Oregon Ridge Park

Oregon Ridge Park

13401 Beaver Dam Road, Cockeysville, MD 21030
(410) 887-1815

Oregon Ridge, a 1,034 acre county park located in northern Baltimore County, offers a variety of recreational opportunities. Once the site of an iron and marble mine, the park now features a Nature Center and over six miles of walking trails. The park’s habitats include wooded areas, open fields, a small pond, and several small streams. The park provides a welcome oasis of nature in a  highly residential area just north of the City of Baltimore.

Other facilities include a lodge and festival grounds, picnic pavilions, playgrounds, dinner theater (privately operated), and interpretive areas.

Birdlife:

Over 160 species have been reported on eBird from Oregon Ridge, which is a popular birding area for those seeking migrating warblers and vireos.

Other notable birds to see are Yellow-billed Cuckoo and Baltimore Oriole. Red-shouldered and Red-tailed Hawks may be found year-round, along with woodpeckers and small woodland birds such as chickadees, titmice, nuthatches, and wrens.

Swallows and flycatchers are present in the warmer months. Sparrows may be found from October through April, including Dark-eyed Junco and Fox, White-crowned, White-throated, Savannah, and Swamp Sparrows. Lincoln’s Sparrow is an occasional fall visitor. Chipping Sparrow, Song Sparrow, and Eastern Towhee may be found year-round, and a few Field Sparrows may also be present in the summer, but numbers are greater in fall, winter, and spring.

Special Designations:

The Oregon Ridge Nature Center is a certified Maryland Association for Environmental and Outdoor Education (MAEOE) Green Center.

Special Features:

Oregon Ridge Nature Center houses wildlife and nature displays as well as a library, gift shop, and meeting area. Exhibits include live snakes, fish, honeybees, turtles, and others The center offers nature education programs, a monthly Speaker Series, and special events, year-round. For the calendar of events, see the calendar link at http://www.oregonridgenaturecenter.org/index.html.

The local chapter of the Maryland Ornithological Society is the Baltimore Bird Club. The Baltimore Bird Club is the founding chapter of the Maryland Ornithological Society, and remains an important hub of birding activity in the state. The club offers monthly meetings with informative presentations and a full schedule of field trips and bird walks, all free and open to the public.

Parking:

Free; paved lot available near Nature Center; see map at link at left for other parking. Note that there are two separate park entrances: one (Kurtz Lane) leads to the Nature Center and trailheads; the other is for the indoor dinner theater/meeting facility and the rental picnic pavilions.

Directions:

From I-83 north of Baltimore, take Exit 20B (Shawan Road West). Follow Shawan Road to the first traffic light at Beaver Dam Road, and turn left (south). Immediately after making the left onto Beaver Dam Road, there will be a fork in the road. Take the right fork into the park and follow the driveway to the parking lot. The Nature Center is located a short walk up the driveway, at the top of the hill.

Nearby Sites:

Baltimore City: Cylburn Arboretum ■ Druid Hill Park ■ Fort McHenry National Monument ■ Masonville Cove Environmental Education Center ■ Patterson Park

Baltimore County: Cromwell Valley Park ■ Fort Howard Park ■ Gunpowder Falls State Park – Hammerman Area & Dundee Creek Marina ■ Hart-Miller Island State Park ■ Holt Park ■ Irvine Nature Center ■ Lake Roland ■ Liberty Reservoir – Baltimore County ■ Loch Raven Reservoir ■ Marshy Point Nature Center ■ Milford Mill aka Villa Nova Park ■ North Point State Park ■ Northern Central Rail Trail (NCRT) ■ Soldiers Delight Natural Environmental Area

Habitats:

HedgerowsUpland Deciduous Garden or ArboretumLawn, Ballfields, Golf CourseSuburban Neighborhood Old Fields, Shrubby Meadows Freshwater Pond, Lake, or ReservoirRivers & Streams

Features:

BeginnersBicycle Trails (Bikes may be prohibited on some trails)Bird Feeding StationFree - No Entry Fee at Any TimeHiking/Walking TrailsHistorical FeaturesNative Plant Garden or Meadow/Pollinator PlantsNature Education ProgramsParkingPets AllowedPicnic AreaPlaygroundRestroomsWater ViewWheelchair Accessible FeaturesYoung People / Families

Type:

County ParksMAEOE Green CenterNature Centers