Susquehanna State Park is a public recreation area located on the banks of the lower Susquehanna River north of the city of Havre de Grace, Maryland. The state park's main area is on the west bank of the river; the park also manages land on the river islands and east bank. The park offers fishing, boating, camping, and trails for hiking and equestrian use. It is managed as a complex with

Rocks State Park Rocks State Park is a public recreation area located in and around Deer Creek Valley near Pylesville, Harford County, Maryland. The state park's preserve the geologic formation known as the King and Queen's Seat and other features in three n ...

and Palmer State Park by the

Maryland Department of Natural Resources The Maryland Department of Natural Resources (DNR) is a government agency in the state of Maryland charged with maintaining natural resources including state parks, public lands, state forests, state waterways, wildlife, and recreation areas. I ...

History

The park saw its genesis in 1958 when the former president of the

Baltimore Museum of Art The Baltimore Museum of Art (BMA) in Baltimore, Maryland, United States, is an art museum that was founded in 1914. The BMA's collection of 95,000 objects encompasses more than 1,000 works by Henri Matisse anchored by the Cone Collection of ...

, J. Gilman D’Arcy Paul, offered to donate 300 acres to the state. The state began its acquisition of land for the park in 1960.

Features

The park's Rock Run Historical Area includes: the Rock Run Grist Mill; the 1804 Carter-Archer Mansion, which was once the home of mill owner John Archer; remnants of the

Susquehanna and Tidewater Canal The Susquehanna and Tidewater Canal between Wrightsville, Pennsylvania, and Havre de Grace, Maryland, at the head of Chesapeake Bay, provided an interstate shipping alternative to 19th-century arks, rafts, and boats plying the difficult waters o ...

; and the restored Jersey Toll House, where fees were collected for the historic Port Deposit Bridge. The privately run Steppingstone Museum, which preserves and demonstrates Harford County's rural arts and crafts of the 1880-1920 period, is also located on the park grounds.

Activities and amenities

The park's of trails include the Susquehanna Ridge Trail (), which offers views of the river valley, the Land of Promise (), the Farm Road Trail () and other named trails. The Lower Susquehanna Greenways Trail, which is co-located with the

Mason-Dixon Trail The Mason-Dixon Trail is a hiking trail that begins at the Appalachian Trail in south-central Pennsylvania, continues through northeastern Maryland and northern Delaware, and re-enters Pennsylvania shortly before ending at Chadds Ford. It is na ...

, starts at the park and runs north along the river to the

Conowingo Dam The Conowingo Dam (also Conowingo Hydroelectric Plant, Conowingo Hydroelectric Station) is a large hydroelectric dam in the lower Susquehanna River near the town of Conowingo, Maryland. The medium-height, masonry gravity dam is one of the large ...

. The park also offers boating and fishing on the Susquehanna, campgrounds, and picnicking facilities.

References

External links

Susquehanna State Park
Maryland Department of Natural Resources
Susquehanna State Park Map
Maryland Department of Natural Resources {{authority control State parks of Maryland Museums in Harford County, Maryland Mill museums in Maryland Historic house museums in Maryland Parks in Harford County, Maryland Protected areas established in 1960 IUCN Category III