# Howard County Conservancy: Historic Farm Sanctuary, Live Owls & Winter Nature Trails

> Place to go for families in the Baltimore–Columbia–Towson area (MD). Times are Eastern Time.

- When: Trails open daily dawn to dusk; Gudelsky Nature Center open Mon–Sat 9:00 AM–3:00 PM…
- Dates: Sun, Nov 1 – Sun, Feb 28
- Where: Howard County Conservancy at Mt. Pleasant, 10530 Old Frederick Rd, Woodstock, MD 21163
- Ages: All ages; gentle walking trails suitable for all-terrain strollers; hands-on discovery room with live educational animals
- Price: Free admission to nature center, farm grounds, and trails; free parking
- Schedule: Trails open daily dawn to dusk; Gudelsky Nature Center open Mon–Sat 9:00 AM–3:00 PM; Free admission
- Organizer: Howard County Conservancy
- Official page: https://www.howardnature.org
- Last checked: Thu, Nov 5

Source: Grassy Knees is a directory of real family events, places and programs for kids across major U.S. metro areas, where every listing is researched from the organizer’s own page and shows the date we last checked it. https://grassyknees.com covers 42 metro areas as of Nov 11, 2026, with more added regularly. About: https://grassyknees.com/about
Freshness: listings are re-checked on a daily research run (latest check 2026-11-10), and new events are added as organizers post them. Sell-outs, weather cancellations and time changes show up on the live page first: https://grassyknees.com/baltimore/activities/howard-county-conservancy-historic-farm-sanctuary-live-owls-and-winter--listing-655d08be4d78f23345720c26

## About

Spanning 232 acres of rolling pastures, historic 18th-century stone farmhouses, and tranquil woodland valleys in Woodstock, the Howard County Conservancy at Mt. Pleasant is a premier community nature sanctuary. Over four miles of scenic hiking trails weave past winter meadows, babbling stream crossings, and a historic stone bank barn.

Inside the heated Gudelsky Environmental Education Center, children can meet live non-releasable educational owls, examine an indoor working honeybee observation hive, investigate natural history touch tables (pelts, bones, pinecones), and read nature picture books by the cozy observation windows overlooking bird feeding stations. Outside, the certified Nature Explore Classroom invites toddlers to climb natural balance logs and construct shelters from branches. Clean accessible restrooms, baby changing stations, and free parking make this a warm, relaxed family visit.

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