On Thrift Road, the gate at Louise F. Cosca Regional Park is open and the trail maps are the same. Down at the water, the official park page carries a notice: fishing at the lake is "temporarily prohibited" until further notice "due to post-dredging environmental recovery." The Cosca Group Pavilion beside it is closed too. According to M-NCPPC's picnic shelter page, "the area around the pavilion and the lake will experience significant traffic from construction vehicles."
So this October the park's activity has moved to Clearwater Nature Center at 11401 Thrift Road. The center's best free event of the season runs on a schedule that skips Saturdays and Sundays entirely.
What the Lake Is Doing Instead
The work at the water is maintenance. Prince George's County Parks and Recreation put out a solicitation for lake dredging, forebay repair, and dam-embankment and outfall maintenance. The Maryland environmental checklist filed for the project calls it maintenance of the existing lake by dredging. It lists 3.28 acres of disturbance and no changes to impervious area or drainage area. The contract was re-bid in 2025, and bids opened on July 28, 2025.
None of the published materials give a reopening date for fishing or for the pavilion. The official park map still shows a boathouse and boat rental. However, the current Cosca Regional Park page does not confirm whether rentals are running this season, so call before planning a paddle.
For now, the lake is in recovery and the rest of the park keeps going around it.
Ten Free Days, and None on a Weekend
The reason to drive up the hill this month is a chainsaw. On Clearwater's own event listing, M-NCPPC invites visitors to "come see artist Carving Colin bring two new wood sculptures to life during a live carving experience." Open Carving Days are free and open to all ages, and each session runs 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Here are the posted dates. Today is Wednesday, October 7, and the schedule starts tomorrow.
- Thursday, October 8
- Friday, October 9
- Monday, October 12 through Friday, October 16
- Monday, October 19 and Tuesday, October 20
- Wednesday, October 21
That adds up to ten carving days over two weeks, all on weekdays. Anyone who can only visit on a weekend misses the work entirely and will see the finished sculptures after October 21.
The Mondays deserve a phone call. Clearwater's regular hours are Tuesday through Saturday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Sunday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. The center is normally closed Mondays. Even so, the carving calendar lists both October 12 and October 19. Before driving over on a Monday, confirm with the center at 301-297-4575 or [email protected].
On every other day, admission to the nature center is free.
Weekends Belong to the Ticketed Programs
On Saturdays, Clearwater's October and November calendar has smaller, paid programs. Each has a resident price and a nonresident price, and some have age limits.
| Date | Program | Time | Resident / Nonresident | Ages |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fri, Oct 9 | Campfire Night at Clearwater | 5:30 to 7 p.m. | $6 / $8 | All ages |
| Sat, Oct 10 | Autumn Nature Crafts at Clearwater | 1 to 4 p.m. | $8 / $11 | All ages |
| Sat, Oct 17 | Wildlife Help 101 | 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. | $30 / $39 | Not listed |
| Fri, Oct 30 | Halloweenie Roast Campfire | 5:30 to 7 p.m. | $6 / $8 | Listed on event page |
| Fri, Nov 6 | Homeschool Nature Science | 1 to 2:30 p.m. | $10 / $13 | 7 to 14 |
| Sat, Nov 7 | Animal Encounters at Clearwater | 1 to 1:45 p.m. | $4 / $6 | All ages |
| Tue, Nov 10 | Toddler Time at Clearwater | 10:30 to 11:30 a.m. | $4 / $6 | 18 months to 4 |
| Fri, Nov 13 | Campfire Night at Clearwater | 5:30 to 7 p.m. | $6 / $8 | All ages |
Friday, October 9 is the one day the free and paid sides of the calendar overlap. The carving runs until 5 p.m., and Campfire Night starts at 5:30 at the same building. That makes it the longest single visit the center offers all fall, and the only paid part of it is the $6 resident campfire ticket.
Wildlife Help 101 on October 17 costs the most on the list at $30 for residents. The program runs five hours, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., so it is closer to a workshop than a drop-in.
By November the calendar gets shorter and quieter. The programs are daytime sessions under two hours, built around the center's animals and younger visitors. Campfire Night on November 13 is the one evening program.
What's Inside While the Lake Rests
On days with nothing scheduled, the building is still worth the trip. Clearwater keeps live birds, reptiles, amphibians, invertebrates and fish. It also has an outdoor birds-of-prey viewing habitat, an indoor turtle pond, a fossil cave, a sensory path, a nature playground and the campfire circle where the evening programs are held.
The nature center also connects to Cosca's trails for hiking, biking and horseback riding. The park map names six loops and segments:
- Green Trail: 1.94 miles, the longest
- Purple Trail: 1.4 miles
- Red Trail: 1.28 miles
- Orange Trail: 1.26 miles
- Blue Trail: 1.02 miles
- Connector: 0.58 miles
A carving session lasts six hours, so a weekday visit can easily include a trail. The Blue Trail is just over a mile. The Green Trail is almost twice as long. Construction vehicles are working around the lake and pavilion, so walkers headed toward the water should expect trucks there.
October 11 Changes How the Picnic Shelters Work
Picnic-shelter permit season ends on October 11. From October 12, 2026 through April 30, 2027, M-NCPPC runs all park shelters on a first-come, first-served basis, and none can be reserved.
Combined with the closed Cosca Group Pavilion, this changes the plan for fall birthday parties and group outings at Cosca. Starting Monday, nobody can reserve a shelter. For groups that need a guaranteed space, the county points people to the Park Permits Office to book a recreation building. The second half of October still has plenty of park activity, but no shelter space can be booked ahead.
Two Evenings That End October
The month's last two Clinton events come on back-to-back days at two M-NCPPC sites. On Thursday, October 29, Surratt Historic Site & Museum at 9118 Brandywine Road holds "Revolution, Rebellion, Treason: A Slice of History Discussion Series" from 4 to 5:30 p.m. Admission is free.
The next evening, Friday, October 30, the Halloweenie Roast Campfire runs at Clearwater from 5:30 to 7 p.m. Tickets are $6 for residents and $8 for nonresidents. The last scheduled carving day, October 21, falls nine days earlier.
WSSC Water's Phase IV Clinton water-main project is also scheduled to finish this fall, including restoration, paving and striping. The project covers Brandywine Road between Piscataway and Surratts roads, the same road as the museum's address. The posted closure windows for that work have already passed. However, the WSSC project page was last updated in August, so check current conditions before driving over on the 29th.
Clinton has a good fall calendar right now if you know where things moved. At Platinum Partners Realty, Yolanda Burgess and her team follow details like a lake project, a shelter deadline or a weekday-only event, because they show what everyday life in Prince George's County actually looks like. If you're weighing a move within Clinton or nearby, or want to know how changes like the Cosca lake work could matter for a home near the park, schedule a free consultation and talk it through with us.
This article is general information, not legal, tax or financial advice. Consult a qualified professional about your situation.
