Lake Artemesia Natural Area

A shortcut to UMD college park campus from the surrounding areas there are ball fields, multipurpose paths, benches for stretching and having a good sit, as well as fishing nooks. The ponds are well stocked and aerated to cut down on snags. The dock is a lure. All water sports are not allowed so keep your boat in dry dock and do not even attempt to walk around with a personal flotation device. The park attendant rolls around in a vehicle and has a penchant for dream killing.

The main demographic of the people who come here are:
–Local Latino family taking a nice stroll with their children
–Mmmmhmmmm black women walking here after an arduous day at work
–Latino dudes fishing here without a license
–Fair weather college runners doing a bunny hop run*
*If you are a college girl, the Latino fishers will cop looks. Be flattered.
It’s your standard marked trail around a lake. It does its job. I believe one loop around the lake is 1.3 miles.
It has a bunch of outlets that either lead to the surrounding Berwyn neighborhood, route 1, or the College Park Metro station.
There is plentiful free parking, but driving here could be tricky. You have to come through Berwyn Road off of Kenilworth or Ballew Avenue off of Greenbelt Road.

It’s a beautiful place. A place where you can forget about stress and outside world, I feel very calm and relax. I came here to take pictures and I loved it! The only compliant is that WAYY too many bugs flying and gathering. I tried not to talk so it won’t fly into my mouth lol. Other than that it’s beautiful!

I never realized how much I loved nature until I started walking around this park while on the Paint Branch Trail.
Lake Artemisia is a gorgeous natural expanse located in the College Park area where people come to jog, walk, bike and rollerblade daily. You can also go fishing in designated areas provided you have a fishing license.
This is one of the best-​kept secrets in the area, because I don’t hear enough people talking about it, but that’s quite alright with me. I walk around this area for a mental escape, and it’s super peaceful and beautiful. The ducks, frogs and birds that live in this area are lovely to watch, and the sounds that wildlife (bugs included!) makes end up creating such an amazing experience.
There’s gazebos for you to sit and take in the scenery, and I’ve even seen people hold ceremonies and other events within the park. I love coming here, and I’m so excited to witness how beautiful the scenery will get as the seasons change. I never feel unsafe coming here, and as a woman, that’s extremely important.

I love coming out to lake artemesia. Whether it’s to get out of the house with the kids, to exercise, or just have a peaceful place to clear my head I know I can go here. The grounds stay well taken care of, and theres even a park (Indian Creek) for the kids off of 56^th street and Ruatan. Go see for yourself. This place is awesome.

I absolutely love this park. I come here to do my jogging and find it so relaxing and therapeutic. It’s very well kept and there’s always plenty of parking.

Stopped by here today… surprised to see the scenery, beautiful lake, gazebos, trails where people can walk, jog, run or biking. Very peaceful place.

The park is clean, well kept, lovely and filled with very friendly people and families. It really is a gem in the Washington DC metro area.
I always park at the lot where Berwyn Rd & 55 Ave connect. There are a ton of trails that connect from Lake Artemesia making it my favorte «homebase» for long distance running and cycling.

This park is local for us and I’m there every day to ride my bike or walk my dogs. The park is clean, well kept, lovely and filled with very friendly people and families. It’s not Central Park, but it’s perfect for where it is. My whole family loves it.

Looking for a new place to take my pooch out, so he has some new sense and adventures. It is not a big park, but it is great that it has a f ew trails and you can walk around the lake, you can cycle around he lake, One can fish. On a sunny summer day in the weekend, there are quite a lots of people but nothing one cannot handle. There are water fountain and bathroom and chairs here and there. I will definitely go back with my pooch even I don’t live nearby.

A great little park where you can run, walk, jog and bike near college park. It can get a little crowded on the weekend and when it’s beautiful outside. People also come here to fish in the man-​made lake. The park is connected to a few other trails that lead to College Park and Bladensburg. The parking lot is very small so get there early!

A very unexpected place of bliss and union with nature found in the otherwise not so scenic college park (except for UMD campus of course). Great place for low-​intensity jogging, walk your dog, have a nice walk with family members since they have wide, paved paths. Beautiful outlook areas in ~4 pagodas scattered around the park. Bridge joining the two sides great for fish and turtle spotting. I used to come here all the time when I was a student at the University to meet up with friends, have a picnic, chill with the pup.
Be careful of mosquitoes in the summer (near lake, tons of breeding areas) and geese poop in Spring and Fall.

I used to spend a fair amount of time here. It’s the only real forested area around UMD, so it serves an important niche. The land was apparently donated by the Metro, and you’ll walk under the tracks and hear the trains constantly whiz by.
The park consists of some paved trails following a dirty and somewhat sad stretch of Paint Branch Creek, a lake with a lot of birds and a great view of the Metro, and some more trails that take you to a picnic area near the aviation museum. The trails run under route 1, allowing you to get from campus to the lake without crossing any streets. There’s a bridge across the creek that allows you to come out relatively close to the College Park Metro stop and catch the shuttle bus if desired. It doesn’t feel all that «natural» at any point, but it’s quite nice as a utilitarian place to walk/​run/​bike in a quiet and verdant setting.
I’m a little bit torn about the rating, but here’s the deal. I’d have rated it four stars while I lived there, but then I discovered that DC and the surrounding area have tons of free parks (and others that are worth paying for) that offer better environs than this one does. Lake Artemesia’s selling point is location. This is absolutely a nice place for students and others in the immediate area, but I’ve never wanted to come any distance to return to it. If you’re at UMD, you absolutely need to check it out, but explore the greater DC area as well.

Lake Artemsia is a really great park. It’s completely manmade (as other posters noted, part of an accomodation that Metro made for the construction of the College Park metro station.
I always, always come here by bicycle, but the thing I was going to note was that access is actually the most difficult to get to by car (only one approach from the northern end of the park) — whereas you can arrive via bout 4 different direction if you’re walking or biking. This lake connects to the Paint Branch, Northeast Branch, and Indian Creek Branch bike/​walker trails, so there’s lots of way to get here.
It’s quiet — there’s a loop that you can run around — there’s picnic tables and a nice gazebo to hang out at. You can fish here (a lot of people do). By far the closest decent size body of water that isn’t one of the 6 – 12 inch deep branch streams that lead to the Anacostia.

While it is not the largest park in the area, Lake Artemesia is an enjoyable place to spend an hour jogging or walking the handicapped accessible trails.
It was developed in the late 70s as construction for the Metro’s Green Line began. The land was donated by a local resident in exchange for Metro developing it into what it is today; a lovely place for all to enjoy, including many species of birds and water fowls.
There is a fishing pier (permit and species limitations mandated), gazebos, and around two miles of hiker-​biker trails. There is even a staging area which faces a grassy lawn; perfect for an outdoor concert event. It is a bit hard to find. Once you travel along the industrial road and reach its end, Lake Artemesia is there, waiting for you to explore.

This is a fantastic place to walk, run or fish. Grounds are well kept; there are bathrooms, water fountains, fishing piers and covered gazebos. There is also a snack bar but I have never seen it open.
The entrance to the park is also right near a police station. Makes me feel a bit safer.

This park is a happy, accessible place between Greenbelt and College Park. Yes, it’s near the Metro track and an industrial area — that’s part of what makes this park unexpectedly wonderful. I first visited in high summer, when the unshaded, asphalt walkway was uncomfortably hot. Fortunately I gave Lake Artemesia another visit during the rainy weeks this past spring, when I sought a paved path to avoid the mud. The paths at the park connect to the Paint Branch Trail and Anacostia Tributary Trail.
I visit the lake most mornings during the work week, to walk and breathe and get my blood moving. What a delight it is, bursting with bloom, scent, and birdsong! The park is quieter at that hour, almost meditative, visited mostly by birders with cameras and binoculars and the occasional jogger or cyclist. Certain swathes of grass are let to grow long, like a meadow, to provide habitat. It was here I saw my first eagle plunge down to the water to catch a fish. There are a few families of geese, and though I’m not much of a birder myself, a friend pointed out a scarlet tanager the other day. There are a few geese families with goslings, and I’ve seen several turtles and bunnies. The north end of the lake is full of lily pads, and the waterlilies bloomed this past week.
Another thing I enjoy about this park is the human variety. All kinds of folks come here: young, old, fit, trying-​to-​get-​fit. Walkers, bikers, wheelchairs. Latino, African-​American, Asian, Indian, caucasian. Students and working people. Nature lovers and athletes. Single folks and families and groups and dogs (on leashes). I recommend a visit to this well-​kept neighborhood park, particularly early or late in the day.

They call this a «natural area» and it might very well be but it doesn’t really seem very «natural» to me to have a newly resurfaced asphalt walking/​biking path that happens to run parallel to the METRO tracks for a good portion of its circumference.
I understand this has some king of Audobon trail for birders and the like and that is all well and good. But, if you’re looking for a place that it a tranquil place to walk or bike, you need to try some place else like Buddy Attick Park in Old Greenbelt or Greenbelt National Park.
What this park is great for is bicyclists and people who don’t want to walk on dirt. Yeah, it’s a big plus not to have to worry about the mud or tree roots as you’re tooling around the 1.4 mile «loop». It’s also has some nice gazebos for «viewing» and plenty of seating scattered around for sitting when you need a rest.
However, unless you’re going to bike up to the Lake from the Paint Branch Trail or the Indian Creek Trail it is damn hard to find the entrance where you can park your car and then walk or bike around the Lake.
I was really non-​plussed. I’m not really an outdoorsy type so maybe I’m missing something but there are lots better places to enjoy nature that aren’t that far away.

Definitely a College Park secret. Who knew that hidden behind the college bar scene and infinite choice of fast food chains lies Lake Artemesia. I know there’s a parking lot accessible from 193 somewhere. but as a resident of Parkside, my run around the lake and back of 5K was the perfect daily run. Don’t be surprised if you see people fishing or bird watching.
Trail Directions from Parkside: Exit Parkside and go down Lakelands. Turn right after the playgound and look for the paved trail next to the basketball court. Turn left at the three-​way trail intersection. Continue on the trail past the elementary school. Turn right at the dead end and follow the path under the metro tracks. This should lead you directly to the lake.

I married a MoCo girl. As a result, whenever we find anything good in PG County, she usually ends up saying, «I can’t believe this is in PG county.» I guess with a slogan like «A Livable Community,» such criticism should be expected much like if your slogan was «My Restaurant: You Can Eat Here, If You Want,» or «My Deli: Edible Food.» But one place that makes even this guy who was raised in PG say, «I can’t believe this is in PG County,» is Lake Artemesia.
First of all, you have to drive on a gravel path through an industrial area w/​nary a tree to be found, and then the massive Washington Post plant. The first time a friend took me out here, I though, «Wow. Now –this– is a PG park.» And as you near the end of Ballew Ave, you see a police station, once again reinforcing the fact that you are in fact, in PG County, and then you see some trees and a tiny parking lot. At this point, your expectations for this «Natural Area» are really, really low.
And then you walk through the fenced area and it opens out to a gorgeous lake, surrounded by 1.3 miles of paved trails, several gazebos, and plenty of benches. Well, ok, the lake isn’t that gorgeous… it’s about as «beautiful» as the waters of Ocean City, but remember, it’s in a livable community. The serene natural beauty is only interrupted by the occasional passing Green Line Metro train. On a nice day, you can expect to find joggers, people fishing, kids on tricycles, bicyclers, and people making out in the gazebos: you’ve been warned. Do not approach an occupied gazebo. For serious.
For those of you who like biking w/​your family or are out of shape from a winter of hibernating, Lake Artemesia is a great place to bike b/​c the trail is almost completely flat and it’s plenty wide. How smooth is the ride? The family went yesterday, and while towing our daughter in a Chariot Cougar 2, she fell asleep. If you’re feeling adventurous, there are, what I like to call exit ramps at various points on the trail. One exit will take you near the College Park Airport (I like to call this Gravelly Point Lite). Another will take you all the way down the Anacostia. And still another will take you up towards the University of Maryland College Park. For a detailed map, click here:
Lake Artemesia affords a great opportunity to enjoy the outdoors. W/​all the various trails, each visit can be completely different. And one thing I’ll enjoy as my daughter gets older: no ice cream, paddle boats, or anything like that where I’ll have to fork over tons of cash. It’s convenient to Silver Spring, Laurel, Greenbelt, and pretty much any other city that’s close to UMCP. If you’re looking for an extensive, easy trail for the family for biking or jogging, head to Lake Artemesia. Just be prepared to hear MoCo people saying, «I can’t believe this is in PG County,» all though your ride.
How to get there: from Greenbelt Rd, turn onto Branchville Rd (Near Siri’s Chef Secret). Follow it all the way around till you get to the parking lot. Note: the lot is usually packed, so you may have to park on Berwyn Rd.
Post-​script: Olivia D. reminded me that this is the lake where they found an infant girl in a garbage bag a few weeks back. Horribly depressing way to end a review. Even more depressing that people have the gall to do crap like that.