Overcrowding a constant problem at Patapsco Valley State Park’s Avalon area

On holidays and weekends in summer, the Avalon area of Patapsco Valley State Park doesn’t just draw a crowd, it fills up, park Manager Rob Dyke said.

When there are too many people coming in, rangers close the gates. It’s not a new problem, Dyke said. Two summers ago the area closed on every Sunday except one rainy day, and on most Saturdays.

Last summer the area closed 35 times, Dyke said.

People who want to get to the Avalon area need to do so before 10 a.m., he said, which usually puts them ahead of when the park hits capacity.

The park infrastructure, including roads and bathrooms, was built to match the area’s parking capacity, so expanding parking would necessitate other upgrades, according to Dyke. Even if an expansion were to happen, there’s nowhere to go — the park lies in a valley with steep, rocky walls.

People come to Avalon in droves because it has easy access to the river, where they can swim and cool off during the summer.

“It’s the water,” Dyke said. “People are drawn to it.”

Patapsco Valley State Park is much larger, however, than just the Avalon area, which borders Ellicott City, Catonsville and Arbutus. It spans 16,000 acres across four counties, and there are other places to swim.

One alternative for people who find themselves blocked off from the Avalon area, or simply those who want to go someplace less crowded, is the McKeldin Area in Marriottsville, one of the park’s northern areas.

A parking lot near the McKeldin Rapids trail has less than a mile walk to the Patapsco River. At the base of one rapid is a deep fishing hole set aside just for anglers.

Like the large rocks in the Avalon area, McKeldin has some slanted pieces ideal for sunbathers.

Both offer hiking and a similar oasis feel, Dyke said.

“You could be anywhere,” he said. “You’re cut off from civilization.”

As the Bloede Dam removal work begins, a portion of the paved Grist Mill Trail will be closed on the Baltimore County side. This will affect people who use the trail to commute via bike, Dyke said, and people on road bikes won’t have alternate options.