Mark on the Shore

Mark’s Score   8.4

This winter has brought frequent artic blasts, but this particular day was practically spring-like. I was in Ocean City for an early morning meeting. After the meeting I decided to take a hike in Herring Creek Nature Park. We are fortunate in that we have many excellent federal and state parks. In our area. But in addition to those parks, local government also maintains a number of parks along the shore.

In the mid-1990s Worcester County became concerned about extensive development along the tidal estuaries in Ocean Pines and West Ocean City. Consequently, the county purchased an undeveloped 40-acre (16 hectares) parcel along Herring Creek and opened it as a “minimal-impact” nature park in 1997. The park, though small, encompasses five distinct coastal habitats. It was developed as a passive recreational and educational park, meaning there are few facilities beyond the nature trails. 

If your intent is to hike through a park of sweeping bay vistas, then this park is not for you. Assateague is just a short trip away, if that is your desire. This park is up close and personal. The trails take you through scrub land, and coastal wetland forests. In my other posts about our parks, I have written about our bald cypress forest (Trap Pond, Pocomoke River), but the real star of our forests here on the peninsula is the majestic loblolly pine, and though this park is tiny, it is full of loblollies.

Loblolly pines grow straight and tall, to as much as 100 feet (30.5 m). They have a thick scaly bark that protects them from both fire and pests. They thrive in our sandy soils, as well as in poorly drained wetlands. Consequently, you often find them in low marshy land, as is found in this park. They are also fast-growing trees, so in spite of being 100 ft (30.5 m), the Loblollies in Herring Creek are less than 60-years old. Due to their height the loblollies dominate our landscape. I love these majestic trees; they fill me with awe. 

The park trail starts at the entrance of the parking lot. You first walk through an open field and then the trail enters the forest and follows a small stream to a field of marsh reeds. Somewhere beyond the reeds is an inlet of Isle of Wight Bay, but you can only get a glimpse of it from the end of the trails.  It is obvious that some people have cut a trail through the reeds, but the park has multiple signs asking people to remain on designated trails. The point being that this park was designed to be a nature park with minimal human impact. 

This is a lovely little gem of a park, you wouldn’t make this a specific destination, but if you are in the area and in the mood for a walk, this park gives you an opportunity to walk through a forest of majestic wetland loblollies.

What else is there to do in Ocean City?