Walking Walrus College Park, Maryland Volksmarch

Heading out of the campus area, the walk is really pretty walking downhill, though some beautiful old oak and maple trees and the long sweeping lawn areas. We crossed back over Route 1, and on College Avenue through several fraternity and sorority houses, some getting ready for the Saturday night party scene. A few more blocks and turns and we were on Hartwick Road, which turned into Calvert Road. This street lead us to the College Park Metro Station. There were several people walking the opposite direction than we were going, just getting off the subway and heading toward campus. We went under a small tunnel at the Metro station, a direct, short shot, much shorter than the bridge we had used earlier in the walk. When we emerged we were at the parking lot and then on River Road, and within a few minutes of the finish, which we could see in the distance.

We crossed Paint Branch Parkway at the light, and across a parking lot, where in a large puddle the pooches refreshed themselves. A final right turn and we were at the Operations Building and the finish of the walk. I put the pooches and Robin in the car, and went into the building to get our books stamped and finish up. I was a little unclear as to the distance of this walk, as the Starting Point shows it as 11 km, but the directions say 10 km. I called the event Point of Contact this rainy Sunday afternoon, John Holloman, and he said definitively that the distance is 10 km, though it seemed a bit long. There is a change in the works to revise the Starting Point listed distance, but it apparently has not been published yet. I thank the Greenbelt Walking Club for hosting this walk. It really is quite a nice walk with lots of diverse elements, not a lot of hills, but with all the variety very interesting and enjoyable.

Seneca Valley Sugarloafers
Upcoming walking events in Maryland
Volksmarch and Walking Index Web page
About.com DC/Annapolis
US National and State Parks

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