Find the top rated walking trails in Columbia, whether you're looking for an easy short walking trail or a long walking trail, you'll find what you're looking for. Click on a walking trail below to find trail descriptions, trail maps, photos, and reviews.
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 Northeast Branch Trail follows the levee along theyou guessed itNortheast Branch of the Anacostia River from the Lake Artemesia Natural Area to Baltimore Avenue/US 1 (south of Hyattsville). The...
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...
The Cub Run Stream Valley Trail offers a paved route meandering through Cub Run Stream Valley Park in the Northern Virginia suburb of Centreville. Though it's surrounded by residential neighborhoods,...
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 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...
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...
The Woodrow Wilson Bridge Trail provides a superb link between Alexandria, VA, and Maryland's National Harbor over the Potomac River. This well-used trail crosses on the up-river side of the bridge...
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 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 Braddock Road Sidepath parallels Braddock Road and New Braddock Road (State Route 620) between Centreville and Burke, two bedroom communities in Northern Virginia's Fairfax County. The trail...
Part of the Gettysburg area's growing trail network, the North Gettysburg Trail begins at the north end of the borough at the northwest corner of East Broadway and Old Harrisburg Road. The asphalt...
The John Overstreet Connector is a 1.5-mile trail segment that links the Baltimore & Annapolis Trail and BWI Trail. The shortbut vitaltrail is named after Overstreet, a retiree from Glen Burnie,...
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...
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...
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...
Central Maryland's WB&A Trail occupies the former Washington, Baltimore & Annapolis Electric Railway corridor—hence its name—for its entire route. The railroad operated electric commuter trains...
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 MacArthur Boulevard Bike Path follows the winding road through the communities of Bethesda and Potomac, just north of Washington, DC. Along the way, the path passes shops in Cabin John and Glen...
The Ox Road Sidepath is a paved trail that runs parallel to Ox Road/State Route 123 in Fairfax County. The trail runs from George Mason University's main Fairfax campus to just south of the former...
Black Hill Trail offers a wooded trek with gentle inclines through Black Hill Regional Park in Boyds, Maryland, just outside of Washington, DC. The trail is primarily paved, though a short section in...
The Burke Lake Loop Trail offers a nearly 5-mile route for a pleasant walk or bike, while enjoying the beautiful scenery around Burke Lake in Fairfax. Since the Burke Lake Loop Trail is within Burke...
The Grist Mill Trail at Patapsco Valley State Park course for 2.5 miles through the heavily wooded park between Ilchester Road and Lost Lake. The trail is gentle and wheelchair accessible. It passes...
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 Four Mile Run Trail traverses the Four Mile Run stream valley and has many twists and turns, not to mention steep sections (mercifully short). The trail more or less parallels the popular W&OD...
A winding line of asphalt meanders between Glenn Dale Park in Lanham to Annapolis Road. The trail is sheltered amongst the riparian woodland of Folly Branch. At the north end of the trail can be...
The West Ox Road Sidepath is a short paved trail along the west side of West Ox Road. The trail extends from the Oak Hill area of Fairfax County to southeastern Chantilly (near Fair Oaks Mall in...
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 developing South Shore Trail will one day stretch 14 miles between Annapolis and Odenton. It's also part of the larger East Coast Greenway, a widespread network connecting trails from Maine 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...
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...
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 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 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 easy ride:...
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...
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 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 Braddock Road Sidepath parallels Braddock Road and New Braddock Road (State Route 620) between Centreville and Burke, two bedroom communities in Northern Virginia's Fairfax County. The trail...
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 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...
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 Great American Rail-Trail highlights some of the country’s most iconic landmarks, well-known geography and storied history across a 3,700-miles-plus route between Washington and Washington....
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...
The Sudley Manor Drive Trail runs parallel to the southern 4.5 miles of its namesake road in western Prince William County. The trail services a number of the surrounding communities, such as Bristow...
Black Hill Trail offers a wooded trek with gentle inclines through Black Hill Regional Park in Boyds, Maryland, just outside of Washington, DC. The trail is primarily paved, though a short section in...
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...
Nearly a mile in length, the Canning House Run Trail extends from the entrance to the Perryville boat ramp south along the west side of Roundhouse Drive to the historic Rodgers Tavern at the...
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 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...
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...
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...
Following the Potomac River, the C&O Canal Towpath traverses the Chesapeake & Ohio Canal National Historical Park for 184.5 miles between Georgetown in Washington, D.C., and Cumberland, Maryland. For...
Burke VRE Trail lies within Pohick Stream Valley Park and provides an important commuting and recreational corridor, connecting a shopping center, residential neighborhoods, and a Virginia Railway...
The West Ox Road Sidepath is a short paved trail along the west side of West Ox Road. The trail extends from the Oak Hill area of Fairfax County to southeastern Chantilly (near Fair Oaks Mall in...
The Cross County Trail is a multi-use trail that generally follows the various stream valleys in Fairfax County, Virginia. Some sections are wheelchair/mobility scooter accessible but not all...
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...
Not to be confused with the nearby Gettysburg Inner Loop, the roughly 3-mile Gettysburg Trail is a paved walking trail that connects the Visitor Center to important locations on the battlefield, the...
Following the route of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad's Metropolitan Branch rail line, the Met Branch Trail is a busy urban rail-with-trail that shares a corridor with Metro's Red Line, MARC commuter...
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...
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...
Beautiful and easy trail around the lake. Scenery is beautiful too and not too busy.
Biked the northern end from PA state line into Maryland a few miles. The trail condition is all dirt, with ruts and bumps and is just in absolute deplorable condition. Buy some gravel Maryland and smooth the trail surface out. The trail has quite a grade and is all downhill from PA into Maryland and could be quite nice if the surface were improved.
Nice trail outside UMD. Great view of historic airport.
I ride this trail regularly. First of all you must have a hybrid, gravel or mountain bike to traverse several sections of gravel. My favorite section is between West Springfield and Route 50 because you pass by beautiful Lake Accotink.
If you are riding a bike the hills are tremendous for beginners or if you are looking for a casual ride. Trails are crowded so don’t go fast. Most people are maskless even in large groups. Go early. I have only done bottom half but will go back and include the Brewery as a stop!
Beautiful trail amongst the woods and along the stream.
Taking a “leisurely stroll” on a sunny morning may have it’s challenges, considering the often groups of 5, 10, 15 — or more — cyclists pedaling past you at 10 or 15 MPH. And that the cyclists lack bells or horns doesn’t help matters much. C’mon, cyclists... give “Ma and Pa Kettle” a break, will ‘ya?
A fine trail along the old Trolley bed. Better to park in Ellicott City end and walk up to Catonsville. Then it’s all downhill for the walk back. Plus a bakery half way up/down! https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trolley_Line_Number_9_Trail
Excellent place to road your bike and get In touch with nature
What a great trail. Lots of places to stop for lunch too. I will be back.
Much better over the weekend when you go on beach drive with new pavement!
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