The Prettyboy Reservoir is the body of water in my back yard. I have been exploring its watershed and playing in its 19.9 billion gallons of water since I was able to walk. It is a great place to hike on and off of fire trails, swim, watch nature, fish, and camp. However, camping, fires, and swimming are all illegal and one must watch out for DNR rangers. A great place to go in the reservoir is the Beckleysville Bridge. It is a very popular spot because people love to jump off of the bridge into the cooling waters below in the summer time. The Reservoir feeds into the Loch Raven Reservoir and its water eventually supplies Baltimore City. It's named Prettyboy after a horse. A man was riding his horse named Prettyboy through the reservoir during a drought. The water level was low, making for a lot of short cuts. However, duing one of those short cuts through the exposed surface, the horse got stuck in the mud. Not being able to save the horse, the owner had to put it down. The area around the reservoir was later named after that horse- "Prettyboy".
Picture from Retzer Cariaga Photography- http://www.retzercariaga.com/photo.php?id=129
This is a bald eagle in a part of the reservoir refered to as Frog Hollow Cove. This is one of the most popular places of the reservoir because a backroad surrounds the cove pretty tightly, making for quick access to the water. Bald eagles are not uncommon here, as there is a ton of wildlife. My friends and I have even seen a few bald eagles dive down to the water, catch a fish, and take it to a tree for a meal.
Picture from Hiventures - http://hiventures.com/Prettyboy/PrettyboyPics/eagle_11272005.JPG
This is a picture of the reservoir from a hot air balloon. There are always beautiful sunsets, just like St. Mary's.
Picture from : Up Up Away Hot Air Balloon Company - www.marylandballoonflights.com/images/pic21.jpg
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