Ward Farm Recreation and Nature Park; Dunkirk, Maryland

Ward Farm Recreation and Nature Park

10455 Ward Road, Dunkirk, MD 20754

When you first pull up to this park, all you can see is extensive sports fields and large paved parking area, but if you continue on you will find that  Ward Farm Recreation and Nature Park has 209 acres featuring over 100 acres of deciduous woodland, including upland woods and bottomland in the stream valley of Hall Creek, which runs through the southern part of the park. The riparian areas include non-tidal freshwater wetlands, small tributary streams, and three freshwater ponds, named Muskrat Pond, Island Pond, and Fox Den Pond. There is a fishing pier at Island Pond. Open grassy fields lie adjacent to the original farmhouse and its outbuildings; the park’s office is located in the farmhouse.

There is already an extensive trail system that provides easy exploration of most of the park, and newly installed trail signs help in navigating the park. A paved sidewalk encircles the parking lots and sports fields, and this could be useful for some edge birding by those who are mobility-impaired. In the future, boardwalks and connector trails will skirt the edges of Muskrat, Island, and Fox Den Ponds, located near the park’s southern boundary along Hall Creek, but this part of the trail system is incomplete at this time.

Directions: From Betterton, it is1 hour and 48 min or 88.0 miles to Ward Farm traveling via US-301 S.