In the May 2026 issue of the Idlewylde News, Donald Hart described a walk he calls "The Loop." It follows the edge of Idlewylde, and in its longer form it included a scramble along the bed of Herring Run to Overlook Park. His shorter version still runs down St Alban's to Overbrook, through the park and up to the children's play area, then across Litchfield, Maldon and Sherwood and around the crescent to Banbury and Maplewood. He wrote that he never gets bored on it, because each time there is something new to spot.
By this spring, Overlook Park itself had something new to spot. Two separate efforts worked on it, one paid for through Baltimore County's capital budget and one carried out by neighbors on Wednesday afternoons with gloves and loppers. They worked in different parts of the park, and both are easiest to see once the leaves come down.
The county's work sits just upstream
Baltimore County's April 15, 2026 update for Council District 6 reported that the Herring Run at Overlook Park stream repairs were finished. The repair covered about 650 linear feet of stream just upstream of the park. The county gave two goals: to stabilize heavily eroded stream banks and to reconnect the stream to its floodplain. The update also said the project was in its monitoring phase.
The money behind it shows how seriously the county took this stretch. The county's FY2024 adopted capital budget set aside $1,880,000 for a line item called "Herring Run @ Overlook Stream Remediation." That is the amount budgeted, not a published final cost. On the same page of the stormwater restoration list, the Jones Falls at Tally Ho project was budgeted at $1,200,000 in total and the Lower Gunpowder at Gunhill project at $500,000. Among those nearby lines, the Overlook stretch was one of the larger stream jobs.
For anyone who walks to the park at the end of Overbrook Road off Regester Avenue, the Idlewylde Community Association's park page describes a playing field, multi-use courts, a playground, picnic tables, walking paths, benches and restrooms. The park was dedicated in 2002. The repaired banks are just outside that space, upstream. Once the leaves are down, the line of the stream is much easier to follow from the paths.
The volunteers' work is in the trees
The second effort is much smaller in budget and much closer to the ground. The Habitat Stewards of Overlook Park, known as HSOP, cut back non-native invasive plants that were smothering the park's trees. After its 2025 season, the Green Towson Alliance reported that the group had met every week from February through June. Volunteers cut ivy at the base of trees and cut back or pulled porcelain-berry and Japanese honeysuckle vines, wineberry, privet and garlic mustard.
The alliance's report says the native trees and shrubs in the section the group cleared are thriving. Milkweed, goldenrod, fleabane and penstemon have room to grow again, and those plants feed native pollinators. A pair of Baltimore Orioles nested that spring in the mature sycamore at the park entrance, and park visitors told the group the park looked better. The crew was back in 2026. The May issue of the Idlewylde News reported that HSOP was again meeting every week, with Adreon Hubbard as the contact.
The neighborhood also cleans the stream itself every year. The sixth annual Overlook Park Stream Clean Up and Garlic Mustard Pull took place on Saturday, April 18, 2026, run by Adreon Hubbard, Dorothy Stoltz and Mads Sanzenbacher. The crew filled 2 bags with trash and 3 with garlic mustard, and also hauled out several bulk items.
Two scales, one park
| County stream repair | Habitat Stewards of Overlook Park | |
|---|---|---|
| Where | About 650 linear feet of Herring Run, just upstream of the park | Wooded sections inside the park |
| What it targets | Heavily eroded banks; reconnecting the stream to its floodplain | Ivy, porcelain-berry, Japanese honeysuckle, wineberry, privet, garlic mustard |
| Who | Baltimore County | Volunteers sponsored by the ICA Greening Committee and Green Towson Alliance |
| Money | $1,880,000 budgeted in FY2024 | Volunteer time; a few borrowed tools |
| Status | Completed; in monitoring as of April 2026 | Meets weekly, January through June |
The two projects tackle the same problem from different ends. While the county shored up the eroded banks along the stream, the volunteers were clearing vines off the trees above it. The county's repair is finished and in monitoring, while the volunteer work only lasts as long as people keep coming back, because cut vines regrow and a cleared section stays clear only with regular visits.
A late-November walk that takes in both
Hart's Loop already passes through most of what changed. Here is a shorter version built from the streets in his route, aimed at the park:
- Start on Overbrook Road and follow it to its end off Regester Avenue, where the park begins.
- Find the lower parking lot at 1300 Overbrook Road. That is where HSOP meets each session.
- Look for the mature sycamore at the park entrance, where the orioles nested.
- Look at the bases of the trees along the paths, where ivy was cut back. With the canopy bare, it is easier to tell which trunks are clear and which are still wrapped.
- Climb to the upper level playground, where the ICA has held its summer ice cream socials.
- Head out on Litchfield, Maldon and Sherwood, as Hart does, and finish on Overbrook.
Please keep dogs on a leash and clean up after them, as the Idlewylde News asks every issue.
The January crew, and how to join it
HSOP takes the season off now. According to the Green Towson Alliance's volunteer page, the stewards meet every Wednesday from 2:00 to 4:00 p.m., January through June. That leaves a few weeks after this walk to decide whether to join. Here is how it works:
- Register through the Towson Recreation Council's HSOP volunteer form.
- Come to the lower park parking lot at 1300 Overbrook Road by 2:00 p.m. on a Wednesday. Each session starts with a short meeting about the day's work.
- New members get training on identifying non-native invasive plants and removing them. The group is led by a certified Baltimore City Weed Warrior and Master Naturalist.
- Bring your own gloves and tools if you have them. The group has a few to lend.
The group is sponsored by the Idlewylde Community Association Greening Committee and the Green Towson Alliance. If you would like to talk with someone before the season starts, the ICA board meets Tuesday, December 8, at 7 p.m. The newsletter asks residents to contact a board member first, since meetings alternate between in person and virtual. The Green Towson Alliance also runs spring stream cleanups on Herring Run and its branches, plus a shade-tree program with Blue Water Baltimore that recruits homeowners in summer and plants in fall. Idlewylde is one of the neighborhoods in that program.
Neighborhood details like these, a repaired creek, a sycamore with nesting orioles, a Wednesday crew that keeps a park in shape, are part of what makes an Idlewylde home what it is, and part of how we describe one when it's time to sell. If you're thinking about your next move in Idlewylde or nearby Towson, The Hofmann Home Group would be glad to start with a conversation and a clear, local valuation. Get My Home Valuation.