The BICO Monthly Outings Summary

August, 2005







DATE:

August 27, 2005

TEAM:
College Gardens Community Center

ACTIVITIES:  Service Project and Swimming
DESTINATION: Druid Hill Park, Baltimore.   Sponsored by the Baltimore Bureau of Parks and Recreation

Druid Hill Park was Baltimore's first large municipal park, and is commonly known for its shady lawns, rolling hills, picturesque water features, and majestic forest.

The Bureau of Parks is responsible for nearly 6,000 acres of land, with 300,000 street trees, 200,000 park trees, and approximately 250 playgrounds, while the Bureau of Recreation offers a vivid array of programs and special events.  In addition, Baltimore Parks and Recreation sponsors many youth service projects in the area.

DIRECTIONS: From Baltimore Approx. 0.3 Hours

Druid Hill Park is located in northern Baltimore and is bounded by the Jones Falls Expressway (1-83) to the east, Swann Drive and Reisterstown Road to the west, Druid Park, Lake Drive to the south, and Druid Park Drive to the north.

GETTING IN:  No Charge.
NEAREST HEALTH FACILITY: Church Hospital Corporation, 100 N. Broadway, BALTIMORE, MD 21231  (410) 522-8000
OUTING HIGHLIGHTS:  The kids mulched approximately 30 trees in the morning.  They worked hard and enjoyed seeing the tangible results of all their effort.  The temperature was cool for swimming and rain threatened all afternoon.  Nevertheless the kids wanted to go swimming. 
OUTING SUGGESTIONS:  Pass out small, inexpensive rewards at end of work for all of the kids.  The person representing Baltimore Parks and Recreation gave the kids colorful wristbands and i.d. card holders to put around their necks.  











DATE:

August 27, 2005

TEAM:
Franciscan Youth Center

ACTIVITIES:  Tubing
DESTINATION:   Gunpowder River, Monkton, MD

Monkton is situated along the NCR Trail and the Gunpowder River.  The NCR Trail is a 21 mile abandoned railroad bed that is an ideal surface for hikers, bikers and horseback riders to enjoy. Near Monkton, the NCR trail parallels the river for relatively long stretches.  When renting tubes at Monkton, typically we put tubes in where Bluemount Road intersects with the Gunpowder.  The over two mile ride between Bluemount Road and Monkton takes about 2 to 4 hours.  The tree-lined river is relatively gentle and a varies from about 6 inches to 3 feet deep in this region.  

In Monkton, there is a small park to have a picnic.  This area is next to the restored Monkton Train Station, which serves as a museum, gift shop and Ranger Station. The Monkton Station is open Wednesday through Sunday from Memorial Day to Labor Day. The Station is also open on weekends in the spring and fall.


In the past, we have rented tubes from:

Monkton Bike and Tube Rental
1900 Monkton Road, Monkton, MD 21111
(410) 771-4058

DIRECTIONS:  From Baltimore:  30 mins

Route 83 North to exit 27: Mt Carmel Rd, right at top of ramp to York Rd. Right on York Rd, then left on Monkton Rd,  Monkton Bike is located three miles on the left.


 
GETTING IN:  The price of the renting the tubes has increased to about $16 per tube.

NEAREST HEALTH FACILITY:   St. Joseph Medical Center,  7601 York Rd., TOWSON, MD 21204 (410)337-1000 
OUTING HIGHLIGHTS:  We carried our tubes to the put-in location on Bluemount Road.  This eliminated shuttling tubes to the Bluemount Road put-in site.  
OUTING SUGGESTIONS:  The water is typically cold, so going on a hot day is necessary.  August 27 is too late for this outing.  Late July or early August would be best.  Also, we may try tubing in the Hereford Area next time (Gunpowder Falls State Park, Hereford Area, 410-592-2897).  This offers a shorter (~1 hour) trip that can be easily repeated.