Hiking is a huge love of mine. One of the things I dislike most about DC is how little hiking I do here. But a friend and I decided to try more hiking in this area, and one of our first stops was Seneca Creek State Park.
Seneca Creek State Park is in Maryland, only about a half hour from DC. We did the 3.5 mile lake view loop hike, and it was gorgeous! The lake is technically called Clopper Lake, but someone had enough sense not to name this place Clopper Park. There's quite a bit of hiking in the park, but we also discovered that you can rent kayaks, canoes, and paddleboats at the boat house! The hike itself was pretty easy - no real elevation gain and a well-maintained trail. There were some trees down, with at least one blocking the trail, but this was easy enough to climb over. Well, easy enough for the humans - Violet needed some assistance. :) We got there early, so the trail was pretty quiet. Later in the morning we saw more people going in the opposite direction around the loop.
We saw quite a few different types of birds, including a great blue heron that was really stunning. We also saw several turtles and . . . a snake. Violet had actually stepped over the snake before I even noticed it, giving me a small heart attack when I nearly stepped on it. I am NOT a snake person. I had no choice but to step over it since Violet was on the other side, but I was not a happy camper about it! Clopper Lake is also home to a prodigious family of beavers, as evidenced by the many piles of woodchips, gnawed trees, and felled logs that we saw in various locations around the lake.
Overall, I really enjoyed this hike. I love hiking along water, and this hike was the perfect length for an early morning hike in the summer before the day gets too hot.
Perhaps the truth depends on a walk around the lake. ~Wallace Stevens
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