Find the top rated bike trails in North Laurel, whether you're looking for an easy short bike trail or a long bike trail, you'll find what you're looking for. Click on a bike trail below to find trail descriptions, trail maps, photos, and reviews.
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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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...
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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...
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...
Notice: As of July 2018, the western portion of the Grist Mill Trail is closed through spring 2019 for removal of the Bloede Dam. The eastern 1.5 miles of the trail remains open for all uses. See...
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,...
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...
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...
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 Carl Henn Millennium Trail is Rockville's bicycle beltway. The 10-mile trail creates a circle around the city, providing a safe and convenient way to get around town or enjoy a leisurely...
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...
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....
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...
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 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 Folly Lick Branch Trail begins in Herndon, a northern Virginia suburb. The paved pathway begins off Herndon Parkway and winds northeast along the Folly Lick Branch stream through a residential...
Oxon Run is the name of a tributary of the Potomac River in southeast DC, which lends its name to both the trail system and park in which the trail loop is found. The trail on both sides of the...
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...
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 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...
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 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 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 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...
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 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...
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 Stringfellow Road Sidepath runs for three miles through Chantilly and Centreville in Northern Virginia's Fairfax County. The asphalt and concrete trail connects multiple neighborhoods to various...
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 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 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...
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...
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 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....
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...
Maryland's Cross Island Trail spans Kent Island, east to west, in Queen Anne's County, providing multiple points of access to everything from libraries and schools to ball fields and the waterfront....
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...
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 first thing you may notice about the Trolly 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 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...
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 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...
This short sidepath parallels Herndon Parkway on the eastern edge of Herndon in Northern Virginia. Much of the trail is the width of a standard sidewalk, and it includes crosswalks and curb-cuts at...
Located just 18 miles south of our nation's capital, the Indian Head Rail Trail offers a unique natural outdoor experience, seemingly far removed from urban development and its associated chaotic...
The Stringfellow Road Sidepath runs for three miles through Chantilly and Centreville in Northern Virginia's Fairfax County. The asphalt and concrete trail connects multiple neighborhoods to various...
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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 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 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,...
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...
Notice: As of July 2018, the western portion of the Grist Mill Trail is closed through spring 2019 for removal of the Bloede Dam. The eastern 1.5 miles of the trail remains open for all uses. See...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
The Easton Rails to Trails runs from Dutchmans Lane in southern Easton, Maryland, to North Easton Parka large sports complexover 2.5 miles away. The trail opened in 1998 and has been a popular local...
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...
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...
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 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 parks at both ends of the trail where the parking lots are located also have fishing piers and charge $10 to park. I couldn't find any decent, free parking so I went to the Cross Island trail.
We rode the length of the trail from the I-70 Park & Ride to Carroll Park. For the first half of the trail, you could easily forget that you're in West Baltimore. The woods were beautiful, and the hills were perfectly manageable. The on-pavement markings kept us on the right trail and navigated us along the on-road segments (for the most part - more on that later). All-in-all, it was an enjoyable ride. Three issues of note, one small, one bigger and one huge. The small issue: the segment between Windsor Mill Road and Morris Drive is the only unpaved portion of the trail, so with all the recent rain, there were a lot of puddles and shallow mud. Nothing that a hybrid or MTB can't handle. Next, from Leon Day Park to Ellicott Driveway is nothing but inches-thick mud. There's evidence of flood damage in the trees, so this is most likely the result. Hopefully it'll dry up and go away with time. Now the huge problem: the trail is closed from Ellicott Driveway to just south of the Edmondson Ave overpass due to construction work on the bridge, and there is no marked detour. This is obviously a long-term project, so the city should have put something up other than "TRAIL CLOSED" signs.
We wound up going uphill to Franklintown Road, across Edmondson, then down to W Baltimore Street to get back to the trail. This detour only added another half-mile to the ride. If you're riding south-to-north, there's no warning about the closure until you come up on it a half-mile from the last road crossing at W Baltimore.
For those of you who like this trail, I have good news. They are adding a 1.5 mile extension to the east end of the trail at the Kent narrows bridge. This extension is almost all made of bridge/boardwalk but it is beautiful and runs over the water through wetlands giving a great view of the water. It is supposed to be finished sometime in may. They must have spend several million to add this extension. Can't wait to ride it, will make the trail total distance now about 6 miles.
It’s a really nice and fun trail that only has small hills. We go to the end of the trail in five minutes.
I just moved to Arlington and needed a place to practice riding my OneWheel. The trail provided a perfect venue for this. It runs along i66 so it is not particularly tranquil, but it certainly is convenient.
I rode this from the W&OD over to the Mt. Vernon Trail as part of a "loop" ride on a warmer than normal February day. This paved trail offers some challenging hills in the 4 mile ride that pretty much parallels I-66.
Little change in grade. Easy to get to - parking available at Wilmer Park. Not too busy for a run or bike ride.
I moved from Northern Virginia where the similar trails are so congested that they just aren’t enjoyable. I tried Three Notch Trail beginning at Baggett Park. During my two hour walk, I shared the trail with enough people to feel safe, but not so many to ruin the experience. Restrooms. Scenery of animals (horses, cows, goats, and a barn cat), woods, streams, and ruined barns. I’ll use this trail often.
I started riding this trail in 2007 and love it. You can learn a lot about handling your bike and shifting efficiently here. It is a nice mix of mild climbs, curves, and a couple 9fun!) straightaways. Do be careful on the curves as you depart the Dixon Observation area and the final bend by I-97 (sand and other riders), the decline along I-195, and the bend after the light rail crossing, as it is a public trail. And watch the traffic at the MD-176 Dorsey Road light as it can be tricky and the drivers are not always aware or courteous--safety first.
All that said, I am 15 minutes from BWI and it is an easy go to. For two more miles, avoid the craziness in the Dixon lot and park at the DOT HQ on New Ridge Road.
A lot of walkers/joggers use the trail, and from experience they do appreciate a warning when you are coming up behind them.
Of course the BWI trail links to the B & A Trail, and also passes W B & A Blvd. for more miles.
Rode from Williamsport MD upriver to Ft Frederick in 2018. Same potholes and other trail safety issues (only worse) that we saw on our first ride in 2014. Shame there is no biking group in the area to take over and maintain what could be a fantastic ride.
I won't ride this part of the trail again.
My partner and I walked the first section of the Sligo Creek Trail on New Year’s Day! We started near Arcola Elementary School, crossed University Ave and under the Beltway, and finished at Route 29. There is some nice signage along the way, including trail maps and some “interpretive trail” signs about wetlands, how rivers meander, etc. Since the trees were not leafed out it was easy to see the nearby houses in the neighborhood on one side and Sligo Parkway on the other. It was wonderful to follow the creek. Although the green buffer isn’t wide, I think it must be quite a different experience in full foliage, giving it a more “wooded” feeling.
At a moderate pace the first section took us about 1.5 hours, with a few stops to look at plants and trees, chat with other walkers, etc. It was a mild day but the trail was not crowded, I guess because folks weren’t up and out yet. We passed many other walkers and joggers, but saw very few bicyclists (other than tiny kids just learning how to ride), which was fine because we didn’t have to worry about getting mowed down.
When people say the “nicest part” of the trail is between University Ave. and New Hampshire I interpret that as code for the nicer, upper middle class neighborhoods in MoCo and corresponding parks budget. I’ve walked other trails in Prince Georges County (where I live) and don’t consider them less “nice” nor dangerous, though any trail walker needs to be alert in any case. The creek, of course, flows on its way and makes no distinction.
My goal is to do all of the Anacostia Tributary Trails (Sligo, Paint Branch, Northwest Branch) and eventually the main stem of the Anacostia down to Yards Park in DC.
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