Patapsco Swinging Bridge

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The Patapsco Swinging Bridge is a pedestrian suspension bridge with a wooden deck in Patapsco Valley State Park, in the Avalon/Orange Grove area of central Maryland near Baltimore. The area has a history of swinging bridges that people used to cross the Patapsco River. The current bridge stands at the site of the old Orange Grove Flour Mill crossing, which was once used by mill workers.

The new swinging bridge was built by the Maryland Department of Natural Resources and opened on November 4, 2006. It sits at the end of the Grist Mill Trail in Avalon, crossing the Patapsco River and connecting with Ilchester Road. This bridge completes a 1.25-mile extension of the Grist Mill Trail, giving access to the park from Ellicott City, Catonsville, and other communities for the first time since Hurricane Agnes in 1972. The bridge is one of the park’s best-known and most popular attractions.