Ilchester to Soapstone

Patapsco Valley State Park

interactive map link

I returned to the Ilchester area, this time parking in a lot the park considers more acceptable, up the hill from where Ilchester once stood (and where I parked before). There was a small lot closer, but it had a locked gate. The small, unpaved lot is free and has some informative signage and was getting toward half full as I pulled in.

Two trails diverging, one to start on and one to finish. You can take both!

A downy woodpecker was finding good stuff on one small tree.

My plan for the day was to head down the hill and cross over the river for a low route over to where I first hiked to the little waterfall. Then I would cross over and stay low a little longer until a collection of trails that rose to an area marked Soapstone. I sort of expected some to be on display along the way, somewhere. Then I'd wander along a high route back. This would be a little more complicated navigation, but I've got a map and the Strava heat seems to align with the lines on it, so it's probably got some reliability.

Into the colorful woods.

There's a short spur trail out to "Ilchester Rocks" and a viewpoint, so I decided to see what that was about. It stops at the top of some very high rocks with a little bit of a view. The train bridge is visible far below, but the river was still in shadow.

What there is of view from Ilchester Rocks.

I headed back up, managing to miss the trail I'd been on and thus come to another trail where the spur was marked with a warning sign. "This trail leads to a Step Rock Overlook. This is a natural area, proceed at your own risk."

A well respected caution sign.

That sign made the other trail look more official, but the one I had been on was marked with paint blazes and was less of a rut, so I went back to it. Down I want, all the same.

Leaves die in their own ways.

This seems a young and crowded forest.

There's a shorter route down to then cross over the river, but I headed over to the Ilchester Tunnel to see what was there. Since it is an active train route, it was real. I heard a train coming to demonstrate its use. I've got such "good luck".

Another rock with a bit of view along the trail to the tunnel.

The trail gets to near the tracks, then heads up the hill to go over the tunnel.

This train line is one of the oldest in the country, being the first section of track belonging to the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad (B&O on the Monopoly board) when it started operating from Baltimore to Ellicott City in 1830, although the locomotives came in 1831. However, it's not the first tunnel. That was the one built at Henryton in 1850, which I visited while exploring the North McKeldin Area of the park. Admittedly, this isn't quite where the tracks went nearly 200 years ago. When they first built the line, they were worried about inclines, but not curves.

The views of the tunnel from above are a little obscured.

The train tracks from up on the top of the Ilchester Tunnel.

From the tunnel, I headed down to the Grist Mill Trail, a paved and flat route. I was quite probably following the old railroad alignment from before the tunnel was opened in 1903. I took special notice of the granite blocks along my path. B&O connected their iron rails to two lines of granite because they were building for the ages. This particular aspect of it didn't age well.

Some kind of road passed here, anyway. These may actually be the granite "sleepers" B&O used in place of wooden ties, but possibly ones that had to be moved while building the Grist Mill Trail.

Once on the Grist Mill Trail, I continued along the old railway alignment. Signs point out the remains of the Bloede Dam, a first of its kind hydroelectric dam. The viewpoint has signs that it is being removed. (That happened in 2019.) And no actual view because the plants have grown.

Purple crownvetch along the trail. (Non native.)

Not a view of a removed dam.

One branch of the dogfennel, which is endemic.

The north side of the Grist Mill Trail runs out just after crossing the river over the old railroad alignment on a suspension bridge they like to call a "swinging bridge" even though it doesn't swing out of the way.

The post 1903 alignment railroad bridge from the new footbridge following the pre 1903 alignment.

I took a side trail just below Ilchester road to join the Bloede Dam Trail/River Road. There's a bit more view of the river from here. When Bloede Dam Trail went high, I followed low. This probably isn't usable in higher water.

The old River Road has fallen into disrepair. The trail drops down when the pavement crumbles.

Almost down to the river, but on gravel instead of the uneven rocks.

After a while of not being sure I was on proper trail, even if it was well trampled down, I found myself climbing back to old pavement. A bird was doing a lot of squawking to another.

It was an eastern towhee squawking.

Distorted reflections at the edge of a pool in the running water.

Back on the paving, I wandered along the old road. There's a big track down to the water that I took to find a big rocky beach and a cabinet with a life preserver ring. No one was using it. I noticed a few fisherman trails down to the water, all a bit rougher. People were using one of those.

Out from the big beach, upstream.

And out from the big beach, downstream.

A fisherman trail leaves beside an old culvert in the road.

Where the old road expands into parking lot, I again took the bypass trail just above it. Then onto the Swinging Bridge (not just a) which still doesn't swing out of the way of flood water or boats because it's just an ordinary suspension bridge. The original bridge let the workers who lived where the parking lot now stands get to the mill that sat below the train on the far side.

Fishermen are again active below the bridge.

The train came by as I was approaching the bridge, allowing me to easily stay at a more comfortable distance than had I been looking over the ruins of the mill, as I would in a couple minutes.

The Orange Grove flour mill ruins are at the top of a steep trail.

The trail passes around the side to be level with the tracks and look out over the ruins. They once stood much much higher.

Then I turned to continue downstream on the paved Grist Mill Trail. Every once in a while, there's a sign about exit routes in case of high water. They all seem to think I should be heading back to the bridge and crossing it in an emergency rather than taking one of the trails directly up the hill.

Back on the Grist Mill Trail.

The river is barely visible through the trees, but has been this high a few times.

Nun's Trail with a sign on the far side of the tunnel to show that's really where it goes.

Except the trail I came down, all the trails pass the train via a tunnel built for a creek. They might be hard to use in high water. Especially since they may well have been built in 1830 with no thought for hikers. This part of the built to last plan worked out well.

Vineyard Springs Trail is my turn.

My trail up was through one of these tunnels. It wasn't such an unpleasant passage.

The far side is perfectly ordinary trail through the forest.

I passed many foundations of various sorts for the brief time I remained on Vineyard Springs Trail.

Fall color beside the trail.

A foundation hiding under the fall color.

Sometimes there's a bigger tree.

At the next junction, I turned up a trail marked as foot travel only. This crosses up to a picnicking area and over to the Soapstone Branch, an area creek.

Up and out of the shallow run.

White throated sparrow tucked away among thorns.

Past the upper picnic area.

And past the lower picnic area, which has bathrooms and a playground.

At the end of the parking lot, the trail along Soapstone was a little rough to start. It crosses the Bill Branch and it looks a bit washed out.

Across the Bill Branch to follow the Soapstone Branch.

A few trails were labeled "Soapstone" on my map and I generally picked the one closest to the creek, but not the one that was closed off for accidentally being built across private property.

Another bigger tree beside little Soapstone Branch.

Fancy crossing over Soapstone Branch on a low wooden bridge.

Heading up a lovely trail after a less fancy crossing.

Crossed again.

Eventually the trail left Soapstone Branch to go up a seasonal gully toward a noisy road.

Up that gully.

I found myself at the edge of the park beside some parking along a large and busy road. The kiosk labels it the Soapstone/Rolling Road Trailhead and offers a map with some trails colored and named and the rest there. A sign tacked on the side suggested bright clothing since hunting season was in progress. All very sensible. I still hadn't noticed the soapstone and it didn't elucidate. I went looking along a higher trail for my route back. This brought me into Vineland.

Looking down on a vine covered valley. This must be Vineland.

Mostly consisting of invasive porcelain berry and it has killed a few of the trees it envelops.

The trail crossed through this monster growth, somehow being well established through it. The whole area is turning to monoculture as even the tall trees are smothered underneath this encasing vine.

The trail pops over a ridge to a healthy forest, for now.

Then back through the vines with them 4 foot high on either side of the trail.

I managed to leave the vines before they ate me, too.

Sometimes not all that far from the trail I followed on the way up.

This feels open and airy after the vines.

Then I spotted a junction and started on some lesser traveled trails, still well worn in. I would be crossing mystery roads with mystery access as I went. One had a sign like a trailhead, although no parking along the dirt track.

Through the uplands.

I would wind through the drainages of various creeks, often with a trail that followed them down.

Back across the Bill Branch.

Some lovely honey mushrooms along a mossy log.

Kiosk and a bike repair station after passing the top of Vineyard Springs Trail.

Edging along some private property with fancy houses.

The white-tailed deer ran off to turn around and look at me a while.

The stream that Nun's Trail follows.

A mystery wall to cross once more.

I had planned to drop down to near the river once more to explore an Adventure Lab (Geocaching without anything physical) that has been set there among historic artifacts, but I'd run out of time. So back to the lot I went.

Sawmill Branch is the widest crossing.

And then it was time to head home once more. Somehow, in spite of four levels of fail in obtaining a ride to the airport, I did make it in time to kick my luggage under the seat in front of me. The government shutdown was still on, but I somehow made it without delay, crash (even with a stop at LAX!) or getting nasty diseases.

Yey! Flat Tops! Just north of the good bit of I-70.

*photo album*




©2026 Valerie Norton
Written 23 Feb 2026