Patapsco Valley State Park, Maryland's first state park, was founded as a forest reserve in 1907 and has accommodated vacationers and daily park users since the mid-1910s. Totaling more than 14,000 acres, it is currently Maryland's second largest state park and offers recreational opportunities including hiking, biking, picnicking, canoeing, camping, and horseback riding. The park has six developed areas: McKeldin, Pickall, Hollofield, Hilton, Orange Grove, and Glen Artney/Avalon. Before the park was established, the Patapsco Valley was home to industries including iron, cotton, and flour mills, and remnants of that industrial past can be found along the river. Much of the valley is made up of rolling hills and sharp rock outcrops where the river moves swiftly toward Baltimore Harbor about 10 miles downstream. The Patapsco also provides habitat for a wide variety of plant and animal wildlife, including foxes, raccoons, deer, beaver, wood ducks, great blue herons, hawks, and owls.
