Mid-Atlantic News

Come explore the nation's front yard with a winter walk on the National Mall on Saturday, February 17, 2024.

We'll start at the U.S. Botanic Garden and then wander over to a hidden gem, the Bartholdi Fountain and Gardens.

From there we'll head down the National Mall and take in the majesty of the monumental core of our capital city as envisioned by Pierre L'Enfant. Our plan is to do a brisk winter walk along the Mall, but folks can also choose to stop by one of the Smithsonian museums along the way and then meet up with the group on our way back. Anticipate about a 3-mile walk in all.

For those who are interested, we'll wrap up our day at Mitsitam Cafe, located in the National Museum of the American Indian. You can either grab a pastry and specialty coffee at the Mitsitam Espresso Coffee Bar or stay for a culinary adventure all its own at the Mitsitam Cafe.

From their website: "The word Mitsitam means Let's Eat! in the Native language of the Delaware and Piscataway peoples, reflecting the cafe's focus on the indigenous cuisines of the Americas. . . . The menu is divided into different regions, including the Northern Woodlands, South America, the Northwest Coast, Mesoamerica, and the Great Plains. Each section features traditional foods from those regions."

This free activity is open to members and non-members of Women Outdoors. Non-members are welcome to attend two WO events as guests. On your third event, we'll ask you to join the Mid-Atlantic Region of Women Outdoors. You can also join right now by clicking on this Join Us link. 

Click on this link to register for a Winter Walk on the National Mall.

Registration closes on Thursday, February 15, 2024.

Southern Maryland was once covered by a shallow sea. When the waters receded, the remains of prehistoric species were left behind. Over 600 species of fossils have been identified at Calvert Cliffs. Shark teeth are the most common find, so let’s go see if we have any luck at finding something really cool.

We’ll hike a 4.8-mile loop through marsh and woodland areas. At about the midpoint of our hike, we’ll spend some time on the little Chesapeake beach looking for shark teeth and other fossils. The 4.8-mile loop can be shortcut to 4 miles that day if it’s particularly cold. There is very little elevation change on this hike since the park sits at sea level on Chesapeake Bay.

Optional: For those who want to continue the fun after our hike, let’s warm up with a "hearty breakfast at lunchtime" at 2 Soul Sisters restaurant in Lusby, MD where breakfast is served all day! There are lunch/dinner combo plates as well if you’d rather.

Doggies allowed on this hike, though they won't be allowed at the restaurant.

Parking, meeting location and restroom details will be included in the confirmation email you receive after you register.

This free activity is open to members and non-members of Women Outdoors. Non-members are welcome to attend two WO events as guests. On your third event, we'll ask you to join the Mid-Atlantic Region of Women Outdoors. You can also join right now by clicking on this Join Us link. 

Click on this link to register for our fossil hunting adventure.

Registration closes on Friday, Jan 26.

Bring your signature side dish, marvelous main dish or divine dessert to share with others at our ever popular Midwinter Movie Night and Potluck on Saturday, January 20, 2024.

We'll have dinner first and then sit back and enjoy the movie, Nyad.

Marathon swimmer Diana Nyad sets out at 60 to achieve a feat that eluded her at 28: to swim from Cuba to Florida across more than 100 miles of open ocean. Academy Award winners Annette Bening and Jodie Foster bring to life the prickly Diana Nyad and her longtime friend and coach Bonnie Stoll.

This event is for Women Outdoors members only. If you would like to join Women Outdoors or renew your membership, please click on this Join Us link and follow the instructions.

Registration is limited to 10 Women Outdoors members. A wait list will open up if we reach 10.

Registration for movie night will open up on Sunday, Dec. 31, 2023, at 9:00 a.m.

Click on this link for more information and to register (once registration opens up).

On the spur of the moment we have added an event to our Women Outdoors Mid-Atlantic schedule. Read on for more info on this late breaking activity.

Celebrate your favorite December holiday with a bit of a lark. Join us on Saturday, December 16 for our Creek Walk and Cocoa Crawl in Takoma Park, MD.

First we'll go for a 3-mile walk through quaint Takoma Park neighborhoods and along the ever popular Sligo Creek Trail. After our walk, we'll go back to our members' home for a brown bag lunch.

Following lunch, we'll head out (take your pick: drive or walk just over a mile) for the fabulous Takoma Cocoa Crawl. Local restaurants and cafes will offer their signature take on hot cocoa. Adult versions will be available, too. In addition, many Old Town Takoma businesses will be offering special holiday deals.

We'd love it if you could join us for the whole caper, but feel free to come for just the creek walk or just the brown bag lunch or just the cocoa crawl. Mostly we just want to enjoy your company and celebrate the season. Ugly holiday sweaters are encouraged!

This free activity is open to members and non-members of Women Outdoors. Non-members are welcome to attend two WO events as guests. On your third event, we'll ask you to join the Mid-Atlantic Region of Women Outdoors. You can also join right now by clicking on this Join Us link.

Click on this link for more information and to register for the Creek Walk and Cocoa Crawl.

Registration closes on Friday, December 15. Sorry, no doggies on this event.

There's more lore than ore along the Goldmine Loop Trail, but the real treasure lies in the beauty of the setting. Join us on Sunday, November 12 as we combine the 2.5-mile Goldmine Loop Trail with the 2.5-mile loop to the Maryland Overlook at Great Falls for a lovely fall hike.

The views from the Overlook of the Potomac River Valley and the C&O Canal are spectacular! The moderate trails are through an airy forest in the C&O Canal National Historical Park.

After the hike, we'll gather for a potluck brunch at a member's home nearby.

Sorry, no doggies on this hike and brunch.

This free activity is open to members and non-members of Women Outdoors. Non-members are welcome to attend two WO events as guests. On your third event, we'll ask you to join the Mid-Atlantic Region of Women Outdoors. You can also join right now by clicking on this Join Us link. 

Registration closes on Friday, Nov. 10.

Click here to register for the Gold Mine Loop Trail Hike and Brunch.

A hike and history at the same time

Many of us have enjoyed kayaking at Jug Bay, but here's a chance to explore some of the other gems at Patuxent River Park. We'll start by going up the observation tower and take in the views over the wide marshes of Jug Bay. The tower is handicap-accessible if the spirit is willing but the knees are weak.

Next we'll head out on a mostly flat hike of about 4 miles that will take us through a diverse landscape of upland forests, swamps and marshes filled with birds and wetland vegetation. (Did you know that a swamp is a wetland with trees, while a marsh has only shrubs and herbaceous vegetation? Tip of the hat to Bryan MacKay, author of Hike Maryland.) We may also enjoy some leaf peeping on this hike as well as more views of Jug Bay.

After the hike, we'll sit down for a brown bag lunch at picnic tables overlooking Jug Bay. After lunch we have a special treat for history buffs or anyone who wants to step back in time - a walk through the Patuxent Rural Life Museums, a collection of museums and buildings dedicated to preserving the rural heritage of southern Prince Georges County.

The Duckett Freedman Log Cabin is a rare surviving example of a chestnut log farm tenant house from the 1880s. The Duvall Tool Museum features exhibits about traditional trades and crafts, a general store, and even a dental office from the early 20th century. A 1923 Sears Simplex House ($443) certainly qualifies as an OG Tiny House - just three rooms and a front porch with the separately purchased outhouse ($40) out back. Other museums highlight blacksmithing, tobacco farming and working on the Patuxent River.

Feel free to join us for just the observation tower and the Black Walnut Nature Study Area (short walking paths and boardwalks) at the very beginning of our hike. Then skip the 4-mile hike (and perhaps explore the Visitor's Center instead) and join us for the picnic lunch and Rural Life Museums afterwards.

To improve our chances of seeing lots of birds and possibly even some waterfowl on this hike, no doggies.

This free activity is open to members and non-members of Women Outdoors. Non-members are welcome to attend two WO events as guests. On your third event, we'll ask you to join the Mid-Atlantic Region of Women Outdoors. You can also join right now by clicking on this Join Us link. 

Registration closes on Thursday, Oct. 26. Click here for more information and to register.

Everything starts with a plan. Women Outdoors runs completely on volunteer energy and we need yours! Join us for our potluck brunch and planning meeting on Sunday, Sept. 17, 2023.

Come bring your ideas and energy for outdoor adventures with the Mid-Atlantic chapter of Women Outdoors. Bring your calendars, hiking and biking books, and any other idea generators and help us plan activities for the upcoming months.

We'll provide coffee and tea and ask you to bring a potluck dish to share.

The automatic confirmation email will contain the exact meeting location for the brunch. 

Registration closes on Saturday, Sept. 16. If you register but then are unable to attend, please cancel your registration with Women Outdoors.

Click on this link to register for the potluck brunch and planning meeting.

Little Bennett Regional Park in upper Montgomery County offers a glimpse back in time to when it was a patchwork of old farms, mills and a one-room schoolhouse.

Join us on Saturday morning, Sept. 2, 2023, for a 4-mile hike (+ or -) through old fields, oak-pine woodlands, rocky hillsides, wet meadows and along Little Bennett Creek. If we're lucky, we'll spy a variety of late summer wildflowers in the open fields and meadows. This is an easy to moderate hike with some ups and downs and a few rocky trails. We may be sharing part of the hike with horseback riders and mountain bikers.

Doggies are welcome to come on this hike but must be kept on leash at all times.

This free activity is open to members and non-members of Women Outdoors. Non-members are welcome to attend two WO events as guests. On your third event, we'll ask you to join the Mid-Atlantic Region of Women Outdoors. You can also join right now by clicking on this Join Us link. 

Everyone must agree to the Women Outdoors Assumption of Risk statement during the registration process. Registration closes on Thursday, August 31.

Bring:

• Water
  
• Snacks and/or brown bag lunch for the trail
• Insect repellent
• Hiking poles (optional)
• Extra socks or sandals in case there's a stream crossing (optional)
  

Please respect the trip leaders and other members and arrive on time - 9:30 a.m.

Click on this link for more information and to register for the hike.

Join us for something a little different this August: a mid-week, early evening, laid-back outing at one of the beloved jewels of our area, the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal National Historical Park.

We'll meet in the late afternoon on Wednesday, August 9 at one of the lockhouses along the canal and . . . wait for it . . . just relax. Bring a camp chair, your beverage of choice, some snacks or dessert to share, and dinner for later. We'll enjoy the scenery and each other's company and just hang out for the evening.

We'll have access to the lockhouse, which has a bathroom and kitchen (stove, oven and refrigerator but no microwave), if you want to heat up your dinner or keep it chilled until we eat. Feel free to bring a camp stove if that works better for you.

After dinner (and the heat of the day), anyone who wants to can go for a walk along the C&O Towpath. You can also bring your bike and take a short ride. Or not. Depending on the weather, we may have a campfire.

Doggies are welcome to come on this low-key adventure (oxymoron?) but must be kept on leash at all times including while we're just sitting around outside.

This free activity is open to members and non-members of Women Outdoors. Non-members are welcome to attend two WO events as guests. On your third event, we'll ask you to join the Mid-Atlantic Region of Women Outdoors. You can also join right now by clicking on this Join Us link. 

Everyone must agree to the Women Outdoors Assumption of Risk statement during the registration process. Registration is limited to 20 participants and closes on Monday, August 7, whichever comes first.

Click on this link to register for A Summer Evening on the C&O Canal.

Bring:

• Snacks/desserts to share
  
• Camp chair
  
• Water and/or beverage of choice
• Dinner for yourself (and your own mess kit).
  
• If biking, bring a helmet (required).

We're heading to Washington Monument State Park in Middletown, MD to celebrate the Mid-Atlantic Region's 14th anniversary with a hike and picnic on Sunday, June 4, 2023.

"Located atop South Mountain, Washington Monument State Park is named for the first completed monument dedicated to the memory of George Washington. The Washington Monument is a rugged stone tower that was initially erected by the citizens of Boonsboro in 1827."  - From the Maryland Department of Natural Resources website.

We'll hike first, starting with a short walk up to the Washington Monument to take in the beautiful 360 view. From there we'll take the Appalachian Trail for a fairly easy out-and-back hike of a few miles.

After the hike, we'll fire up the grill for burgers and hot dogs. BYOburger, hot dog, not dog, veggie burger or grillable item of your choice as well as a side dish or dessert to share. We'll provide watermelon for everyone. Leave no trace: Bring your own mess kit, utensils and trash bag to carry out your trash and recyclables.

If you're not up for the hike, feel free to join us for just the picnic afterwards.

Gear Giveaway/Swap/Sale - Most of us probably have some well-loved but seldom used outdoor gear at home. Bring that used gear and any outdoor themed books you have around the house to the picnic so they can find a new home with another Women Outdoors member. Be sure and label your gear with your name and price (if it's not a giveaway item). Everyone must take home whatever they bring if it doesn't find a new home.

This free activity is open to members and non-members of Women Outdoors. Non-members are welcome to attend two WO events as guests. On your third event, we'll ask you to join the Mid-Atlantic Region of Women Outdoors. You can also join right now by clicking on this Join Us link. 

Everyone must agree to the Women Outdoors Assumption of Risk statement during the registration process.

Click on this link to register.