Looks like the sun may peak out this weekend, which makes it a great time to explore the river on which Charm City was founded.
The Friends of the Patapsco Valley and Heritage Greenway are organizing a guided bike ride Saturday and guided paddle Sunday of a stretch of the Patapsco that flows through Baltimore's western suburbs on its way to the harbor and the Chesapeake Bay.
The bike ride starts at 10 a.m. and goes from Ellicott City to the BWI trail near Hanover and back again. It's about 25 miles roundtrip and should take three to four hours, depending on how hard you pedal or how much you dawdle. Organizers suggest folks who want to shorten the ride should carpool with another rider and leave one car near Baltimore-Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport. Each rider will get a local trail map. Riders are to gather at 9:30 in Parking Lot A next to the Trolley Stop restaurant on Frederick Road in Oellla, just across the river from Old Ellilcott City. Cost is free to members, with a $5 donation asked of non-members. Registration is required, though, which you can do online here.
On Sunday, the Friends are offering a guided paddle from noon to 3 p.m. , ranging upriver from the Daniels Dam then below it to the Old Frederick Road iron bridge. Bring your own kayak or canoe, plus water shoes and PFD (life vest). Water is two to four feet deep, with some mild Level 1 rapids below the dam. A car will be available to shuttle paddlers back to the put-in at Daniels Dam. This event also is free to members, $15 per person for others, adults only. To register, go here.
For more info on these or other Patapsco events, go here.
(Baltimore Sun file photo by Elizabeth Malby)