Patuxent Research Refuge in Laurel

Amazing place! I will be coming back any chance I get. 💙💙💙 they have binoculars and fishing gear to use, wonderful easy hiking trails, hunting, fishing. Great use of our National resources as we continue to learn more about our National ecosystems!!

Lots of mushrooms! Awesome trails! Great refuge to explore.

Beautiful park and friendly staff...good hiking trails for beginners

Lot of trails are damaged and not cleaned up, still fun but may be difficult for very young or the elderly on some trails.

By far the best trail is the "closed" hunting trails that loop around Lake Redington.

Great for bird watching. Cash lake area has a pier with a beautiful view of the lake

I participated in a hike with the Nature glow group (theyre on event briteand loved it! Very nice trai, saw a gew anglers out. Its a Peaceful, Beautiful park! Check it out if you can.

Stopped in to take a peak and the staff was so cool! We ended up talking to them for a while and they described the renovations that are coming. Its a cool space with so much potential! The endangered animals exhibit was really cool!

The wetlands and trails were wonderful. The exhibits were awfully made. Lots of money invested into glass panels that you can barely see through. Definitely not the highlight of the trip.

Its a well preserved, naturally beautiful location. It could use some renovation/updates to the exhibits inside but my son loved the monarch butterfly release they have at noon. Theres so much information about wildlife preservation. And I understand boy scouts can earn a badge here- "Fur, feathers, and ferns adventure"

South Tract offers a short, pleasant stroll with great wildlife viewing opportunities. Suspended boardwalks lead through marshes.

The staff here is so helpful and kind! There were tons of interactive exhibits and it was free! Plenty of clearly marked trails so we knew what to expect. Everyone we passed was kind and there was plenty of space for picnicking.

Very nice area, the walking trails were well maintained and not difficult. Very few other people there when I went

Beautiful day to see the National Wildlife Center. It’s between Baltimore & Washington D.C.Nice parking area, charging stations, picnic tables. It has benches inside & outside along the trails. The trails are dirt & fine gravel. Bring your food. Small bookstore and gift shop. FREE!,!Donations accepted Handicap bathroom inside. All on one floor you could bring a wheelchair.Things for kids to do.

We love coming here. Nice trails, and cool things to learn for kiddos. There is a portajohn always here (usually good condition). Ive heard that the welcome center is open again but we have never been, so I cant speak to that.

This was a wonderful experience. Great nature walks. Marvelous and informative exhibitions. I only wish I knew of it when my children were young. Go check it out.

Nice quiet place. The floating bridge was closed when I went, those trying to walk around Cash lake maybe surprised. The path is mostly well taken care and relatively flat. But there are areas that can get a bit muddy so be mindful of the weather on the day you go and the days prior. Also, dont forget to bring water!

Beautiful trails by the lake. Kids love to explore the nature center with many displays of carefully preserved animals.

I love this place! It is so beautiful, big and full of a variety of scenery you can enjoy while taking a walk around. It also makes for great family, senior, maternity, and engagement photo sessions! There are two gorgeous lakes with a bridge between them (Lake Redington and Lake Cashand a lovely Goose Pond nearby - the views from the trails around them are truly breathtaking!

I met a beautiful Chinese woman on my visit. We had a delightful conversation while taking in the peaceful atmosphere. The visitors center is beautiful and under used. Speak to the staff about some of the entertainment options available

Very nice and easy trails. Could be marked better, but still fairly easy to follow. Good amount of parking and plugs for electric cars. Didnt visit the visitor center but it looks nice. Even on a snowy day I saw quite a few birds, ducks, geese, and squirrels.

Gorgeous scenery. Easy hike. Well groomed trails. Lots of possibilities for bird watchers. There are toilet facilities near the dam.

Wonderful place for an easy afternoon hike. There are a couple trail options, all of them are easy. I especially like the cash lake trail and walking by the Water. There are always waterfowl and an assortment of birds. The visitor center wasn’t open but I look forward to going back again to check it out.

Great hidden gem we found on our travels through the D.C. area. The exhibits are very well presented and engaging for all ages. We also loved the lake where our girls could observe the wildlife.

Staying with relatives in Maryland, during our visit to Washington DC, we were taken for a hike to this place. Amazing views, huge water bodies with flowery aquatic plants, birds and bird observation hide outs, a well taken care forest, all connected by well conceived trails. Nice destination to enjoy the outdoors.😊

Great place for hiking, biking, and just being out in nature.

Ive been looking for some nature outside the city and it didnt disappoint. Its a relaxed place especially if youre looking for a somewhere where the wifi is weak.

The trails here are great and easy to walk. One of the really cool things is the visitors center! There is a beautiful exhibit inside and its worth the trip to come walk through.

I didnt get to see great wildlife on this visit but I enjoyed my time at the park very much! The trails are well-kept and even story pages for kids to read along the way regarding cicadas right now! Very beautiful lake in the park as well.

Nice short walk on the boardwalk itself. There is an opportunity to see some wildlife depending on the time of year. Turtles, eagles, birds, fish, beaver, etc... If you want a longer walk there is a network of trails at the end of the boardwalk. Only downside Ive observed has been people bringing dogs that hate other dogs that the owner cant get under control. Its not a wide boardwalk so its hard to get by a group with an unfriendly dog that the owner isnt controlling well. But overall a nice walk with nice views.

One of my favorite nature places in MD!Bummer it closes at 4pm and its a pain in the winter because you never know when it will be closed for hunting...but still worth making the effort.Great bird watching and plant appreciation! Love taking the kids here.

Loved this place! We walked over the marsh first and then through the woods on a loop (Cash Lake Trail, I believe). Definitely come when the marsh walk area is open. It is very pretty. The trails were easy and nicely wooded. There is slight elevation gain. There are perches for birds in Cash Lake it would have been cool to see if there were birds there so next time I would want to bring binoculars.Can’t wait to come back here. Definitely recommend. The wildlife refuge is so beautiful!Came here in April 2021 and 9/10 people had their masks on and were good about distancing.

The sunrise here is so nice and peaceful. I love getting lost in nature and walking the trails. Its easy to forget how close you actually are to all of the hustle and bustle. The birds and the wind tell the best stories. 😊

Great place to walk your dog or just to take a nice stroll through a natural park. Very clean and very beautiful!

I absolutely love this place, its serene. Lots of parking, trail path, and kids friendly.

Wow! I needed to breathe this fresh air after months being in quarantine. I cant say what this did for our family, body, soul & spirit.

Overall this is a decent place for a hike and viewing. Very kid and family friendly, bunch of dogs too. Big parking area, visitor center was closed, and there was a single outside bathroom from what I saw. Very flat and easy trails either looping through the forests or along the “lakes.” Honestly nothing special, saw very little wildlife, and there weren’t many places to sit and just soak it in. Relatively crowded on the weekends as well. Don’t forget it’s hunting season so many of the trails are closed and for those you opt not follow the rules and stay on the trails - think again. Overall nothing special hence the 4. Recommend heading up to the less traversed north tract side.

Quiet place never really crowded. Nice walking trails, trails are not wheelchair accessible. On my digit I seen two juvenile bald eagles in the area.

Super beautiful. A wonderful 3 mile hike. Beautiful lake and pond. Birds. Frogs. Fishing.

One of my favorite places in the D.C. metro area! The museum, exhibits, activities, and grounds are top notch. The employees are always friendly and happy to answer questions. They do a wonderful job of maintaining the grounds to attract many kinds of birds. I come here often because this is an ideal place for birdwatching!

The place is great! The trails and scenery are awesome. The nature center has really cool exhibits and they offer a free tram tour of the park.

Our favorite family trail. A two mile loop around a lake with lots of shade that starts and ends at a visitor nature center, free parking, free entrance, great gift shop to support the center, air conditioning, bathrooms and educational fun for the kids and adults. Theres much more available and theres always a friendly guide at the Center for maps, directions and advice for help.

My almost 5 year old daughter loved the visitor center so much she didnt want to leave. The trails are beautiful, we saw a frog and a snake plus lots of butterflies and dragonflies. The lily pads and flowers on the pond are really pretty. There is no fee but we donated on the way out because this place is a treasure.

Great little park! I took the pups for a hike on the trail (~2 milesand found it very well marked and maintained. Its an easy hike with minor hills but please note that there are a lot of roots so be wary if you have balance issues. When we got back, we rested at the bench by the station and watched the hummingbirds and dragonflies flying around and feeding. Highly recommend!

very nice nature area. uncrowded. lots of birds. hiking trails are easy. the floating bridges are a nice touch.

Highly recommend for hiking! There are floating bridges that cross over the water, giving you a gorgeous view. Hikes are not difficult, relatively flat, and paths are well maintained. There is a pit toilet. If it has rained recently, the trails do get muddy!

A surprisingly enjoyable and well executed museum and nature preserve. I drove past this place for years. I glad we finally stopped in.

Excellent place to fish. Hunting grounds are well separated and marked. Perfect place for any bird watcher... I was fortunate enough to see a Bald Eagle swooping for lunch along Cash Lake.

Great little spot for a short hike, to walk the dogs or take the kids. Unfortunately a lot of the animated displays were not working when I passed through, but this is probably due to the lack of funding. Everything is free so make sure to throw a few dollars in the tip jar at the Visitor Center. This is a beautiful spot to view nature so bring your binoculars and camera along! Business is currently closed on Thursdays.

Wonderful for bird watching! Lots of trails and beautiful scenery. There are two sides, north tract and south tract. Both are worth visiting.