Hiking in Daniels

It's been an unexpected week off work for me, so I used the time to explore a local ghost town. This post is about my two ventures into Daniels, the long-abandoned mill town on the Patapsco river. Roadside ruins blog has some nice information on this history, as does the Baltimore Sun. Highlights from the latter:

• First called Elysville, the town was formed in 1834 next to a mill.
• It would be re-named Alberton (in 1854) and then Daniels (in 1940).
• It was home to about 800 families and featured 118 homes.
• The town was 'closed' in 1968, with homes razed by the company.
• Hurricane Agnes (1972) would wreak further destruction and deposit several cars still visible along the trails.

The highlights in Daniels are two church ruins (Pentecostal and Roman Catholic, respectively), the nearby dam, and various reminders of civilization (a ruin here, a barrel there, etc.).

Being a ruin enthusiast, this area was on my list for some time. Seeing it wasn't as easy as I thought (I ended up needing two hikes to find both churches), but it was worth it.

Hike 1

To start, I (erroneously) drove down Daniels Road to the dam. Parking nearby, I enjoyed the sights but soon realized there was no obvious way to cross the river on foot. I snapped a few pictures and hit the road.

I next went to a small parking lot called "Alberton Road trail parking" on Google maps (near the intersection of Dogwood and Hollifield roads). The unpaved parking area can accommodate perhaps 8 vehicles. Finding a spot, I set out on the following hike:

The "Church 1" on the map is the Pentecostal church (see pictures below). This hike ended up being 3.92 miles on easy track following the river. Some of it was paved, but even those sections were prone to mud. Wear appropriate footwear. You'll note I went past the church attempting to locate the Roman Catholic church (to no avail). Highlights from this hike included two decaying vehicles and the Pentecostal church.

It was a nice hike, but I was frustrated that I couldn't find the other ruin. So the next day . . .

Hike 2

After more Internet searches on the church's location (for reference, the full name is Saint Stanislaus Kostka Catholic Church), I had a better (but not perfect) idea of where to find it. Off I went again. This time, I'd cover 3.28 miles total.

You'll note that I overshot it the first time, veering off the main trail twice onto overgrown paths in my attempt to find this thing. I did come across some other ruins, but not nearly as cool, in those areas. As I was heading back to the car, I took what my app (komoot) labeled a 'power line access' trail, and sure enough, there was the church, along with two decaying cars and (north of the structure) a small graveyard. The pictures below are out of order for some reason, but it is to my advantage- the first photo below is one turn-off to get to the church. This path is .92 miles from the parking area. However, you'll note from the second photo that the path is hard to see and follow- I recommend walking further down to the broad and obvious trail, which will then circle back to the church. The map above shows the two ways- the first following the 'power line access' trail is what I recommend.

The other places I veered off the beaten track- farther down the trail- were not nearly as exciting, though they each had elements of interest.

Overall, hiking in this area was a lot of fun. Knowing where the highlights are now, you can do the entire thing in about 4 miles.