Font Hill Wetland Park — Attraction in Ellicott City

A true hidden gem, stealthily nestled in what is otherwise a fairly urban setting. Big draw for the morning dogwalking troops. Now, when, personally, i hear the term "wetland", i immediately think of more sprawling, and brackish settings in the Delmarva - but this isn't to say that Font Hill can't accurately be called a wetland by definition, because it is. Try walking through the wooded and grassy areas between the street parking and the creek and pond, and you'll see what i mean, and you'll come out quite soggy unless you're wearing waders or tall waterproof boots.

There's a stream, as mentioned, and a nice bridge that lead into the greater area of the park, and a bank where you can simply sit and enjoy the tranquility and the babbling water. The main draw, though, is the good sized pond. Lined all the way round with tall cattails, it's probably about a half mile in circumference (please don't measure and one up me here, this is an approximation 😀). So like i said, the dog walkers love it, and it's great for just simple, leisurely strolling as well. For optimum water quality and overall health of this mini-ecosystem, the pond is (artificially/manually) aerated, i think in at least two spots. This helps things grow, is good for the modest amount of small fish (NO fishing, you'd be disappointed anyway), and provides very slight, but additional circulation as to keep algae levels in check.

Finally, there's a nice gazebo, as well as a medium-length boardwalk on the far side of the pond, and i'm not sure if the correlation was intentional, but in the boardwalk area, there's terrific birdwatching. i'm not the expert in this regard, but many beautiful species of songbirds are aplenty, you'll see (and hear) a good amount of red-crested woodpeckers, and my favorite of all native wetland species - the redwinged blackbird.

Stop by anytime. As with all other parks, Font Hill is always open to the public. And while most folks wouldn't spend much time here in the colder months, outside of a brisk walk, i had a lovely, 30°F stay the other morning for around 90 minutes or so. Saw lots of smaller blackbirds overhead, scouring the area for breakfast. Got some nice shots, including a couple of partially frozen portions. It was a chilly but pleasant morning 🌄

Addendum/update:

STOP FEEDING THE WATERFOWL! It's not CUTE, it's HARMFUL!

i KNOW local moms and dads are still doing this with their kids because the ducks swim right on up to me as soon as i step onto the dock.

The bread you're feeding them is barely fit for HUMAN consumption. Just stop it.

And as for the dogwalking army, it seems like y'all are doing good - please keep it up, keep those canines leashed, and scoop...

Quiet little spot snugged in the middle of a nice neighborhood where houses are going for around 650K-ish. There is no designated parking area. You just have to park on the street by the park. The walking path is a little over a mile, my gps tracker recorded 1.12 miles.

The big lake area has a small gazeebo that jets out into the lake. Nice quiet place for morning meditation or yoga... as long as you don't mind ducks quacking and bull frogs croaking. Also spotted a family of deer enjoying the area too.

Also, there are quite a few memorial benches and trees...

It is a lovely and enjoyable neighborhood park. It has a very nice walking path, part of it is a boardwalk over water sections. At both entrances there are garbage containers and large signs with general information about the park and the nature habitat. There are free garbage bags should you need one if you bring a dog. In the large pond there is a gazebo with a bench. Two additional benches are located around the large pond. It is a rather quiet walking area.it is a great place to see fireflies during Firefly season. There are...