4 Best Sights in Port Republic, Annapolis and Southern Maryland

With the northernmost naturally occurring stand of bald cypress trees in the United States, the 100-acre Battle Creek Cypress Swamp Sanctuary provides close-up looks at the forest primeval. A 0.25-mi elevated boardwalk at the bottom of a steep but sturdy set of steps gives you a good vantage point to see the swamp, thick with 100-foot-tall trees that are 75 to 100 years old. Guides at the nature center can alert you to the seasonal permutations of the vegetation and the doings of squirrels, owls, and other wildlife. Indoor exhibits focus on the area's natural and cultural history. The swamp is about 5 mi west of Port Republic.

Tracings its origins to 1672, when a log-cabin church stood at the site, Christ Church received a brick replacement in 1772, coated with plaster, is notable for its biblical garden, planted with species mentioned in the scriptures. Port Republic School No. 7 is on the church's property. Since immediately after the Civil War the grounds have been a venue for jousting (Maryland's state sport) on the last Saturday in August.

Behind 2.5 mi of scenic Patuxent riverfront stretch 544 acres of woods and farmland. The 70-odd archaeological sites have yielded evidence of 9,000 years of human habitation—from prehistory on through to colonial times. At the Jefferson Patterson Park and Museum you can follow an archaeology trail to inspect artifacts of the successive hunter-gatherer, early agricultural, and plantation societies that once roamed and settled this land. Displays include primitive knives and axes, fragments of Native American pottery, and Colonial glassware. Stroll along the nature trails to take a look at wildlife, antique agricultural equipment, and fields of crops. The park is 2 mi south of Port Republic.

Port Republic School No. 7, a classic one-room schoolhouse built in the 1880s, looks for all the world as if today's lesson could begin any minute. Here, you can find a restored classroom with archetypal desks, inkwells, and a school bell. Until 1932 a single teacher taught children in seven grades here.