Find the top rated atv trails in Maryland, whether you're looking for an easy short atv trail or a long atv trail, you'll find what you're looking for. Click on a atv trail below to find trail descriptions, trail maps, photos, and reviews.
My wife & I rode 22-miles from the John V. Baggett Park trailhead to Deborah Drive and back. The trail is very well maintained with a smooth consistent surface. The tree-lined southern half offers a bit more shade and is farther from the main highway. There are a dozen markers along the trail detailing the history of the railroad & local communities. All in all a very pleasant ride.
Out of town for a local event and car across this gem. Great riding trail.
This completes most of the Maryland portion with 27 miles. It ends at a long trestle crossing the C&O Canal & Potomac River into West Virginia. It seems WV has withdrawn from moving the project further. There is a 2 mile portion where you are detoured onto the canal towpath to avoid 2 tunnels which have endangered species. The State has done a great job with this new portion & this time of year (late May) the scent of Honeysuckle is phenomenal!!
Lots of broken asphalt due to tree roots mostly from upper half of Hancock.
Mostly shaded which is a good thing. only a few spots where the sun will hit you.
A must stop is at Hancock by the trail is a Restaurant called: Buddy Lou's. Well worth going for a mid stop ride. Good prices, large outdoor deck.
The new western extension to the Western Maryland Rail Trail is now open (May of 2019). It is an excellent ride with scenic views of the C&O Canal and the Potomac River. Also, you get to see how the Western Maryland RR was built into the side of the Potomac River valley with steep cliffs above the trail and down to the C&O Canal. You can see the western end of the Indigo Tunnel and the trail ends at the High Bridge over the Potomac River. The connections to the C&O Canal towpath are very nicely done. Thank you State of Maryland.
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.
Fantastic trip through wester Pennsylvania
Some friends and I run this regularly. The barn kitties always greet us along the way. The scenery is great and it feels safe with tons of foot traffic and houses along the way.
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.
Flat and 100% paved makes for a nice, smooth bike ride. The WMRT parallels the C&O Canal from Big Pool, west through Hancock (about the half-way point), before ending at Sideling Hill Creek. Construction continues on the western end until the trail will eventually extend to Little Orleans.
There are a few areas where you can cross over onto the C&O canal.
Hancock offers a variety of services. I've ridden from Hancock, west on two separate rides, and will return.
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