Battle Creek Cypress Swamp

The Battle Creek Cypress Swamp, otherwise known as BCCS, is a forested wetland and a designated national natural landmark located in Calvert County. It’s about 100 acres, but a small portion of it has a nature center and a ¼-​mile boardwalk through the swamp that is accessible by the public. The hubs and I stopped by while we were in the area, and I actually enjoyed my visit: D Admission is free, but please feel free to donate and support this cute center (they have this woven frog ‘basket’ where you drop your bills in). The center has interpretive exhibits, naturalist-​led guided tours available for groups, some live ‘swamp’ animals (such as the turtles, a Brown Bullhead fish, a Pumpkinseed fish, and a White-​River Crayfish), as well as a variety of children’s books available for reading. There is even a large hollow stump from a tulip tree that blew down from a ‘90s windstorm, and made into a little reading nook with a cushion — you can usually find a kid in there, reading a book! You can step outside from any of the exit doors and take a little walk on the wetland boardwalk, do some nature studying, birdwatch, or have a picnic. Parking available in the private lot, this is a great place for those who like nature, for both adults and children.
+free admission (but donations accepted)
+wetland boardwalk
+nature center with some live swamp animals: D
+naturalist-​led guided tours for groups
+private lot available

A cypress swamp sounds like something you’d find in Belize or in Dinotopia, but in fact we have one right here in Maryland. It’s free, and from the parking lot one finds a visitor center with several animals (including some disabled rescue raptors outside). Restrooms are the first thing you see upon walking in, a wise choice given that this place is a pretty decent drive from almost anywhere. It is, however, not far off Route 4, and a viable stop on the way to other things in the region.
After the visitor center, a boardwalk leads out into the swamp, and make no mistake it is pretty swampy. The trees apparently put their roots out aboveground to stabilize themselves, leading to a bizarre aesthetic of knobby root bits sticking up everywhere. The area is quiet but for the slow flow of water, and you can almost feel nature renewing itself; wetlands are tremendously valuable. It isn’t a large area; not something you’d spend a whole day at with just the boardwalk and a few other areas to walk through, but it makes for a nice diversion.

As far as parks and such go this place is a hole in the wall, but so worthwhile visiting. An alien landscape awaits you, as well as some history, a giant albino turtle, and even two large, living birds of prey. The short loop through the swamp is easy for adults and children alike, and you can then extend the loop further onto an old tobacco plantation should you wish. Highly recommended and surprisingly fun.

Very easy and informative hike through a bald cypress swamp. Nice, small exhibit in the nature center with a rare albino snapping turtle. Would recommend for people looking for a short hike.

Loved this place. The naturalist was extremely helpful and identified a snake for us. She also let the kids help feed the turtles. During our swamp walk we saw a big black snake and foot prints from fox and raccoon. Would really recommend it for a visit of 1 – 2 hours.

Battle Creek Swamp is one of the truly special places in Maryland. You drive there through typical Southern Maryland landscapes, houses and farms. Even the parking lot of the Sanctuary doesn’t give you a clue as to what’s in store. You walk out of the back door of the visitor center and follow a well maintained path into a place that seems like it should be home to dinosaurs. The bald cypress trees are beautiful. Even on the hottest days, it’s cooler in the swamp because of the thick canopy. There’s a boardwalk through the swamp so you don’t damage the habitat and don’t get mud on yourself. Crawfish «chimneys» and cypress knees poke up all around you. Flowering understory plants are little flashes of color. Birds, like the prothonotary warbler, are common sights. This won’t be like the swamps you see in the movies. There aren’t clouds of biting insects. The water moves through this swamp, there aren’t still pools for the mosquito larvae. The birds are probably keeping the bug population in check, too. Walking the main trail will take you about an hour, longer if you stop often for photos. It’s an easy walk, there’s a bit of a slope walking down into the little valley and back out, but the trails and boardwalk are all well maintained. This is a good nature visit for the whole family. Highly recommend.

Note that the entrance to the park is off of Sixes Road, you will see signs for it on the right as you come off of Solomons Island Rd. Price is right — free!
Closed Monday, Open Tuesday-​Saturday — 10:00 to 4:30, Sunday — 1:00 to 4:30. I actually got there a little before 1 on Sunday and it was already open. Closed Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year’s Day. Kind of limited hours but with budget cuts that is understandable.
This nature preserve is for one of the furthest north areas of bald cypress trees in the country. After you park there is a small visitors center set up with bathrooms and brochures and a few people working there. When you come out of there you head to the trails. The great thing about the trails is that the trail going through the forest area is a boardwalk so it would be a great place for someone with mobility challenges or in a wheelchair. Not a real wide boardwalk, though, so a group would have to walk in line. The boardwalk is there because the ground is wet, although it wasn’t covered in water like you would see in some other kinds of swamps, except for the creek itself. May have been due to the lack of rains this summer.
You can also take another trail that goes by an old abandoned tobacco farmhouse and algae-​covered pond, this smaller trail doesn’t have a boardwalk though. Overall taking both trails wasn’t a really long hike, but its nice to have a place to get a quicker hike in and still get a good experience out of it. Not much in terms of elevation, mostly flat but that’s to be expected given the area.