Hiker-Biker Trail in Maryland’s Oxon Cove Park near Oxon Cove

Length: 2 miles, one way
Time: 1 hour on foot, 20 minutes by bike
Difficulty: ★★★☆☆

The Hiker-Biker Trail runs from the Oxon Hill Farm parking lot all the way to the Oxon Cove Park boundary on the Maryland-Washington, D.C., border. It is part of the Potomac Heritage National Scenic Trail. In fact, at the border you are at the northern trailhead for the Southern Maryland Potomac Heritage Trail Bicycling Route, which proceeds south out of the park via city streets all the way to Point Lookout. You can also continue north into Washington along city streets to join with the Fort Circle Parks portion of the Potomac Heritage Trail. This review, however, covers only the portion of the trail within Oxon Cove Park.

Northern trailhead for the Southern Maryland Potomac Heritage Trail Bicycling Route

As the name implies, the trail is open to both hikers and bikers; I chose to ride my mountain bike. From the parking lot at Oxon Hill Farm, look for the left of two entrances into the park, the one with a Potomac Heritage Trail sign posted on the fence. This gravel road is part of a long oval that circles the farm. Follow it until coming to the Visitor Center where the road forks and stay to the right. This leads all the way to Oxon Cove at its confluence with the Potomac River.

Start of the Hiker-Biker Trail at Oxon Cove Farm in Maryland

The gravel road to Oxon Cove heads down a very steep hill that lasts three-quarters of a mile—I wasn’t looking forward to coming back up. The road is loose gravel until the bottom, and because of this I do not recommend taking a road bike on the trail unless you walk this segment. If it were flat, the gravel may not be such a problem, but heading down a steep hill on loose gravel with thin tires is just asking for an accident to happen.

Typical gravel terrain of the Hiker-Biker Trail at Oxon Cove Park in Maryland

At the bottom of the hill the gravel road dead ends into a paved road. Take a right and in .2 mile you will come to another intersection. Oxon Cove is just around the corner to the right.

Paved path through farm fields at Oxon Cove Park in Maryland

There is nothing particularly scenic about Oxon Cove, for on the opposite shore is an industrial area. Also, about every inch of shoreline is littered with garbage. The park does host a volunteer cleanup once a month. If interested in helping, the schedule is usually posted on the National Park Service’s Calendar web page for Oxon Hill Park and Oxon Hill Farm. If not, call the park at (771) 208-1536 for more information.

Trash along the Oxon Cove shoreline at Oxon Cove Park in Maryland

Once you get away from the Potomac River and farther down Oxon Creek, things get more scenic and less trashy.

Oxon Creek in Maryland’s Oxon Hill Park

In about .75 mile from the time you first see Oxon Cove is a bridge that spans Oxon Creek. Once across, the Hiker-Biker Trail ends in less than a quarter mile at an industrial complex on DC Village Lane. As mentioned earlier, it continues through the streets of Washington and eventually connects with another segment of the Potomac Heritage Trail, but as far as Oxon Cove Park is concerned, this is the end of the line.

End of the Hiker-Biker Trail at Oxon Cove Park’s border with Washington, D.C.

On bike, the out-and-back ride took me about 45 minutes. It is a four-mile trek, round trip, which most people can cover on foot in approximately an hour and a half, not counting any stops along the river. I can’t see biking the Hiker-Biker Trail just for the sake of biking it as I did, for it only makes sense if you are continuing into Washington along other segments of the Potomac Heritage Trail.

What would make sense is taking the trail down to the cove to either go fishing or to see birds. On a Ranger-led birding hike to the river that I did earlier in the day, the group spotted about two dozen different birds: a bald eagle, cormorants, orioles, cow birds, cardinals, starlings, geese, and others I can’t remember. This is a popular area for bird watchers and nature photographers.

Geese along the Hiker-Biker Trail at Oxon Cove Park in Maryland

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