The Laurel Oxbow

While it is claimed there are no natural lakes in Maryland, the body of water at the Oxbow Lake Nature Preserve in Laurel, Maryland, might beg to differ. 

One entrance to the park is on Oxbow Place. The entrance has a nice path and an interpretive sign that explains the history of the area dating back thousands of years. The natives traveled on the Little Patuxtent River (the nearby river from which the oxbow formed) and used the river for fishing. The surrounding area provided wood and stone as resources to those early natives.

Path into the park

The river, like all rivers, has a tendency to meander, sometimes leaving large curves like the letter U. Either through a flood or some other occurrence, these bends may get cut off when a channel connects the shorter, non-bent distance. Imagine a line drawn across the top of the U, leaving the lower part of the letter as a potential body of water. In this case, water drains into the Laurel Oxbow from the higher ground around it. That runoff water is stopped by a beaver dam at one end, creating some marshy land and a lake.

The Laurel Oxbow

When I visited, the area had torrential downpours the night before, so the water level was high. A measuring stick is visible along the trail and typically shows the water level around three feet. My picture shows it almost at six feet!

The depth measure

A close up!

As I walked the trail, there was a lot of amazing flora and fauna. I spotted a frog along the trail in the picture below. Can you spot him?

Where's the frog?

Close up to show the actual frog

I was drawn to the location by a geocache, In the Laurel Oxbow, which required me to take a picture at a certain point.

Proof of caching

The trail also showed evidence of beaver activity, which is only natural considering the dam.

The tree usually has bark all the way to the bottom, right?

I was a bit late to see the mountain laurel blossoms. Some were still on the trees but not in their full glory. They typically bloom in late May and I was there in early June.

Flowers everywhere!

Soil erosion left a lot of tree roots exposed along the trail. Here is a dramatic spot.

Could be creepy in the right circumstances

The trail was a lot of fun to walk along. I may drag the kids out later to see it. I am curious what it looks like with a normal level of water!