Breezy Loop Complex
Breezy Loop Complex: Mike’s Loop, Breezy Loop, Bucklodge Loop, Turtle Trail and Giliam Farm Loop
The EPIC Breezy Loop Complex consists of multiple connected loops with a single trailhead at the Potomac Pony Club field and parking lot at 19301 Bucklodge Road. The entire system can be ridden in 2-3 hours depending on your route and pace.
There are stream crossings, spectacular views of Sugarloaf Mountain and beautiful vistas of Montgomery County’s largest historic barn on Old Bucklodge Road.
Mike’s Loop forms a large loop around the edge of the farm fields south of the railroad tracks. It starts from one part of the Gilliam Farm Trail, loops around the large farm fields west of White Ground Road, and eventually hooks up with another part of the Gilliam Farm Trail. The Gilliam family farmed this property in the 40s, 50s and 60s.
The Kay Family Trail is about 1.2 miles long and traverses the large wooded area to the west of White Ground Road. It includes one easy stream crossing and is suitable for riders of all levels.
The Turtle Trail is so named because of its proximity to the site of a box turtle habitat relocation effort by the Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) and landowner (and EPIC co-founder) Mike Rubin. Part of the environmental mitigation program related to the Intercounty Connector (ICC) was the relocation and study of box turtles. As their habitat along the path of the ICC was being destroyed, the HSUS was tasked with capturing and moving as many of these creatures as possible.
The plan was to move the population to a new, safe locale, sequester them for a period of time and then release them. Two large pens were constructed, turtles placed therein, and two years later they were released with GPS locators implanted.
See below to download a PDF of Breezy Loop, Bucklodge Loop, Turtle Trail and Gilliam Farm Loop trails.
Use: Hiking, Equestrian
Distance: The entire system can be ridden in 2-3 hours depending on your route and pace.
More: Please be careful not to step on a turtle as you ride through. Box turtles like to rest in the middle of trails!
Water & Restrooms: Unavailable
Access and Parking: Parking lot at 19301 Bucklodge Road
Other Resources: You can also find detailed, interactive maps of these trails on TrailLink.com and AllTrails.com and the TROT Trail Directory.