Sideling Hill Creek
One of the healthiest stream systems in all of Maryland

Shale Barrens

Fall Colors

Sideling Hill Creek

Why You Should Visit
Originating from the southwestern mountains of Pennsylvania, Sideling Hill Creek tumbles its way down the steep, forested, shale cliffs of western Maryland before it finally spills into the Potomac River.  The preserve has several trails so visitors can explore the variety of species and natural communities that exist at Sideling Hill Creek Preserve.  Admission is free.

Location
Two hour drive from Baltimore and Washington, D.C., past the Sideling Hill Creek Interpretive Center.

Hours
The preserve is open year-round during daylight hours.  For information, please contact the Maryland/D.C. Chapter at (301) 897-8570.

How to Get the Most from Your Visit

• Bring plenty of drinking water, sun protection (sunscreen, hat, sunglasses), rain gear, and bug protection. Binoculars, field guides, and a camera may be useful.
• Pets are not allowed on Conservancy preserves or field trips. 
• Smoking is not permitted. 
• Please do not remove any plants, animals, or rocks.
• Wear socks and waterproof shoes. Wearing light colors will help you spot and remove ticks.

Please help us maintain this unique natural environment by taking home everything that you bring, including biodegradable materials.
For more information, please contact the Maryland/DC Chapter office at (301) 897-8570 or akasakitis@tnc.org.

TICK AND MOSQUITO ALERT
When you get home, plan to drop your clothing directly in the laundry and do a tick check before you shower. Deer ticks, the type that carry lyme disease, are about the size of a pinhead and tend to attach in hair, under ears, underarms, trunk of the body, groin, and backs of the knees. Remove them by gently pulling with tweezers and wipe the skin near the bite with a mild disinfectant. If, within 7-10 days after exposure, you experience a rash (especially an expanding "bull's eye" rash), chills, fever, headache, stiff neck, fatigue, swollen lymph nodes and/or aching joints and muscles, contact your doctor. You can find more information on lyme disease at www.lyme.org or www.aldf.com, or by calling the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention at 404-332-4555

Directions

• From Washington's Capital Beltway (I-495), take I-270 North.  Take I-70 West:
• From Baltimore (I-695), take I-70 West:
• Follow I-70 West from Frederick to Hancock.  Take I-68 West towards Cumberland.  Exit I-68 at High Germany Road.  Turn right at the stop sign.  You'll cross Sideling Hill Creek after just a couple hundred feet (bridge is inconspicuous).  Immediately after crossing the creek, take a sharp right (back-angle) down dirt lane to edge of hay field.  Park in the fenced parking area.  Please do not block access to dirt lane across the field

What to See: Plants

• The world's healthiest population of the globally-rare aquatic wildflower, harperella.
• Twelve rare, endemic (occurring only on the shale barrens and nowhere else) plants including the nationally-endangered evening primrose, shale ragwort, and Kate's mountain clover.

What to See: Animals

• Olympian marble butterfly, green floater mussel, tiger beetle
• Wild turkey, hawks, and bobcat.

Why the Conservancy Selected This Site
Sideling Hill Creek is one of the most pristine streams in Maryland, which helps support the globally-rare harperella population.  In addition, the occurrence of the rare shale barren communities prioritizes this site as a focus for the Maryland/D.C. Chapter's efforts.

What the Conservancy Is Doing Here

• 704 acres purchased or under easement by The Nature Conservancy since 1992
• Annual trail spring cleaning in late April
• Studying and monitoring the shale barren communities
• Leasing hayfields to local farmers to demonstrate compatible agricultural practices
• In 1998, 40 volunteers restored 3 acres of stream buffer with 1,200 native tree saplings
• Preventing sedimentation of stream
• Removing non-native weeds on the shale barren--volunteers welcome! 
• Monitoring the stream for sediment, pollutants and excess nutrient runoff