Cannon along the Best Farm Loop Trail at Monocacy National Battlefield

Length:  1.25-mile loop
Time:  40 minutes
Difficulty:  Easy

The Best Farm Loop Trail starts at the Best Farm stop on the Monocacy National Battlefield Tour. It is a lollypop-shaped trail, meaning you hike out on the stick portion before coming to the loop, and in this case the loop is a rectangle, as the trail simply goes around one of the farm’s soybean fields. To keep the landscape similar to what it was like in 1864, the National Park Service leases the historical farmlands to modern-day farmers. The trail is completely out in the open, so if you wish to avoid the sun, be sure to apply sunscreen and wear a hat.

View of the soybean fields at Best Farm, Monocacy National Battlefield

There are no signs of any type pointing the way to the Best Farm Loop Trail, but there is a post with a blue stripe at the top next to the gravel road at the parking lot. These posts are used to mark the trails at Monocacy National Battlefield. The gravel road is actually the stick portion of the trail, so start walking up the road to get to the loop.

The Best Farm Loop Trail begins at the Best Farm parking lot, Monocacy National Battlefield

The loop portion of the trail begins where the gravel road makes a 90 degree turn to the right (a tenth of a mile from the parking lot). Another post indicates where you need to depart the road and begin hiking around the field along a mowed grass path.

Best Farm Loop Trail at Monocacy National Battlefield

A short ways down the grass path are two cannon that point in the direction of the Union positions on the opposite side of the Monocacy River. Three hundred Union soldiers were stationed at Monocacy Junction on this side of the river, but the rest of the Union army was on the high grounds on the opposite side at the Thomas Farm and Gambrill Mill. From the Best Farm parking lot, the river is a quarter mile away to the south.

Cannon on display along the Best Farm Loop Trail at Monocacy National Battlefield

A third of a mile into the hike, the Best Farm Loop Trail makes a right-hand turn towards Urbana Pike. The trail is sandwiched between a narrow stand of trees on the left and the field on the right. On the other side of the trees are office buildings. There is so much development in this area of Maryland that it is a miracle that any of the battlefield was ever preserved.

North end of the Best Farm Loop Trail at Monocacy National Battlefield

It is another .3 mile to the road, and once there you will find two monuments and a historical marker. You do not have to hike the trail to see them, as they are literally right alongside Urbana Pike. There is a small roadside parking area that might fit two vehicles.

Monuments along Urbana Pike reached via the Best Farm Loop Trail at Monocacy National Battlefield

One monument is dedicated to the Maryland soldiers who fought at Monocacy and one to the Southern soldiers who died at Monocacy. The Maryland Monument is dedicated to both Confederate and Union soldiers from Maryland. Being a border state that allowed slavery yet stayed with the Union, loyalties among its citizens were divided. Some men fought for the Confederacy and some for the Union, thus the dedication to Maryland troops from both sides.

Maryland Monument at Monocacy National Battlefield

Notice that on the Southern soldier monument that the men are called Southern soldiers and not Confederate soldiers. Referred to as the UDC Monument by the National Park Service, this monument was erected by the United Daughters of the Confederacy of Frederick, Maryland. Being in a Union state, apparently the daughters had to tread lightly when it came to verbiage on the monument, even in 1914 when it was dedicated.

United Daughters of the Confederacy Monument at Monocacy National Battlefield

There is also a historical marker identifying this location as being the headquarters of Confederate generals Robert E. Lee, Thomas “Stonewall” Jackson, and James Longstreet from September 6-9, 1862. During his stay, Lee decided to split his army in two, sending Jackson to take control of Harper’s Ferry (in Virginia at the time) and Longstreet to Hagerstown, Maryland. The plan was written up in Special Orders No. 191. Seven copies were made and sent out to various Confederate generals, but one was lost. Supposedly a Union soldier found it along the Georgetown Turnpike—which followed the route of the modern Urbana Pike and Araby Church Road—south of Frederick and delivered it to Union general George McClellan, spoiling Lee’s plan. Though the exact location where the document was found is not known, historians believe it was at the Best Farm.

Historical marker for Robert E. Lee’s September 1862 headquarters at Best Farm, Monocacy National Battlefield

The next leg of the journey is along Urbana Pike. The grass path runs for a quarter mile before coming to the gravel driveway that leads to the Best Farm parking lot.

The east side of the Best Farm Loop Trail at Monocacy National Battlefield follows Urbana Pike

Once at the gravel road, turn right to get back to the parking lot. It is a .4-mile walk from here.

Gravel road to Best Farm at Monocacy National Battlefield

The Best Farm Loop Trail is easy to hike but certainly not one of the more interesting trails. If you are short of time and still want to get an idea of what the terrain was like, just walk out to the cannon exhibit and back. There isn’t much reason to walk around the entire soybean field other than for want of exercise.

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