Patapsco Hilton

December 4
Sunday
Glen Artney Winter Scene

In addition to regular (foot) orienteering, we are pleased to introduce mountain bike orienteering (MTBO) at this popular venue. We expect to offer a full set of classic courses (white through blue) in addition to several MTBO courses; details for all courses are now posted below.

Timing may change slightly, but tentatively we are expecting MTBO registration to be open from 9 - 10:30am, with all bikers to be off the course by 11:30. Foot orienteering registration will be from 10:45 - 1:15, with starts allowed any time between 11 - 1:30, and course closing at 3pm.

Special Entry Fees:

  • Member using their own epunch: $5 foot, $10 MTBO, $15 for both
  • Member renting an epunch: add $5 to above amounts (and use for one or both events)
  • Non-member using their own epunch: $10 foot, $15 MTBO, $25 for both
  • Non-member renting an epunch: add $5 to above non-member entry fee (and use for one or both events)
  • Juniors: $5/event plus $5 if non-member plus $5 if epunch needed.

    • Any youth or large groups attending, please contact Meet Director Dave Levine so that we can coordinate pre-registration for your group; the group registration and waiver form is part of the information on our Group Leaders page.

    Any questions? Feel free to ask any time using our Contact Us form.

    Location Patapsco Valley State Park, CCBC Catonsville, Catonsville, Maryland
    Registration No advance registration required. Just show up and have fun!
    Start Times MTBO starts are between 9am - 10:30am. Foot orienteering starts are between 11am - 1:30pm.
    Schedule
    • Sunday, December 4
      11:00 am - 3:00 pm
      Classic (foot) orienteering
    • Sunday, December 4
      9:00 am - 11:30 am
      MTBO
    Volunteers
    Location Details
    Patapsco Valley State Park, CCBC Catonsville, Catonsville, Maryland
    Take 95 to 195/166 west. Take this until the road ends at South Rolling Road (keep right or you will end up in the Park-n-Ride). Go right/North on South Rolling Road. South Rolling Road has speed cameras so pay attention to the posted speed limit. Take South Rolling road to Campus Drive (there is a stop light there). Go left on Campus Drive. Follow Campus Drive to the top of the hill where the road splits to make a loop around the campus; keep left at this split. Follow the road around to Lot 6. Registration will be towards the field.
    Course Details
    Course Name Length (km) Climb (m) No. Controls
    White 2.8 65 10
    Yellow 3.1 105 11
    Orange 4.7 135 12
    Brown 4.9 100 12
    Green 6.1 180 13
    Red 7.6 205 16
    Blue 10.1 275 22
    Short 6 14
    Medium 10 18
    Long 14 19
    Course Notes
    Foot-O Notes: In the forest, off-trail conditions are good for running with good visibility. Open areas under powerlines have medium to thick undergrowth. The fallen leaves are still quite thick, covering up rocks and roots on and off trails. This makes footing a little tricky in places, and some trails may be harder to see. All courses have a few small rocky stream crossings that are easy to cross in normal conditions. Green, Red, and Blue courses will cross the larger stream Sawmill Branch. On intermediate and advanced courses, be very careful in off-trail rocky areas, especially near small streambeds. Fallen leaves have piled up between the rocks, so an area that looks flat may actually have deep rocky holes.
    On all courses, watch out for cars driving on park roads in the picnic area and campground area. All courses go along and cross these roads. Red and blue courses also cross lightly trafficked Hilltop Road at the far NW end of the map.

    MTBO Notes: Course distances are very rough estimates and total climb has not been calculated. All courses include some technical singletrack trails. Depending on technical biking skill, this may require walking bikes for short sections. Give warning and yield to pedestrians on all trails. Due to the steepness of the terrain and the amount of technical singletrack, overall speed is likely lower than typical MTBO courses. All courses have a few small rocky stream crossings that can be ridden through or walked across on rocks. Off-trail shortcuts through the forest are not permitted. Biking is prohibited on some park trails, which are marked with X on the map. All courses include riding on roads within the park and other public roads. Car traffic should be minimal. Watch out for cars and obey all traffic laws and signs (e.g picnic area and campground loop roads are one-way). Riding on driveways of private residences is not permitted. On the map, these are not consistently mapped as out-of-bounds, so use common sense.
    MTBO Medium and Long course: The course utilizes trails and roads with tunnels that pass under the railroad tracks.
    MTBO Long course: Travel on the railroad track is prohibited as it is an active railroad line. The course is designed to discourage at-grade crossing of the railroad track, i.e it does not offer the best route. When going downhill on steep trails, be aware of drops. These are marked on the map at approximate locations on the trails.
    Entry Fees Individual Entries

    Note: juniors = under 21

    Club Member, adultClub Member, juniorNon-Member, adultNon-Member, junior
    Epunch Owner$5$5$10$5
    Epunch Borrower$10$5$15$10

    Team or Group Entries

    Participants are welcome to compete together as a single team entry. Teams containing one or more nonmembers are charged the nonmember individual rate. Teams containing one or more adults are charged the adult individual rate. For teams to receive member or junior rates, all members of the team must be members or juniors, respectively. Each extra team map beyond the first is an additional $2. Individuals or teams desiring to compete on a second course can do so for a reduced fee of $2/map.

    Important Notes
    • Note the Special Event Fees listed above.
    • At the event, we can only accept payment in cash or check; online, you may use a credit card or PayPal account.
    • If you have access to a smartphone, you may become a member at the event by joining online via this webpage (which also explains the member benefits). Membership is completely optional. If you wish to join or renew, we strongly recommend joining (or renewing) online before the event rather than at it to save time and because it's easier.
    • Most of our events use an 'epunch' timing chip for electronic timing. Individuals or groups without their own epunch pay a higher entry fee (see above), which includes the loan of an epunch for that event. Loaned epunches that are lost incur a $40 replacement fee. Epunches (also known as SI-cards or finger sticks) are usually available for sale at each event as described here.
    • Former QOC members who have let their membership lapse pay non-member fees.
    • Compasses are available at no charge, but if lost incur a $15 replacement fee.
    • Please provide collateral (driver's license or car keys) when borrowing a compass or epunch.
    • For additional safety, whistles are available for sale at $1/each.
    • Free beginner instruction is always available - just ask at the registration table.

    Location

    Patapsco Valley State Park, CCBC Catonsville, Catonsville, Maryland

    Registration

    No advance registration required. Just show up and have fun!

    Start Times

    MTBO starts are between 9am - 10:30am. Foot orienteering starts are between 11am - 1:30pm.

    Schedule

    • Sunday, December 4
      11:00 am - 3:00 pm
    • Sunday, December 4
      9:00 am - 11:30 am

    Volunteers

    Location Details

    Patapsco Valley State Park, CCBC Catonsville, Catonsville, Maryland
    Take 95 to 195/166 west. Take this until the road ends at South Rolling Road (keep right or you will end up in the Park-n-Ride). Go right/North on South Rolling Road. South Rolling Road has speed cameras so pay attention to the posted speed limit. Take South Rolling road to Campus Drive (there is a stop light there). Go left on Campus Drive. Follow Campus Drive to the top of the hill where the road splits to make a loop around the campus; keep left at this split. Follow the road around to Lot 6. Registration will be towards the field.

    Course Details

    Course Name Length (km) Climb (m) No. Controls
    White 2.8 65 10
    Yellow 3.1 105 11
    Orange 4.7 135 12
    Brown 4.9 100 12
    Green 6.1 180 13
    Red 7.6 205 16
    Blue 10.1 275 22
    Short 6 14
    Medium 10 18
    Long 14 19

    Course Notes

    Foot-O Notes: In the forest, off-trail conditions are good for running with good visibility. Open areas under powerlines have medium to thick undergrowth. The fallen leaves are still quite thick, covering up rocks and roots on and off trails. This makes footing a little tricky in places, and some trails may be harder to see. All courses have a few small rocky stream crossings that are easy to cross in normal conditions. Green, Red, and Blue courses will cross the larger stream Sawmill Branch. On intermediate and advanced courses, be very careful in off-trail rocky areas, especially near small streambeds. Fallen leaves have piled up between the rocks, so an area that looks flat may actually have deep rocky holes.
    On all courses, watch out for cars driving on park roads in the picnic area and campground area. All courses go along and cross these roads. Red and blue courses also cross lightly trafficked Hilltop Road at the far NW end of the map.

    MTBO Notes: Course distances are very rough estimates and total climb has not been calculated. All courses include some technical singletrack trails. Depending on technical biking skill, this may require walking bikes for short sections. Give warning and yield to pedestrians on all trails. Due to the steepness of the terrain and the amount of technical singletrack, overall speed is likely lower than typical MTBO courses. All courses have a few small rocky stream crossings that can be ridden through or walked across on rocks. Off-trail shortcuts through the forest are not permitted. Biking is prohibited on some park trails, which are marked with X on the map. All courses include riding on roads within the park and other public roads. Car traffic should be minimal. Watch out for cars and obey all traffic laws and signs (e.g picnic area and campground loop roads are one-way). Riding on driveways of private residences is not permitted. On the map, these are not consistently mapped as out-of-bounds, so use common sense.
    MTBO Medium and Long course: The course utilizes trails and roads with tunnels that pass under the railroad tracks.
    MTBO Long course: Travel on the railroad track is prohibited as it is an active railroad line. The course is designed to discourage at-grade crossing of the railroad track, i.e it does not offer the best route. When going downhill on steep trails, be aware of drops. These are marked on the map at approximate locations on the trails.

    Entry Fees

    Individual Entries

    Note: juniors = under 21

    Club Member, adultClub Member, juniorNon-Member, adultNon-Member, junior
    Epunch Owner$5$5$10$5
    Epunch Borrower$10$5$15$10

    Team or Group Entries

    Participants are welcome to compete together as a single team entry. Teams containing one or more nonmembers are charged the nonmember individual rate. Teams containing one or more adults are charged the adult individual rate. For teams to receive member or junior rates, all members of the team must be members or juniors, respectively. Each extra team map beyond the first is an additional $2. Individuals or teams desiring to compete on a second course can do so for a reduced fee of $2/map.

    Important Notes
    • Note the Special Event Fees listed above.
    • At the event, we can only accept payment in cash or check; online, you may use a credit card or PayPal account.
    • If you have access to a smartphone, you may become a member at the event by joining online via this webpage (which also explains the member benefits). Membership is completely optional. If you wish to join or renew, we strongly recommend joining (or renewing) online before the event rather than at it to save time and because it's easier.
    • Most of our events use an 'epunch' timing chip for electronic timing. Individuals or groups without their own epunch pay a higher entry fee (see above), which includes the loan of an epunch for that event. Loaned epunches that are lost incur a $40 replacement fee. Epunches (also known as SI-cards or finger sticks) are usually available for sale at each event as described here.
    • Former QOC members who have let their membership lapse pay non-member fees.
    • Compasses are available at no charge, but if lost incur a $15 replacement fee.
    • Please provide collateral (driver's license or car keys) when borrowing a compass or epunch.
    • For additional safety, whistles are available for sale at $1/each.
    • Free beginner instruction is always available - just ask at the registration table.


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