Start of the Woodlot Nature Trail

Length: .6 mile, one-way
Time: 30 minutes
Difficulty: moderate—hilly

The trailhead for the Woodlot Nature Trail is located off the gravel road that runs along the right side (if you are coming from the parking lot) of the farm building at Oxon Hill Farm, about .4 mile from the parking lot. The is well past the last farm building. The trail runs from the road for .6 mile and ends at another dirt road, one that just happens to connect back to the parking lot in a tenth of a mile. Thus, if you want to hike the Woodlot Nature Trail, I suggest making this the very last thing you do at the park so that you end up back at your car just when you are ready to leave.

The Woodlot Nature Trail starts off downhill, so if you typically use hiking poles, be sure to bring them. You will be walking through a welcoming forest with a high canopy and very little brush and debris on the floor, almost like walking through a shaded meadow. This is my favorite type of forest, for while it keeps you out of the sun, it is not so dark and gloomy as to become depressing. Also, the trail is marked with yellow blazes, which are color splotches painted on the trees that you follow like Hansel and Gretel breadcrumbs to keep from getting lost. The trail becomes faint during the second half, so the blazes are the main way to stay on track.

Yellow blazes mark the route of the Woodlot Nature Trail

When you reach the bottom of the hill you will find a small, brick building. I have no idea when it was built or what it was used for, but it reminded me of something Hansel and Gretel might come across. There is nothing inside.

Brick building near the creek

Just behind the building is a bridge that spans a small creek, and this is where the trail continues. Once across, turn right and follow the creek.

Small creek along the Woodlot Nature Trail

The trail is flat at this point, but it now becomes a little faint and hard to follow. Not many people hike the trail, and there are so many leaves on the ground that it has become obscured. However, in most cases the path is obvious—the wide swathes where no trees are in the way—but be sure to keep an eye out for the yellow blazes. If all else fails, stick to the creek until you come to another bridge that takes you back to the other side, the side you were originally on.

Faint path of the Woodlot Nature Trail

Once you cross the second bridge the trail begins ascending back to the top of the hill. The path remains faint, but whenever I got confused I was always able to spot a tree with a yellow blaze on it. To make matters worse, when I hiked the trail the place looked like a tornado had just come through. Trees were down everywhere. However, these may well be cleared by the time you do the hike.

Some of the downed trees along the trail

The Woodlot Nature Trail eventually comes out at an open field and dead-ends into a narrow dirt path. Take this to the right and just fifty yards ahead is the dirt road that leads back to the parking lot. Take this to the right as well.

The Woodlot Nature Trail dead ends into a dirt path

Road back to the Oxon Hill Farm parking lot

Other than getting a little exercise, there’s no reason to hike the Woodlot Nature Trail. It adds no value to your farm visit and amounts to nothing more than a walk in the woods. It took me 45 minutes to hike from the trailhead to the parking lot, but a lot of this time was spent figuring out how to get around all of the downed trees. If the path is clear, it shouldn’t take much more than a half hour.

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