Find the top rated trails in Essex, whether you're looking an easy walking path or a long bike trail, you'll find what you're looking for. Click on a trail below to find trail descriptions, trail maps, photos, and reviews.
_0_st.jpg)
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...
Located in the northwest section of Washington, D.C., Rock Creek Park is the oldest and largest urban park in the national park system. Established in 1890, Rock Creek offers more than 1,700 acres of...
Northwest Lancaster County River Trail stretches nearly 13 miles along the east bank of the Susquehanna River between Falmouth (near the Dauphin County line) and Columbia. Along the way, you can...
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 Sligo Creek Trail parallels the eponymous waterway from its confluence with the Northwest Branch in Hyattsville to just north of its origin in Wheaton in Montgomery County. Along the way, a number...
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 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,...
_66939_sc.jpg)
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...
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 trail covers a half mile and is surfaced...
Maryland's Ben Cardin C&D Canal Recreational Trail links to Delaware's Michael Castle Trail; both run along the north bank of the Chesapeake and Delaware (C&D) Canal and meet at the state line. The...
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 Chesapeake & Ohio Canal National Historical Park (a.k.a. C&O Canal Towpath) follows the route of the Potomac River for 184.5 miles between Georgetown in Washington, D.C., and Cumberland, Maryland....
The Northeast Branch Trail follows the levee along the—you guessed it—Northeast Branch of the Anacostia River from the Lake Artemesia Natural Area to Baltimore Avenue/US 1 (south of Hyattsville). The...
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...
The St. Michaels Nature Trail skirts the western edge of the scenic town of St. Michaels, Maryland, which was built on the site of a 17th century Anglican church that eventually lent the settlement...
The MA & PA Heritage Trail is found in two segments (about 2 miles apart) through the wooded parks of Maryland's Bel Air and Forest Hill communities. The folksy sounding name actually stands for the...
Part of Manheim Township's growing network of multi-use greenways, the Manheim Township Bikeway begins off Kissel Hill Road, immediately north of the intersection with Landis Valley Road. Heading...
Baltimore’s Stony Run Trail follows an old Maryland and Pennsylvania Railroad line through nearly 3 miles of wooded stream valleys and small parks, providing a quiet escape from the hustle and bustle...
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...
Central Maryland's WB&A Trail occupies an abandoned Washington, Baltimore & Annapolis Electric Railway corridor—hence its name—for its entire route. The railroad operated electric commuter trains...
The St. Michaels Nature Trail skirts the western edge of the scenic town of St. Michaels, Maryland, which was built on the site of a 17th century Anglican church that eventually lent the settlement...
The Henson Creek Trail is located in the southwestern portion of Prince George's County, Maryland, and connects the growing District of Columbia suburbs of Fort Washington and Oxon Hill with the...
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 trail covers a half mile and is surfaced...
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...
Cameron Station Linear Park is the quintessential neighborhood trail. Located in Alexandria, a suburb of Washington, D.C., it offers a pleasant paved pathway frequented by joggers, dog walkers,...
The Pomeroy and Newark Rail Trail offers urban connections to the University of Delaware campus, Newark Shopping Center, DART Transit Hub and the downtown area, as well as the recreational amenities...
_0_sc.jpg)
Maryland's Indian Creek Trail is one of the shorter components of the Anacostia Tributary Trail System, but it serves as a vital link between the town of Berwyn Heights, Maryland, and scenic Lake...
The Creek Road Trail extends north from a connection with the Pomeroy and Newark Rail Trail in White Clay Creek State Park. The scenic park features over 37 miles of hiking trails through wooded...
Note: Per the York County website, "A section of the Heritage Rail Trail County Park will be closed starting March 21, 2016. The closure will begin at the Colonial Courthouse in York, south to...
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 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...
Central Maryland's WB&A Trail occupies an abandoned Washington, Baltimore & Annapolis Electric Railway corridor—hence its name—for its entire route. The railroad operated electric commuter trains...
The MA & PA Heritage Trail is found in two segments (about 2 miles apart) through the wooded parks of Maryland's Bel Air and Forest Hill communities. The folksy sounding name actually stands for the...
The Easton Rails to Trails runs from Dutchmans Lane in southern Easton, Maryland, to North Easton Park—a large sports complex—over 2.5 miles away. The trail opened in 1998 and has been a popular local...
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...
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...
Washington, D.C.'s Fort Circle Park Hiker-Biker Trail links some of the District's dozens of Civil War era forts (now national parks) that were built to defend the city from attack by the southern...
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...
_139327_sc.jpg)
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 Gwynns Falls Trail is a 15-mile continuous corridor connecting dozens of west and southwest Baltimore neighborhoods with parks, historical and cultural landmarks and the urban business district....
The Anacostia Riverwalk Trail is an important component of the transportation network in the nation's capital and a priority project under President Obama's America's Great Outdoors initiative. The...
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...
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 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 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...
Located in the northwest section of Washington, D.C., Rock Creek Park is the oldest and largest urban park in the national park system. Established in 1890, Rock Creek offers more than 1,700 acres of...
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...
<p>The Long Branch Trail is a neighborhood trail tracing the Long Branch Creek beginning at its confluence with Sligo Creek in Takoma Park, to Piney Branch Road in Long Branch. The trail is an...
Maryland's Ben Cardin C&D Canal Recreational Trail links to Delaware's Michael Castle Trail; both run along the north bank of the Chesapeake and Delaware (C&D) Canal and meet at the state line. The...
Cameron Station Linear Park is the quintessential neighborhood trail. Located in Alexandria, a suburb of Washington, D.C., it offers a pleasant paved pathway frequented by joggers, dog walkers,...
Providing an important urban link between the Crystal City area of Arlington and the western edge of historical Alexandria, the Potomac Yard Trail is a huge boon to the area for commuting as well as...
_66942_sc.jpg)
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...
Tucked in the meandering, wooded hills of the sprawling yet understated multimillion-dollar estates of Great Falls, just outside Washington, D.C., is the Chesapeake & Ohio Canal National Historic...
The Hanover Trolley Trail is being built along the 16-mile corridor of the York-Hanover Trolley Line that ran between the two cities in the early 1900s. Currently, about a quarter of that distance is...
The Matthew Henson Trail runs along a paved surface (rough in places from tree roots) through a narrow band of forested green space between the Rock Creek Trail just south of Veirs Road and Alderton...
The Gwynns Falls Trail is a 15-mile continuous corridor connecting dozens of west and southwest Baltimore neighborhoods with parks, historical and cultural landmarks and the urban business district....
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 Easton Rails to Trails runs from Dutchmans Lane in southern Easton, Maryland, to North Easton Park—a large sports complex—over 2.5 miles away. The trail opened in 1998 and has been a popular local...
The St. Michaels Nature Trail skirts the western edge of the scenic town of St. Michaels, Maryland, which was built on the site of a 17th century Anglican church that eventually lent the settlement...
The Suitland Parkway trail is a short paved multi-use path that runs adjacent to Suitland Parkway in SE D.C. to the border with Maryland. Proposed construction may extend the trail to the Branch...
This is my primary non-road trail. It's great to get away from cars on a 17 mile asphalt trail. Be on the lookout for loose gravel on the trail that can cause flats.
As others have said, there is limited shade. So, bring water. There are places to eat at both ends of the trial. The marina you bike past, +/- 20 min. from Chesapeake City (western end), now has a newly renovated restaurant with a great beer selection! It's almost like canal biking in Belgium. When the trial ends on the eastern side, keep going until you reach the cute little downtown of Delaware City.
Great job getting these trails connected.
This is my primary non-road trail. It's great to get away from cars on a 17 mile asphalt trail. Be on the lookout for loose gravel on the trail that can cause flats.
As others have said, there is limited shade. So, bring water. There are places to eat at both ends of the trial. The marina you bike past, +/- 20 min. from Chesapeake City (western end), now has a newly renovated restaurant with a great beer selection! It's almost like canal biking in Belgium. When the trial ends on the eastern side, keep going until you reach the cute little downtown of Delaware City.
Great job getting these trails connected.
Rode this popular trial on a sunny Sunday afternoon...walkers, kids, and dogs. Paved trail is tree lined and curvy. Good and bad. My road bike liked the pavement. There were so many trees, I did not even miss sun tan lotion. But, some of the curves were tight/blind. Due to the curves and people traffic, I rarely got the bike over 20 mph. Several places to stop and eat/drink along the trial. With it's nice views, take a slow bike and a friend.
Nice, flat, well maintained trail. Once you get into the trail (first mile is kind of industrial) it is lovely. Unless you are walking/running for fitness this is not a nice place to walk with others though. The printed rule on the map is: stay to the right and announce when passing. Out of the 300+ bikers that passed us, one announced his group, and one screamed at us to get over to the right. No others made their presence known as they came up behind us and whizzed past. A majority buzzed us by at a foot or less. You can't hear bikers coming, so you have to constantly have your head on a swivel and walk only in single file. Quite a few bikers would come up right behind and then quickly swerve out right behind you, as if to make it known that you are an inconvenience to them. If there were bikers coming the other way, the bikers going our way would squeeze in between and force us off the trail. As stated before, when we switched sides for our safety so we could at least see the bikers coming, we were screamed at that "get over to the right- the RULE is stay right..." by a biker. You know, the rule that has in the same sentence "announce when passing".
So, if you are a biker, don't be a jerk and share the 'road' and this is a very nice trail. If you are looking for a nice place to stroll and get some exercise, find somewhere else because the prevailing attitude here is that you are an inconvenient roadblock that needs to be taught a lesson, and it's not worth it to have to be insanely vigilant for your own safety the entire time you're walking - that just makes for a terrible walk.
Love this trail! It offers a pleasant and easy walk from the Braddock Metro station into a quiet residential neighborhood. We take it up to E. Monroe Avenue, where there's a YMCA, community park, grocery store, and other shops. On this stretch, my young daughter enjoys the playground at E. Glendale Avenue and the exercise stations along the route.
A small 10 mile loop around Rockville on an Urban trail.
A great ride for the fourth of July. I appreciated all the other reviews and took their advice. I thought I would add a combination of the reviews that helped me, along with some of my own additional notes.
I took the advice of dcar777 and started our ride in Bainbridge and headed towards Marietta. The entire ride was paved and smooth for my entire family to enjoy.
I would agree with jerandvic about the psedo-Tour De France riders. They fly on the trail, which would be okay if they used bike riding etiquette to let people know they were going to pass. Nonetheless, there were far more family riders than those club riders who used appropriate etiquette, but its still something to keep an eye out for.
This was the first big ride that my 7 year old son completed and he did an outstanding job on our 15 mile ride. To help keep his interest we did a little geocaching (https://youtu.be/1YTqitVK-Ts). I've attached a short youtube video that explains what geocaching is in the most basic form. I highly recommend doing something like this to keep the kids interest (or the kids at heart interest; it's an adult friendly activity too). There are several geocache along the trail to be found.
The last bit of information that I would add is a nice pizza shop that we stop at for lunch along the way. Parma Pizza and Grill has outstanding pie's, friendly service and is just off the trail in Marietta (http://places.singleplatform.com/parma-pizza-11/menu?ref=google).
Our family likes to try different trails, but we would have no problem going back to this trail again. Hope this information helps, happy riding!
This was our first trip to New Freedom, PA and our first ride on the Brown. The scenery is wonderful and the natural canopy was wonderful on this 90 degree day. I'm not sure why the trail guide has you go to a entry point without parking while there is plenty of parking at the train station less than a mile away. Plus you have the opportunity to see or ride the train which is a fun draw to the area. As for my wish list, I wish the surface was wider and more developed. The guide says crushed stone but it is mostly packed dirt with two tracks---one in each direction. Every now and then we had the typical crazies acting like they were in a race. With the uncertain surface and its narrow access, it was dangerous from time to time. There is no food along the trail except for ice cream bars at Monkton station and a few miles down trail from New Freedom where a homeowner has a little stand with snacks and wa Yer. Lastly, there is a tube float place in Monkton and 100s of people were walking 2 miles up the trail with the tubes. They spanned the trail and wouldn't move for cyclist. Scary and dangerous. While we saw deer, turtles, a snake and a crane, our overall enjoyment was somewhat dampened by the floaters and the lack of food on the trail.
I've done this trail twice now. Easy to find, take Jackson Road off of New Hampshire and you end up in the park. I parked across from the pool and the other time by the tennis courts. The trail starts at the end of Jackson Road, but I road around by the playground and around the lake a bit before starting the trail . You start out mostly downhill and get to a pretty steep hill about halfway through. There's one more hill till you get to Fairland. Then the way back is a bit easier with a few hills and the last bit of trail before you get back to Jackson is uphill .
I did Mapmyrun and the mileage from the trail and around the lake was closer to 5 miles, FYI.
What I like best is the shady 100% paved roads and the three historical markers you can stop and read. It tells you about the mills that used to be here. Not gonna say anymore, come out and read them yourself!
There are a few people on the trail on a weekend morning. Not sure what it's like after work hours during the week.
Nice asphalt which is always a pleasure. Some spots a little grown over but not anything to affect the rating. Do your homework before you go as where to park. The link for directions on TrailLink took me to the wrong spot-there are other points of entrance as well, but anyone is nice-except the one I went to first. Not nearly as much river view as I thought. A few places to take a look, but mostly farm and "woods". Nice. I would do it again.
Road a seven mile section of the Heritage Rail Trail (miles 15-8) today and was really impressed. It was my first time on this level and scenic trail. Lots to see and the trees provided great shade throughout the trip. It was a little busy in sections but overall it was an easy ride (ideal for my 10 year old). Definitely recommend this for people with kids who want a trail that is well-kept and thoroughly marked.
TrailLink is a free service provided by Rails-to-Trails Conservancy (a non-profit) and we need your support!
_0_st.jpg)
_66939_st.jpg)
_66942_st.jpg)
_133481_st.jpg)
_139327_st.jpg)
