Beaver Trail

Mallows Bay County Park

Trail Color

Elena Gilroy, Mallows Bay Operations Manager, Charles County Recreation, Parks and Tourism, gives an introduction of what you can experience while exploring the Beaver Trail within Mallows Bay Park in Nanjemoy, Maryland. Credit: National Marine Sanctuary Foundation/NOAA.

About This Trail

Length: 0.5 miles

Difficulty: Moderate/difficult

Along this trail, hikers will walk along the slopes of the Beaver Pond, where evidence of beaver activity can be seen. Under the shade of tall beech trees, unique plants grow. Hotspots highlight these plants, such as native orchids and mosses. Past the Beaver Pond, the trail changes into a secondary succession forest – a landscape dominated by young, skinny trees that hints at the former use of the land for farming.


Trail Map

Legend
Beaver Trail Points of Interest

Elevation Profile


Trail Highlights

Beaver Trail Entrance 1

Beaver Trail Entrance

Welcome to the Beaver Trail! Once you're in the virtual trail:  Click or tap on the screen to navigate along...

Common Persimmon 2

Common Persimmon

In addition to the pawpaw, another native tree with edible fruit at Mallows Bay is the common persimmon. The fruit...

Beech Tree 3

Beech Tree

Right off the trail stands a large American beech tree. Its leaves turn golden in the fall and stay on...

Crane-fly Orchid 4

Crane-fly Orchid

Under the shade of a large beech tree, you may find small, woodland orchids called crane-fly orchids. In the early...

Fan clubmoss 5

Fan clubmoss

Fan clubmoss, also known as ground cedar or crowsfoot, is a plant that lives on the forest floor. It is...

Beaver Pond 6

Beaver Pond

In the pond, you can see an active beaver dam. Piles of sticks and mud slow the flow of water...

Secondary Succession Forest 7

Secondary Succession Forest

As you walk along this trail, you will notice that most of the trees are young with very few mature...

Current Conditions

December 31, 2025 05:55 PM

Air Temperature

AccuWeather

Water Temperature

Maryland DNR Buoy

Forecast

Water Level

NOAA Data

Additional Weather Data
Today's Tides
Time Tide Height
Tide Predictions - Mallows Bay

Data provided by