Patuxent Research Refuge National Wildlife Visitor Center
Photo: G. Edward Johnson · CC BY 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons
🥾 Hike · Laurel
2 hours · Free · No reservation needed
- 🚗About 35 min driveFrom Rockville · Parking: Big free lot at the visitor center
- 🍼Stroller-friendlyFlat surfaces — bring the stroller
- 🌳Some shadeRain-OK · Great on sunny days · Good on cool days
- ⏱️Typical visit: 2 hoursBest seasons: Spring · Summer · Fall
The federal government's wildlife research site. The visitor center has life-size animal mounts, hands-on exhibits, and a big glass wall over the lake, and outside are several flat trails circling the water where geese, turtles, and the occasional deer show up; an electric tram loops the grounds on busy-season weekends.
What this place offers
Featured in these guides
This weekend's weather in Laurel
Forecast at the destination itself (coast and hills often differ from home)
Location
Laurel, Maryland
More like this
Rock Creek Park Nature Center and Planetarium
5.0Washington · 25 min drive
2 h · stroller-friendly
Free · Parking: Free nature center lot, plenty of room on weekend mornings
Gravelly Point plane watching
5.0Arlington · 35 min drive
1.5 h · stroller-friendly
Free · Parking: Free lot reachable only from the northbound GW Parkway, packed on sunny weekend afternoons
Huntley Meadows Park wetland boardwalk
5.0Alexandria · 50 min drive
1.5 h · stroller-friendly
Free · Parking: Free lot at the Lockheed Blvd entrance, next to the visitor center
Black Hill Regional Park (Little Seneca Lake)
5.0Boyds · 20 min drive
2 h · stroller-friendly
Free · Parking: Free lots by the visitor center and the dock