Charles County Potomac Loop

The rural corner of Southern Maryland, one way: from Bel Alton the route takes Chapel Point Road past St. Ignatius Church, on its bluff above the Port Tobacco River, through the tiny town of Port Tobacco, then west on MD-6 and Ironsides Road to Nanjemoy, north along the Potomac on Riverside and Chicamuxen roads past Smallwood State Park, and ends in La Plata. It's 45 miles. Some tight curves surprise you in a flat county and there's loose gravel in spots, so let the slowest rider set the pace. Fuel is scarce: leave with a full tank.

From Bel Alton the route turns onto Chapel Point Road to St. Ignatius Church, which stands on a bluff above the meeting of the Port Tobacco and Potomac rivers; the parish dates to 1641 and the cornerstone of the present church was laid in 1798. A few miles north is Port Tobacco, Charles County's first county seat, from 1658 until it moved to La Plata in 1895; with 18 residents in 2020 it's the smallest incorporated town in Maryland, and its 1819 courthouse has been recreated as a museum.

From there the route heads west on MD-6 and Durham Church Road, then takes Ironsides Road (MD-425) to Nanjemoy and turns north along the Potomac on Riverside and Chicamuxen roads, passing near Smallwood State Park, named for General William Smallwood, the highest-ranking Marylander in the Revolutionary War. It ends in La Plata. These are very rural roads, mostly paved but rough or gravelly in places, with tight curves posted at 45 mph that aren't for beginners. It's one way, and fuel is hard to find along it.