Explore the best rated trails in Dundalk, MD. Whether you're looking for an easy walking trail or a bike trail like the Enola Low Grade Trail and Springlawn Trail. With more than 105 trails covering 4559 miles you’re bound to find a perfect trail for you. Click on any trail below to find trail descriptions, trail maps, photos, and reviews.
The Savage Mill Trail in Savage Park travels along the rolling Patuxent River through the grounds of an old cotton mill. In the early 1800s, Savage was a major manufacturing center, harnessing power...
The Holmes Run Trail offers a scenic pathway through the heart of a busy residential area in Alexandria and adjoining Fairfax County, both suburbs of Washington, D.C. The trail, which is divided into...
Maryland's Intercounty Connector Trail serves as an important commuting route across Montgomery County and Prince George's County. It gets its name from the Intercounty Connector (also known as State...
The Michael Castle Trail offers a scenic 12-mile route along the north shore of the Chesapeake and Delaware Canal in northern Delaware. The trail is named after the former governor and US...
Heritage Rail Trail County Park (HRT), along with the connecting Torrey C. Brown Rail Trail that continues south through Maryland, are in Rails-to-Trails Conservancy’s Hall of Fame. Both trails follow...
The Lake Artemesia Trailone component of the larger Anacostia Tributary Trail Systemcompletely encircles its scenic eponymous lake in Prince George's County, Maryland. The trail is also a great...
The Wayne Gilchrest Trail, which opened on Earth Day in 2012, runs along the southern edge of the historic Maryland Eastern Shore community of Chestertown. The trail connects Washington College to the...
The Fairfax County Parkway Trail parallels Fairfax County Parkway/State Route 286 on its route across Fairfax County, Virginia. While the paved trail varies in width and condition, most of the trail...
The Custis Trail is a popular urban route that links Virginia's D.C. suburbs with the District itself, connecting to both the W&OD Railroad Regional Park Trail at the latter's 4-mile marker and the...
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The Washington & Old Dominion Trail (W&OD) is one of suburban Washington, D.C.'s most popular rail-trails. The heavily used trail is frequented by commuters and recreationists alike, and is a...
The West Campus Access Road Trail, the newest rail-trail in Washington, D.C., travels through the sprawling former campus of St. Elizabeths Hospital, now set to become the new home of the Department...
The Bethesda Trolley Trail—also known as the North Bethesda Trail—is a 4-mile path linking Bethesda and North Bethesda, primarily by bridging two major highways. The trail occupies the abandoned...
The Northwest Branch Trail—an integral part of the Anacostia Tributary Trail System—runs between the Maryland towns of Hyattsville and Silver Spring, linking two bustling suburbs of Washington, D.C....
The 11-mile BWI Trail was primarily designed for area commuters; however, the trail also makes for a great recreation venue. Despite being close to BWI-Thurgood Marshall Airport, much of the trail is...
The Jones Falls Trail extends over 10 miles between Baltimore's Inner Harbor and the Mount Washington Light Rail Station. From Mount Washington, an elevated boardwalk whisks users through a...
The Klingle Valley Trail spans just shy of a mile in a leafy, residential area of northwest Washington, DC. The trail opened in June 2017 and is accessible to the neighborhoods of Cleveland Park,...
The first thing you may notice about the Trolley Line #9 Trail is the boardwalk that curves between the bluffs of massive rock. The granite was hand cut in the 1890s when the electric streetcar rails...
The Lone Wolf Trail is a 1-mile trail in Anne Arundel County Maryland. The trail is connected to two already existing trails: The Strawberry Lake Way Bicycle Path, and the WB&A Trail. Although the...
Although it parallels Eisenhower Avenue, this paved pathway is not without its charms. On its west end, Alexandria's Eisenhower Avenue Trail begins in Hensley Park, which offers plentiful parking and...
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Maryland is home to two Paint Branch Trails, this one in Montgomery County and another farther south in Prince George's County. This Paint Branch Trail offers a well-shaded, paved pathway...
CLOSED UNTIL AUGUST 2022 FOR UPGRADING. The Mount Airy Rail-Trail will one day span nearly 4 miles across the town of Mount Airy and through a scenic, wooded area. The first completed section of the...
This bike and pedestrian path threads through the park of the same name. The trail exists in 2 sections: the northern segment begins in the Fairland Recreational Park and winds south, eventually...
The Catonsville Short Line Trail follows a segment of the former Catonsville Short Line Railroad, which ran from Charlestown to Catonsville. As of 2018, the trail runs between Shady Nook Avenue and...
In Northern Virginia's suburban community of Springfield, Lake Accotink Park provides a wilderness escape amid the city surroundings. The 500-acre park features picnic areas, miniature golf, an...
The Patuxent Branch Trail is part of a 20-mile trail system over and around the rolling hills of Howard County that follows a former Baltimore and Ohio Railroad line along the Patuxent River. The...
The Strawberry Lake Way Bicycle Path is a 2.2 mile trail that is located between Laurel and Annapolis in Anne Arundel County Maryland. The trail starts at Piney Orchard Elementary School, and ends at...
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This trail traces a hilly green swath located in a Pepco electric utility right-of-way that stretches between South Gernmantown Recreational Park and Muddy Branch Stream Valley Park. It's a natural...
Baltimore’s Herring Run Trail runs through scenic Herring Run Park, centered on a tributary of the Back River. The winding trail follows Herring Run through a woodlands environment so peaceful you're...
Although less than two miles long, the Meadowlark Connector Trail provides a terrific link between the Meadowlark Botanical Gardens and the popular W&OD Trail. The trail meets the W&OD in Vienna;...
The #8 Streetcar Path runs just a short distance (0.33 mile) along part of the route of the former streetcar system that once ran between Catonsville and Ellicott City. The streetcar operated from...
This is a pleasant one mile community trail which begins right at the center of Red Lion, PA. The main trailhead is on Main St. at the restored MA&PA train station, which now is home to the Red Lion...
If you are looking to augment your physical workout with some intellectual exercise, look no further than the Baltimore & Annapolis Trail. The scenic, paved, 13-mile community trail is brimming with...
The West Campus Access Road Trail, the newest rail-trail in Washington, D.C., travels through the sprawling former campus of St. Elizabeths Hospital, now set to become the new home of the Department...
Annapolis' Poplar Trail runs for nearly 1 mile on a section of the old Washington, Baltimore & Annapolis right-of-way in the heart of Maryland's capital city. Although short, the trail is a vital part...
Heritage Rail Trail County Park (HRT), along with the connecting Torrey C. Brown Rail Trail that continues south through Maryland, are in Rails-to-Trails Conservancy’s Hall of Fame. Both trails follow...
The Torrey C. Brown Rail Trail is one of the best hiking and biking trails in the Mid-Atlantic region. It allows for nearly 20 miles of flat travel, punctuated by a number of access points and an...
The 18-mile Mount Vernon Trail is one of the Washington, D.C. Metro area's most popular trails. Just across the Potomac River from D.C. in Virginia, the trail links Theodore Roosevelt Island Park with...
The Swamp Forest Trail loops through Lums Pond State Park on a packed earth surface that accommodates hikers and cyclists. The trail is the shorter of two loops; the Little Jersey Trail runs closer to...
Between 1900 and 1935, the Chesapeake Beach Railway whisked vacationers from Washington, DC, to the grand hotels, beaches and boardwalk of the resort town of Chesapeake Beach, Maryland. Now tourists...
The Anacostia Tributary Trail System includes a number of trails linked together and managed by the National Park Service. The trail include: the Anacostia River Trail, the Northwest Branch Trail, the...
Note: This developing route is not yet fully contiguous – it is just over 50% complete. Please refer to the Trail Map for more information on the existing sections of trail, as well as the online...
The Vesper Trail, which opened in 2019, serves as a short but important connector between Tysons and northern Vienna. The pathway spans 0.4 miles between the Spring Hill Metro Station (on the Silver...
If you are looking to augment your physical workout with some intellectual exercise, look no further than the Baltimore & Annapolis Trail. The scenic, paved, 13-mile community trail is brimming with...
Caution: On April 12, 2018, a fire severely damaged the Martic Forge Trestle, which runs over Pequea Creek and River Road on the Enola Low Grade Trail. Access to the trail going west from the Route...
The Kent Island South Trail is one of two popular recreational trails (along with the Cross Island Trail) on Maryland's Kent Island, the largest island in the Chesapeake Bay. The trail runs parallel...
This trail traces a hilly green swath located in a Pepco electric utility right-of-way that stretches between South Gernmantown Recreational Park and Muddy Branch Stream Valley Park. It's a natural...
Running parallel to Beulah Street from Franconia to Fort Belvoir in southeast Fairfax County, the paved Beulah Street Sidepath provides a link to numerous neighborhoods along its route. A parallel...
The Springlawn Trail travels on what was once Springlawn Road, connecting Chesterville Road (Rt. 841) and Strickersville Road. The 2-mile trail is comprised of dirt and gravel and makes for a good...
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Rock Creek Trail forms a winding path, at times narrow, through the urban greenway of Rock Creek Regional Park. The trail extends between Needwood Lake northeast of Rockville, MD, and the Washington,...
The Broad Street Greenway in York is anchored by the Alexander D. Goode Middle School at one end and Hannah Penn Middle School at the other. The bike-ped corridor parallels Broad Street in the heart...
The Windsor Hills Conservation Trail is a short hiking trail through the Windsor Hills neighborhood of Baltimore. Built partially on a former streetcar line that once connected the area with the...
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Prince George's County's Paint Branch Trail (not to be confused with Montgomery County's Paint Branch Trail farther north) runs for 3.5 miles between Lake Artemesia and Cherry Hill Neighborhood Park...
This short rail-with-trail is short but makes some pretty significant connections: it links the King Street and Braddock Road metro stations. It also connects to the Potomac Yard Trail, helping to...
Downs Park Trail is located in Downs Park on the Chesapeake Bay just north of Gibson Island. The 3.5-mile perimeter trail is paved, popular for walkers and cyclists alike, and an additional 1.5 miles...
This is a pleasant one mile community trail which begins right at the center of Red Lion, PA. The main trailhead is on Main St. at the restored MA&PA train station, which now is home to the Red Lion...
The Bluemont Junction Trail is a short paved trail that branches off from the popular Washington and Old Dominion Trail (W&OD) in the heart of Arlington. The trail was built on a spur line that once...
The Swamp Forest Trail loops through Lums Pond State Park on a packed earth surface that accommodates hikers and cyclists. The trail is the shorter of two loops; the Little Jersey Trail runs closer to...
The Holmes Run Trail offers a scenic pathway through the heart of a busy residential area in Alexandria and adjoining Fairfax County, both suburbs of Washington, D.C. The trail, which is divided into...
Baltimore’s Herring Run Trail runs through scenic Herring Run Park, centered on a tributary of the Back River. The winding trail follows Herring Run through a woodlands environment so peaceful you're...
The Rhode Island Avenue Trolley Trail provides a safe pathway for students, from kindergartners to doctoral candidates, to walk and bike to school in College Park, Riverdale Park and Hyattsville. The...
Was not really impressed with this trail, in need of a lot of repairs. Asphalt raised up causing large bumps messing up your bike, old boardwalks with loose boards and splintered wood. Sadly I have to compare it to a “ Park” anywhere! Only able to see the Washington monument from a distance
I road this trail today. The first item of note is the road is closed about 1 mile on the North Extension, that is a mile North of Route 30. You can ride from John Rudy County park to the closure. There may be a work around at the railroad bridge to the route 30 Parking lot. I started at the route 30 parking lot and went South to New Freedom. I would not recommend riding in this direction. The last section from about MP 5 up to New Freedom is uphill about a 6% grade. It is best to ride starting in New Freedom and biking to York. Also, The bike trail through York going South is a bit confusing through the town. At one point the RR track area was closed; however, the detour South was not clear. Okay
Es un sendero poco transitado, con tramos muy hermosos. Disfrute muchísimos caminarlo.
Tranquilo y sencillo para caminar. El estar junto al río hace muy grata la caminata o paseo en bici.
I live only blocks from this trail and I've been riding it sporadically for over 30 years. But each year, I ride it less often (maybe twice a summer?) and I get more and more frustrated by it. Only yards from the wide Potomac River most of the way, with inspiring views of the DC monuments, a string of lovely parks, and winding wooden boardwalks through the marshes, it really is stunning. The large number of pedestrians, joggers and other bikers on it at any given time is testament to its popularity. But therein lies the danger for bikers, especially: between tourists and others who have no idea of trail courtesy or safety, most rides include lots of screeching halts, unheeded calls of "ON YOUR LEFT!" and frightening encounters around blind turns. Then there are the untold number of root heaves that rattle bike and bones. These are the worst I've seen on any trail in America and make for white-knuckled and jarring rides. This 15-mile trail is so popular and pretty, it should have been widened and repaved by the National Park Service a decade ago. Bikers and walkers alike should be sadly wary of this national treasure.
There is a newly opened nicely done parking lot at the Chesapeake City trail head one block up from Schaefers Restaurant.
Nice fully blackedtoped trail, two hills, but the rest very flat.
Parked only to find a trail closed sign and some construction equipment on it. This is the center street end. The park end was blocked due to a long line of cars for a recycle event.
Starting at the south end, it's really quite a nice ride -- a paved surface in fairly reasonable shape, well-marked with a red centerline to help you find your way, winding through a mix of suburban and wooded areas as you make your way upstream.
But between NH Ave and the Beltway the paving ends quite suddenly. Despite the markings on the map, the paving does NOT pick back up again. If you have a pretty serious mountain bike with aggressive tires -- and an interest in wearing yourself out -- you might be able to keep going.
The map says this is a 7 mile trip. That may well be the case for the pavement, but the map then shows the trail goes on up to Wheaton and Layhill. The written description notes it's closed to bikes, but the map seems to suggest otherwise.
Maybe this trail should be broken into two parts to avoid confusion for folks like me! The hiking part is pretty rugged but quite beautiful . . .
The National Central Railroad Trail (aka Torrey C. Brown Tail) runs north-south and connects Hunt Valley, Maryland with York, Pennsylvania. It is approximately 45 miles in length and the terrain is completely flat. Once in Pennsylvania, the trail becomes the Heritage Rail Trail County Park. The NCR runs next to the Big Gunpowder Falls River and there are a fair number of rest stops with bathroom facilities, as well as benches and picnic tables, along the way.
There are numerous places to enjoy the river’s beautiful views and the sounds of rushing water. If you are hungry and want to stop, there are cafés in Monkton, MD, New Freedom and Glen Rock, Pa. Trail highlights include the Howard Tunnel, the NCR Train (a real old-timey train that follows the same route that carried President Lincoln to Gettysburg where he delivered his address) and smaller two-person rail cars on the tracks. Additionally, there are bridges, beautiful corn and wheat fields and mile after mile of actual active railroad tracks. And, at the 11-mile mark north from Hunt Valley, there is Gnome Hill, a 10-foot high hill with hundreds of garden gnomes to check out. There is also a water and snack station at Gnome Hill. (Just watch out for deer crossing there.)
The trail is very well shaded and consists of a mix of crushed limestone and hard dirt. Even on 90-degree days, the temperature on the trial is extremely tolerable. Once you cross into Pennsylvania and approach York, there are large sections that are paved. The trail can be accessed from several locations with parking lots in Hunt Valley, Sparks, Monkton, Parkton, New Freedom and elsewhere. Foot traffic can be heavy on the weekends particularly between Hunt Valley and Sparks, and again North of Monkton for two miles.
There is a popular brewery not far from the trail in Parkton, MD.
The Baltimore and Annapolis Trail plus the BWI Trail are two distinct trails that connect at the northwestern trailhead of the Baltimore and Annapolis Trail via the John Overstreet Connector. So, back and forth to Annapolis is about 28 miles, then the loop around the Baltimore Washington International (BWI) Thurgood Marshal airport is another 10.5 miles.
We headed southeast on the Baltimore and Annapolis Trail, first alongside a runway (the parking lot is actually called the Thomas A. Dixon Observation Park) and then into the woods. For the next mile or so, we zigzagged through the forest until we came to a road sign that required us to stop and read it carefully. After crossing a highway bridge, we rode for the next 13 miles through a variety of settings.
There were many picturesque parts of the gently rolling trail: split-rail wooden fences along mowed grass aprons and large “mounds” of vine-covered trees. In many areas, the trail ran along the edges of well-kept neighborhoods where there were frequent, but not busy, intersections. Almost imperceptibly, the trail declined towards Annapolis – a fact we were only made aware of as we climbed back towards BWI. At about the 10-mile mark, we saw many bikers and runners stopped at a popular trailside coffee shop in Severna Park. This is the most convenient place to fill up on water or snacks. Next to it was an enormous pile of discarded bikes behind Pedal Pushers bike store.
After a few more miles of the quiet, mostly shaded trail, we reached the Annapolis trailhead then turned around. Thirteen or so miles later, we arrived back at the Observation Park and forced ourselves to do the BWI loop. Surprisingly, the BWI trail was NOT a tour of parking lots, airport hangars and shade-less runways. It was actually pretty in many spots and had an interesting array of vistas ranging from forests, to horse pastures, to overlooks of the airport, to neighborhoods, to highways. This is a very popular loop and one local biker told us that there were too many pedestrians to ride on the weekends.
Ireland’s most famous brewery has its only US brewery near BWI and it is both massive and a ton of fun.
Starting at Nats Park (home of the Washington Nationals), we crossed the South Capitol Street bridge via a single-lane sidewalk with high railings on both sides. (This has now been replaced by a brand spanking new bridge with white arches that can be seen throughout the city.) On the southwest side of the Anacostia River, we encountered a surprisingly pastoral riverside trail that winds past playgrounds, basketball courts and a large outdoor roller-skating pavilion on the right. On the left, we could see boats motoring past the Navy Yard high rises and riverfront cafes, then further down, small marinas tucked into the wooded shoreline. Traffic on the trail was (and is always) very light with a few walkers, a few bikers and occasionally, a few fishermen hauling their tackleboxes, fishing rods and folding chairs to the water’s edge.
The trail meanders for about five miles before the exit to Benning Road which leads back to the Navy Yard on the opposite side of the river. But we recommend continuing on the trail for another five miles through lush forests and open marshlands, along quiet “country” roads (which are surprising in Washington, DC), past neighborhoods and athletic fields, and over wooden pathways that hug the shoreline. Our turnaround point was at the Bladensburg Waterfront Park, maybe two miles over the Maryland state line. There is a water bottle filling station and restroom there – along with a Dinosaur Walk. (Who knew?)
We returned to Benning Road to cross over the river and to pick up the trail, now on the northeast side of the Anacostia River. The return ride is visually interesting, but confusing. Rule of thumb: bear left whenever presented with a choice.
Navigating the Navy Yard area can be a bit challenging as residents and tourists crowd the outdoor cafes and spill out onto the expansive promenade. This wide swath of concrete and wood extends from the base of the Naval facility to Nats Park, an approximately half-mile stroll or slow, careful bike ride, past a very popular brewery.
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