Tour the Middle Branch With Us!

Neighborhood Tour

On the Final Friday of every month, Live Baltimore heads out of the office and into one of Baltimore’s 278 neighborhoods. Each month, we love what we find! September was a little bit different.

It’s been a busy summer at the Live Baltimore office. With our annual celebration of Baltimore’s birthday in the books and Trolley Tour on the plate, the team decided to do Final Friday a little bit differently this month. Instead of exploring a neighborhood on the final Friday of the month (which we also love), we got together at the Middle Branch of the Patapsco River for a tour on the water a few weeks earlier than usual.

Weather had spoiled previous attempts to get to the park, but we arrived on a beautiful late summer day at Middle Branch Park and were finally able to go kayaking as a group!

Middle Branch Park is a 150-acre waterfront gem featuring views of our beautiful city skyline and other amenities for a great day on the water with family or friends. We spotted groups fishing and picnicking  and even a large group of students rowing.

Once we entered the building and were greeted by our kayak guide and instructor, Valerie, we received a quick lesson on entering and exiting the kayak and practiced paddling.

It was finally time to get in the water! We took our kayaks to the dock and got in the water one by one. Valerie did such a great job of making us feel at ease hopping in.

Once in the water we proceeded to make our way toward the Hanover Street Bridge. It wasn’t quite a race but some of us did get there faster than others. Scott paddled ahead with precision and Chadras, though she had never kayaked before, surprised herself by how quickly she was able to paddle to the finish line.

After crossing under the bridge we went a little farther before turning around at a green buoy just past the bridge.

We relaxed on the water for a little bit longer before making our way back to the dock and dry land. We couldn’t have asked for a better day out on the water with amazing coworkers!

“Kayaking was amazing, fulfilling and challenging,” Chadras said after we got back. “I had a great time and I can’t wait to do it again!”

Interested in learning more about other Baltimore City Rec and Parks offerings. Read more about them on our Things to Do page.