A Morning Walk In Historic And Scenic Havre De Grace

I was undecided where I was going to hike when I awoke in Havre de Grace, Maryland last Friday morning. I  had accomplished half of the  reasons for visiting this quaint, quiet and historic  town. I  wanted to see  where the Susquehanna River ends and enters the Chesapeake Bay.  I did this on Thursday afternoon,. (The other reason was to bring back hard shell crabs for a Labor Day party).

I had a number of choices, hiking in one of the many parks in the area, or exploring Havre de Grace. It was overcast and threatened rain so I decided to stay in the town and have a look around. I left the Vandiver Inn on Union Street and followed Girard Street down to the Chesapeake Bay.

Almost all of  streets in Havre de Grace were lined with  majestic old trees.

The homes were well maintained and most had beautiful gardens. And, like the day before the streets were quiet. I only saw one or two motor vehicles and  a few folks jogging or walking their dogs. After walking on the street with the large well maintained , and old, residences,  I neared the Chesapeake Bay and found a lot of apartment complexes and condominiums.

Here I also found a couple of parks, Veterans Park and

Heron Harbor near  the waters of the bay.

After about a 1/2 mile I came to Concord Point the site of a battle during the war of 1812.  It is also the site of the historic  Concord Point Lighthouse built in 1827.

I took in the view where the waters of the  Susquehanna River became the Chesapeake Bay  and reflected, again, on the history of the river and bay.

I then walked out on  the Birds of the Chesapeake Pier, where 10 wood carved sculptures of local birds are displayed along the pier.

At the end of  the pier I again gazed upon the waters of the Susquehanna River and  the Chesapeake Bay.

While at the pier a  few  ospreys soared overhead,

and dived into the water catching a fish. Unfortunately  it was overcast and the lighting didn’t allow me to get good photos.

I also saw a few mallard duck swimming near the pier,

a few ring-billed gulls flying overhead,

and this raven perched on the pier. 

I left the pier and  past a beautiful   memorial to Gold Star Families.

I next came to the  Havre de Grace Promenade which  took me into a wooded area and  into a  wetland and nature preserve

that was located between the bay and the Maritime Museum.

Here I saw this eastern gray squirrel in the trees along the trail.

There was a small inlet,

along the trail where I saw a great blue heron, 

some Canada geese,

and a few more mallards on the water.

And a few birds including a northern mockingbird,

a Carolina wren,

some American goldfinches

a few song sparrows, and

a gray catbird. It was nice to see these familiar birds so close to the waters of the Chesapeake Bay.

There were many native wildflowers blooming along the trail, including sneeze weed,

cutleaf coneflower,

common evening primrose,

and pickerelweed.

And a lot of pretty,  but invasive, hedge bindweed.

The Promenade   took me past the Decoy Museum,  a museum to the decoys used when Havre de Grace was a popular duck hunting resort on the  East Coast last century.

The Promenade ended at the Havre de Grace Yacht Basin near  the  Millard Tydings Memeorial Park.

I walked along  the marina where I saw more ring-billed gulls

The park and yacht basin ended at some private residential property,

so I walked back through the park, past  a War Veterans Memorial,

and a memorial to a a famous Havre de Grace baseball player Ernest Burke.

I walked back along the promenade and past Concord Point,

and then walked through the  three lined streets of Havre de Grace.

I walked past  the many old and well maintained residences

 the local hospital,

and a few churches.

The only wildlife I saw were flocks of  house sparrows, an invasive bird introduced in the United States from Europe.  Here is a link to a gallery on my blog website  with some more photos of the birds I saw on  my morning  hike through the town. Havre De Grace,  Maryland morning walk birds August 30 2024.

I was surprised at how quiet and little traffic there was on the scenic streets of the town. I enjoy walking the streets of a new town or city I visit and learn so much about the local people and culture on these walks. I wish I had more time to relate my experiences. Here is a link to a gallery on my blog website  with some more photos from my morning  hike through the town. Havre De Grace,  Maryland morning walk birds August 30 2024. 

I finished my hike back at the Inn just in time to enjoy a hearty breakfast in the elegant atmosphere of the old mansion. However, I didn’t plan on spending a lot of time at the Inn, I was soon off again, exploring more of this wonderful area where the mighty Susquehanna River ends.

“This is still the world’s most enchanting inland water.”
― James A. Michener, Chesapeake

fskokoski@gmail.com

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