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Chapman State Park, Indian Head, MD

Photo: Kenneth Gray, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons. Cropped and resized.

Sports & Outdoors

Chapman State Park

A Charles County state park on the Potomac with old-growth-style woods, bald eagles, and a historic mansion.

3452 Ferry Place, Indian Head, MD 20640 · Indian Head, MD

About Chapman State Park

This Maryland Department of Natural Resources park in western Charles County stretches between the Potomac River and Mattawoman Creek. Its wooded landscape recalls the forests that once covered the Potomac tidewater region, and visitors may spot rare plants and bald eagles overhead. The park also contains Mt. Aventine Mansion, the former home of the Chapman family, who had ties to the families of George Washington and George Mason. From the grounds near the mansion, guests can look down the Potomac toward the Virginia shoreline. The state protected the land in 1998 through Program Open Space.

  • #state park
  • #Potomac River
  • #Charles County
  • #bald eagles
  • #historic mansion

What's around here?

The closest stops to Chapman State Park, ordered by straight-line distance. A few more like it, plus some different kinds of fun so you can build a full day.

  • Sports & Outdoors
    Outdoor Adventure

    Mason Neck State Park

    Under $25

    Look for bald eagles from wooded trails or a rented kayak on a quiet Potomac River peninsula in Fairfax County.

    3.8 mi awayMore like this

  • Sports & Outdoors

    Pohick Bay Regional Park

    Under $25

    A roughly 1,000-acre bayside park in Lorton, Virginia, offering golf, waterpark fun, boating, camping, and trails.

    4.8 mi awayMore like this

  • Museums

    National Colonial Farm

    Check prices

    A living history farm in Accokeek, Maryland, showing a family farm from just before the Revolution.

    5.5 mi awaySwitch it up: Museums

  • Sports & Outdoors

    Smallwood State Park

    Under $25

    A Charles County state park on Mattawoman Creek that preserves the colonial home of Revolutionary War general William Smallwood.

    5.7 mi awayMore like this

  • Attractions
    History Buff

    George Washington's Mount Vernon

    $25–$50

    George Washington's riverside estate: mansion tours, gardens, farm animals, and sweeping Potomac views.

    Transit: reachable by public transit

    6.2 mi awaySwitch it up: Attractions

  • Museums
    History Buff

    National Museum of the United States Army

    No admission fee

    Trace the Army's story from the Revolution to today through galleries of soldiers' stories, vehicles and the Medal of Honor Experience.

    7.5 mi awaySwitch it up: Museums

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