Saint Mary's of Ilchester

Patapsco Valley State Park

interactive map link

The multitude of ruins marked in the Ilcheter Area of Patapsco Valley State Park drew my attention, so I made a rough plan of wandering among them. My first choice for access was a public lot in Ellicott City. The whole area doesn't show much "heat" on the Strava map, but what there is shows this as one access point that is actually used, so it was a bit disappointing to see a bit of new fencing across the access. As this access follows the active railroad right of way for a distance, it wasn't completely surprising. I also see some heat suggesting the end of Red Stag Court is an entry, but decided against trying this one. My next try was the hunter parking. This was open and has a lot of information provided at the lot, including that to park there legally, you need to place your hunting permit in the car window. My third option was a parking area next to Ilchester Road. Although a sign across the hiker bridge suggests this is not legal parking, the road signs very clearly do leave it open to parking. There is another possible parking area at the gate of the former Saint Mary's College driveway off Bonnie Branch Road, but it was not clear if that is legal. There may also be access from Ellicott Mill on the other side of the river via an old trestle bridge.

This sign suggests that for safe parking, I should go all the way to where I hiked on Sunday.

One thing I did not notice while investigating is that this bit of the Saint Mary's College property is not actually a part of the state park. The owner of the geocache placed on it certainly seems to think it is while relating when it was acquired and annexed. I wasn't the only person trying to hike the area. A fellow came along as I was pondering the sign who was also trying to check out the ruins, although he seemed to think this seminary was actually an old sanitarium. I guess that's sexier. He had become worried by the sign suggesting the area was unsafe to park and driven further up on South Hilltop Road to another trailhead about a mile away by trail.

Accessing the ruins by carefully crossing the tracks.

We followed what our maps showed was an unpaved road to a gravel lot, going around a closed but unlocked gate barring vehicle entry to that unused patch of ground, passing the only private property sign around. I assumed it was for the right of way and since we were only crossing it with great attention to possible trains to get to the assumed public land, we didn't expect that applied to us. It took a little searching to find the trail we were looking for, but it led to some steps and then to ruins, as promised.

Up the old steps to Saint Mary's.

The fellow went right as I stopped by some ruins off to the left and that was the last I saw of him. Since some of these ruins are crumbling cement ground floors above large basement holes, I wouldn't be too surprised if this is still Department of Natural Resources land, but they decided not to make it a part of the park for liability reasons. More likely, it's just very difficult to maintain signs around the property once it has become a teenager hang out.

The flat spot below with the wall at the edge was a building once.

A mystery hole beside the former driveway.

The crumbling walls of the college.

Some blocks that might have come from now Old Quarry Lake.

This trap has mostly been sprung, but how many more remain?

From the area around the college, I wandered over to the "shrine", and the area where the geocache has been placed.

The lights have gone, and so have the stairs.

Following an old road around the property.

The "shrine overlook" which doesn't have much view. Maybe when the leaves have all fallen.

Part of a long, mysterious wall that points directly up the hill.

Just a big fireplace remains of this one, now a graffiti target.

I decided to continue on north along the lower trail I could see on the map, but ran into another of those hunting areas. There were no signs for the other direction to warn the hunters they were leaving the hunting area. This time I bounced and decided to take the high route instead.

The sugar maples are turning.

The leaves are a delicate gradient for now.

They eventually get red too.

Steps up to the cemetery, or so it is labeled.

Elaborate and repetitive artwork stretching along most the walls.

The remains of a stone and metal gazebo in the middle.

With small stone circles the only thing that looks like they could be markers, the "cemetery" looks more like a garden to me. The trees growing over the gazebo show it hasn't been used for a while.

A massive root over the top of stonework.

The view from the "cemetery overlook".

From the "cemetery", I made a long loop before heading west once more.

Built up road space at the "grotto".

Spots for shrines at the "grotto".

A flat at the top of a hill with a road spur.

Valley view from up there.

I passed the "cemetery" again following what is probably the main road through the place, then turned off for the "pool complex", another cluster of ruins.

This could have been a pool indeed.

I made my way out the far side through a gate with vegetation keeping it open and down to a trail that comes from the hunter parking, but turned away to get back on some old road and wander toward another collection of ruins.

It's a jungle out there.

Sometimes the trail has to cut through the thick undergrowth.

Tennis courts around here somewhere?

Once a building, now a rock outline.

The path was harder to discern as I turned toward a "foundation (flooded)" and a "fairy bridge", but the old road showed again as it started downhill and a spur to these things could be found.

The flooded foundation bore a strong resemblance to a broken and empty reservoir with some escape steps on the far side.

The fairy bridge seems a little large for fairies.

From the reservoir, I headed down the hill on what started as a road and continued as little more than a game track. One part is marked by paint blazes, but the size and arrangement make me think they're actually marking the edge of the State Park instead. But this trail, such as it was, brought me to more foundations as advertised.

Following a thin trail at the edge of Patapsco Valley State Park.

A few walls to go with this foundation.

The animal track basically vanished, or split, or something. With the trails getting pretty thin and questionable and the fact that getting to the next section would require passage along the railroad right of way, I decided to turn back. Not too far off was marked "coaling facility (former)" and "coaling tower (former)", but I missed out on those bits of old railroad infrastructure. I cut cross country to the trail going back up where I'd been. This one was old road with a reasonable trail along it.

Patapsco River and the River Road on the far side.

There was trail work here, once, long ago.

This is the trouble with paint blazes. They fade almost as fast as the trail.

The trash pit doesn't look quite former.

High on the hill once more.

Following a road along an old rock wall that is almost consumed in creepers.

Mystery deep holes exist beside the road inside the park, too.

With a little winding, I found myself passing back along the "cemetery" wall. I mostly followed this old road all the way out to Bonnie Branch Road with a shortcut trail that got really steep as it arrived back at the road.

The steps I came up before.

More specially quarried granite with no special use now.

The road gets more substantial close to the main road, and even offers a view.

It was still the middle of the afternoon, so when I got down to Ilchester Road again, I crossed it and wandered a short way on the trails there, but not very far because I was playing with ideas for hiking the area another day.

A red-bellied woodpecker with a nut on what looks suspiciously like a granary of a dead tree.

Patapsco River.

I also wandered out onto the foot bridge to see the river without any trees in the way.

Downstream from the bridge over Patapsco River with the Bonnie Branch entering from the right.

Upstream to the train bridge.

And then I headed back across the road to the parking area, now with quite a few other cars tucked into the obviously legal parking. It was a mixed bag of a hike. The oddities of seeing man's creations eaten by the forest can be interesting, but it does look like half of it wasn't actually in the park. Getting out onto the fast traveled road did take some care.


*photo album*




©2026 Valerie Norton
Written 31 Jan 2026