As of August 8, 2020, the Sunflowers bloom update suggests that they are already wilting. If you are nearby, it wouldn’t hurt to check it out. The place is free anyways, you don’t have anything to lose!
Where? McKee-Beshers Wildlife Management Area, Poolesville, Maryland, USA
How much? Free
Open/Closes: I couldn’t find anything official, but as with almost every park, I would assume that is open from sunrise to sunset.
Pets: Dogs allowed but must be leashed
At a Glance (from my insta account)
Kid friendly ✅ ✅ ✅ There are three sunflower fields but to get to the first one you don’t really need to walk a lot. It’s a less than a five minute walk from where you park! Apart from the fact that you can admire the beautiful sunflowers, kids can get a good closeup of this magnificent plants, and see bees 🐝 in action! They don’t hurt you if you don’t bother them. They are minding their own business doing what they do best, pollinate.
Stroller friendly ✅ My teeny weeny stroller struggled but it got us to the first field. A jogging stroller is better for the loose dirt-rocky terrain. My little one fell asleep on the way there and continued sleeping the entire time 😅.
Restrooms ❌ Nope. But you don’t spend a whole lot of time there.
Social distancing ✅ This place is becoming famous so based on how packed the little parking area is, it seems like it’s crowded. But, there are three fields. If field number one (the closest one) is full, just keep walking. Although, the first field is loooooong and everyone was trying to social distance to get a good non-photobombed picture.
My takeaway ✨ If you have a macro lense, which I don’t, it’s on my Santa Claus list, this is a great place to get beautiful pictures of bees and sunflowers.
Last remarks 🚨 Right in front of the sunflower field there is a Common Buckwheat field. That one has its beauty as well. My oldest decided to hang out there for a while to practice his photography skills.
More details of Our Experience
Mckee-Beshers Wildlife Management Area is located in Montgomery County. Click on the map to get directions on Google Maps.
Since the parking area is very small, it fills up quickly. The day we went, we weren’t in a rush. Therefore, we waited for someone to leave. The wait took us about 30 minutes.
As mentioned above, the walk from the parking area to the first field is very short.
We didn’t visit the other two fields. The first one was uncrowded and beautiful enough!
If I identified this right using iNaturalist, in front of the first field there is a Common Buckwheat field. My son noticed it and went to check it out, reminding me of how many times we ignore the things that seem to be rather common and uninteresting. Yet, those tend to offer a lot, in this case, food for a variety of wildlife.
Visiting a sunflower field offers a great opportunity to observe bees in action! Bees are very important pollinators. We depend on them for our food!
Also, we saw a lot of these beautiful dragonflies!
Finally, sunflower fields, or flower fields in general, offer a great background for family pictures. So, dress up, put on those clothes that make you feel beautiful and visit this Sunflower field!
I hope you have a great time visiting this beautiful place. Being in contact with nature is proven to make you feel better and happier. Let me know if you go how it goes and remember that the easiest way to stay posted and in touch is to follow me on insta, where I also share videos of the places in my stories/highlights!
