Soldiers Delight Natural Environment Area
Hiking and Observations

Soldier's Delight is a rather unique environment in Maryland. It represents the largest serpentine barren in the state, and one of the largest on the east coast. The ecology it supports is also rather rare.
 

There is a Visitors Center to begin the investigations and observations in order to complete the notebooks.  This center will give an more in-depth introduction to what can/will be seen along the trails.
There are seven marked trails within the park, as seen in the map below.

Group members will hike along these trails, stopping at particular sites, making observations, and completing their notebooks. There is no particular order to the stops, however they are numbered to match the questions in the handouts.

There are two main sections of trail in Soldiers Delight. Those on the visitor's center side of Deer Park Rd. traverse most of the serpentine barren area through large sections of grassland.


The trails on the other side of Deer Park Rd travel mainly through woodland and at parts parallel a stream. There are also a number of abandoned chromium mines scattered throughout this area.

STOP 1:  Beginning of trail on the Visitor's Center side of Deer Park Road

Note the vegetation..
Typically a serpentine barren contains scrub oak and pine, cedar, grasses and some unique and rare wildflowers.
 
 

STOP 2:  As you continue along trail on the Visitor's Center side of Deer Park Road

The unique geology and resulting soil composition make Soldier's Delight both a very hostile environment for some plants, but also a haven for some of the rarest plants in Maryland.

Hiking along the trails, you will see Sandplain Gerardia at the bases of little blue stem grasses.



Walking along, you may also see the consequences of invasive plant species within the barrens of serpentine.

Along the path, you may see a specimen of the rare Fringed Gentian.  The Fringed Gentian is a rare wildflower and has only one habitat in Maryland. It really does have a very striking blue hue. Most of these plants were growing a few feet off of the path. Please do not venture off path, or these can be destroyed.

STOP 3:  Choate Mine, opposite side of Deer Park Road to Visitor Center

Serpentine is valued as a decorative building stone, road material, and, in two Maryland localities, a historic source of chromium ore. During the 19th century Soldiers Delight, along with another area, were the largest producers of chrome in the world.  At that time, Chromite was a significant accessory mineral in the serpentine and was mined up until 1860. You can walk up to the entrance of Choate Mine along the hike.
 


STOP 4:  Hiking through trail opposite to Visitor's Center

Be on the look out for evidence of pine tree burning.


 
 
 

FINAL THOUGHT

Beware while you are hiking.  Soldier's Delight is also known as Gravity Hill. Battle site in the late 1600's and in the Civil War. If you sit your car in neutral at the bottom of the hill there, the ghosts will push your car up the hill thinking it was one of their cannons. Although, the car phenomena was scientific disproven, there are still reports of shadows and footsteps.
 
 


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