Three Summer Events! Register for one or for all! Join other 30-year olds for a casual hike (2 miles) scouting for non-migratory resident birds of Cromwell Valley Park along the Minebank Run and in some of our old-growth fields. Get your appetite whet for fall migration, with more dates coming soon! Cost is
Saturday, August 8; 1:00pm-2:30pm Mean Green Meat-Eating Machine – Ages 10+. Meat eating plants?! Learn about these other worldly native plants that trap and kill prey in order to survive. Bring one home to raise as your own! $6/person REGISTRATION REQUIRED
Sunday, August 9; 12:00pm-1:00pm Cyanotype Prints – Ages 10+. Join a naturalist on a guided hike to collect leaves, flowers, and sticks. With a little sun and some special paper, you can leave your mark with your own cyan print! $3.00/person REGISTRATION REQUIRED
Mondays April 6- Oct. 26 8:30am-10:30am & Thursdays April 9 - Oct. 29 8:30am-10:30am Ages 18+. Do you enjoy gardening, but don’t have the space or a deer-proof fence? Join like-minded green thumbs (and beginner brown thumbs) to grow your own vegetables, herbs and flowers and tend to our shared garden plots. We’ll provide the
Tuesday, August 11th at 5:45 pm Join us for an advanced-level 5 mile hike on the upper trails of Cromwell Valley Park. Enjoy an evening hike at a moderate pace from the Sherwood House up to highests elevation in the park and then back to the Sherwood House. Please only register if physically able
Saturday, August 15; 1:00 pm-2:00pm Lunch For Our Feathered Bunch – All Ages. Join a naturalist to help us feed our feathered friends and to discover that they are not picky eaters! $3.00/person REGISTRATION REQUIRED
Sunday, August 16; 10:00am-11:30am Insect Sing-a-Long – All Ages. Many insects are just now getting their voices, even though they were there all along. Why sing now? Join a naturalist to find these insects and learn why they are beginning to make themselves heard. We have the nets! FREE REGISTRATION REQUIRED
Saturday, August 22; 1:00pm-3:00pm Adults 18+. The sling has been used for thousands of years. It can make a rock go from zero to 90 miles an hour. That is what made it a formidable weapon. Join us to make one to take home! $12.00/person REGISTRATION REQUIRED
Sunday, August 23; 9:00am-11:00am Forest Bathing – Ages 16+. A technique by which one becomes attuned to the environment through mindful concentration. Based on the Japanese practice known as shinrin-yoku. $12.00/person REGISTRATION REQUIRED
Join us for an evening hike for women and non-binary folks. We’ll hike a loop of 4 miles at a moderate pace, exploring the park’s beautiful woodland trails and old-growth meadows. We’ll cross a couple of streams and climb a hill or two – a nice challenge! This hike is a dedicated, welcoming space for
Thursday, August 27th - 5 pm - 7 pm Join us for an evening hike for women and non-binary folks. We’ll hike a loop of 3.5 miles at a moderate pace, exploring the park’s beautiful woodland trails and old-growth meadows. We’ll cross a couple of streams and climb a hill or two – a nice challenge!
Friday, August 28; 7:30pm-9:00pm Campfire Cooking Under the Full Moon – Ages 8+. Enjoy a night hike under the full Sturgeon Moon and learn how to cook delicious, simple meals over an open flame! Participants prepare classic campfire dishes while practicing safe fire-building and cleanup techniques. $6/person REGISTRATION REQUIRED
Saturday, August 29; 1:00pm-3:00pm Migrating Monarchs – Ages 5+. An animal that migrates thousands of miles with no map?! How do they do it? Where do they go? Join us as we observe, capture, tag, and release these delicate insects to help track them for science. $3.00/person REGISTRATION REQUIRED
Sunday, August 30; 1:00pm-2:30pm Terrarium Building Workshop – Ages 8+. Build your own miniature world! Participants design glass terrariums using soil, moss, rocks, and plants while learning how these small ecosystems work. A relaxing, hands-on activity that combines creativity, ecology, and a beautiful take-home creation. $12.00/person REGISTRATION REQUIRED
September 18, 2026 – Dr. Wayne Bell "The Chesapeake Working Landscape: Past, Present, and a Hopeful Future" A history of land use on the Chesapeake Bay watershed, from pre-colonial times to the present, and insights that land use changes provide for bird conservation. Background - Dr. Bell is Senior Associate and former Director of the
Saturday, September 19th from 8 am - 10 am Join us for the height of fall migration with celebrity birder, Kojo Baidoo. Winner of the World Series of Birding in 2022 and has been featured in NPR when his Princeton team (Tiger Shrikes) spotted 205 species of birds in a 24-hour period! Kojo has had
October 16, 2026 – Carrie Engel – Native Plants For Fall – Why is fall a great time to plant natives? Which natives have fall color and/or flowers? Which native plants are migrating pollinators attracted to? Let’s dive into fall natives and learn about these and other subjects. Samples and a slide show will be
Bats: Kerry Wixted presenting the benefits of having bats in your yard November 20, 2026 6:00 - 8:00 pm in the Sherwood House $10 p/person drinks and desserts provided - Ages 18+
Cromwell Valley Park Office
(Sherwood House)
2002 Cromwell Bridge Rd
Parkville, MD 21234
GPS: 39.415, -76.552
Phone: 410-887-2503
TDD: 410-887-5319
Willow Grove Nature Education Center
2175 Cromwell Bridge Rd
Parkville, MD 21234
GPS: 39.417, -76.548
Please remember that the Park itself is open only during daylight hours, sunrise to sunset.
In case of inclement weather, the Nature Center and activities follow Baltimore County Pubic Schools. Check the BCPS Website for the latest information on closing. If closing early, all evening activities at the Park are cancelled.
On Saturdays and Sundays when the office is closed, you may call the Nature Education Center.
Note: The addresses (2002 and 2175) are really for Post Office use. If used on a GPS, they may take you to a strange place in the park, or leave you on the main road. Use the GPS coordinates instead.
The Cromwell Valley Park Council (CVPC) is a volunteer, non-profit organization dedicated to the stewardship of Cromwell Valley Park as a public space for passive recreation and School Programs. The CVPC works in cooperation with the Baltimore County Department of Recreation and Parks and other entities to maintain, preserve and protect the natural environment and historic structures in the Park.
The Cromwell Valley Park Council is not an official site for Baltimore County Government.