Font Hill Assisted Living

Beautiful little pond to take laps around. It's about a 5 min walk down the path from the road. Wheelchair accessible all the way to the dock. Tons of bird species in the area. Pretty serene most days. Fishing can be pretty weak, but it's a great pond to teach kids how to fish. I've been fishing here a few times a month for the past year or so and I've seen a good handful of moms and dads teaching the fundamentals. Bluegill mostly. A couple of LM bass. Nothing bigger than a lb. Tons of turtles too.

Like an insane person I opted to be outside during a heatwave and though it felt like I was walking through a swimming pool of muggy heat as the sun was setting, this place certainly brought some joy back to my soul. A summer stroll makes for lush scenery, wandering geese, the constant song of bugs with the occasional crescendo of a hand slapping skin. There are trails easily accessible for strollers and wheel chairs, lots of shade later in the day, and no bathrooms that I saw.

We were looking for somewhere to enjoy the weather and we found it. Took a leisurely stroll along the paved path and boardwalk. Spotted lots of wildlife along the way, fish, geese, turtles, deer and birds.

A true hidden gem, stealthily nestled in what is otherwise a fairly urban setting. Big draw for the morning dogwalking troops. Now, when, personally, i hear the term "wetland", i immediately think of more sprawling, and brackish settings in the Delmarva - but this isn't to say that Font Hill can't accurately be called a wetland by definition, because it is. Try walking through the wooded and grassy areas between the street parking and the creek and pond, and you'll see what i mean, and you'll come out quite soggy unless you're wearing waders or tall waterproof boots. There's a stream, as mentioned, and a nice bridge that lead into the greater area of the park, and a bank where you can simply sit and enjoy the tranquility and the babbling water. The main draw, though, is the good sized pond. Lined all the way round with tall cattails, it's probably about a half mile in circumference (please don't measure and one up me here, this is an approximation 😀). So like i said, the dog walkers love it, and it's great for just simple, leisurely strolling as well. For optimum water quality and overall health of this mini-ecosystem, the pond is (artificially/manually) aerated, i think in at least two spots. This helps things grow, is good for the modest amount of small fish (NO fishing, you'd be disappointed anyway), and provides very slight, but additional circulation as to keep algae levels in check. Finally, there's a nice gazebo, as well as a medium-length boardwalk on the far side of the pond, and i'm not sure if the correlation was intentional, but in the boardwalk area, there's terrific birdwatching. i'm not the expert in this regard, but many beautiful species of songbirds are aplenty, you'll see (and hear) a good amount of red-crested woodpeckers, and my favorite of all native wetland species - the redwinged blackbird. Stop by anytime. As with all other parks, Font Hill is always open to the public. And while most folks wouldn't spend much time here in the colder months, outside of a brisk walk, i had a lovely, 30°F stay the other morning for around 90 minutes or so. Saw lots of smaller blackbirds overhead, scouring the area for breakfast. Got some nice shots, including a couple of partially frozen portions. It was a chilly but pleasant morning 🌄 Addendum/update: STOP FEEDING THE WATERFOWL! It's not CUTE, it's HARMFUL! i KNOW local moms and dads are still doing this with their kids because the ducks swim right on up to me as soon as i step onto the dock. The bread you're feeding them is barely fit for HUMAN consumption. Just stop it. And as for the dogwalking army, it seems like y'all are doing good - please keep it up, keep those canines leashed, and scoop that poop 😊👍

I’ve been in the Columbia/EC area for many years but never knew about this little gem of a park. Very peaceful and tranquil area. Perfect for a nice walk. I had my headphones on, but decided to take them off and just listen to nature. I’ll be coming back many more times! Update. Still coming back for this wonderful and easy "getaway"!