing, sailing, sea kayaking, stand up paddleboarding, and whitewater kayaking day trips for students. There are also adaptive sports programs offered by Kennedy Krieger Institute for children and adults, as well as adaptive hiking, fishing, kayaking and mountain biking events at Patapsco Valley State Park.
In Baltimore City, the Downtown Sailing Center holds accessible adaptive sailing events. The Baltimore chapter has an adaptive running program for individuals with disabilities. With more than 4,000 acres of parkland and public space in Baltimore City, and 142,384 acres in the Maryland State Park System as of 2023, try to spend time in nature this year!
References
- Achilles International. (n.d.). Achilles Baltimore. https://www.achillesinternational.org/baltimore
- Baltimore County Recreation and Parks. (n.d.). BCRP Park Explorers.
- https://recandparks.baltimorecountymd.gov/MD/baltimore-co-md/catalog?filter=c2VhcmNoPTIzNjI5MDk=
- Department of Recreation & Parks. (n.d.). Parks and Trails. https://bcrp.baltimorecity.gov/parks
- Friends of Patapsco Valley State Park. (n.d.). 2025 Calendar. https://fpvsp.org/2025-calendar/
- Gunpowder Valley Conservancy. (n.d.). Explore the Gunpowder Watershed Challenge. https://www.gunpowdervalleyconservancy.org/explore/
- Historic Jerusalem Mill Village. (n.d.). Welcome to the Historic Jerusalem Mill Village. https://jerusalemmill.org/
- Johns Hopkins University Student Affairs. (n.d.). Outdoor Trips. https://studentaffairs.jhu.edu/recreation/experiential-education/trips/
- Keniger, L. E., Gaston, K. J., Irvine, K. N., & Fuller, R. A. (2013). What are the benefits of interacting with nature? International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 10(3), 913-935.
- Maryland Department of Natural Resources Maryland park Service. (n.d.). Gunpowder Falls State Park. https://dnr.maryland.gov/publiclands/pages/central/gunpowder.aspx
- Maryland Department of Natural Resources Maryland Park Service. (n.d.). Maryland State Parks Adventure Challenge 25 in 2025. https://dnr.maryland.gov/publiclands/Pages/25-in-2025-state-park-adventure-challenge.aspx
- Maryland at a Glance Parks & Recreation State Parks. (2024, October 15). https://msa.maryland.gov/msa/mdmanual/01glance/html/parks.html
- Paletto, A., Notaro, S., & Cristian, P. (2024). Forest bathing: a quantitative exploration of emerging trends, patterns, and growth areas. Journal of Forest Research, 29(4), 239-245.
- Segarra, M. (2023, August 24). How to make your nature walks even more restorative, according to science. NPR. https://www.npr.org/2023/08/22/1195337204/a-guide-to-forest-bathing#:~:text=%22It%20is%20simply%20being%20in,pressure%20and%20help%20with%20depression.
- Shirvell, B. (2024, June 4). Dip Your Toes into Forest Bathing. Johns Hopkins University Hub. https://hub.jhu.edu/2024/06/04/forest-bathing-nature-kids/
- Siah, C. J. R., Goh, Y. S., Lee, J., Poon, S. N., Ow Yong, J. Q. Y., & Tam, W. S. W. (2023). The effects of forest bathing on psychological well‐being: A systematic review and meta‐analysis. International Journal of Mental Health Nursing, 32(4), 1038-1054.
- Visit Harford Maryland. (n.d.). Jericho Covered Bridge. https://www.visitharford.com/listing/jericho-covered-bridge/39/
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