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.
Finding a place to park and get on the trail start was a challenge in itself. The start of the trail is at a busy intersection where there isn’t an obvious place to park your car. I ended up having to use the country trail map pdf and navigate the streets around it to find a decent entry point. The trail is still a work in progress and total distance end to end is about 8 miles. When you hit the end you go down a series of s turns to the bottom of the hill where the trail abrupt stops at a dead end. No warnings ahead that the trail stops cold. So then you have to bike all the way back up. The trail is very wide and asphalt seems new.
This wonderful trail is just far enough from the heavily populated Baltimore/Washington area that it is never crowded. Even on "busy" weekends you'll pass just a few other friendly folks who enjoy biking enough to make the trek to Hancock. For us "weird" recumbent trike riders there are a few teeth rattling tree roots pushing up the asphalt in places. Regular bikes with even modest suspension or fat tires will barely notice them. Enjoy this wonderful gem of a trail!
I parked today at the St. Mary's County Welcome Center and got on the trail near there, just a block away. There are only a few parking spaces there. More parking is available at the Northern Senior Center, a little further north (29655 Charlotte Hall Rd).
I rode 8 miles south on the trail, to John V. Baggett Park. The trail is smooth and quite wide for a bike trail. It's actually wide enough for a vehicle, and I did see one Amish buggy going down the trail. I didn't know that there were Amish communities in Maryland.
There are a couple of spot-a-pots along that section of the trail.
This is an excellent trail. Smooth pavement. Places to stop along the way for snacks or restaurants. Good scene scenery along the c&o canal. and can see the river in places. But the eastern end is next to highway 70 is is pretty noisy.
Tom Crotty and I rode the GAP 25-27 Aug 2017 from Pittsburgh (mile 150) to Cumberland (mile 0). I drove in and Tom flew in from Raleigh, NC. Approx. miles: Day1-60, Day2-45, Day3-45. We used a B&B in Connelsville and a B&B in Rockwood. The climb up to the Eastern Continental Divide during Day1, Day2, and half of Day3 was so gradual, it never worked us hard! Mile 150-128 were paved. The fine-crushed gravel trail was in excellent shape! The wild flowers were blooming and the rivers, that the GAP follows for about 80%, were flowing nicely. We stopped @ every major bridge crossing to soak in the beauty of the GAP! Because we rode in summer on Friday-Sunday, we had no trouble finding good food and ice for our water bottles. Warning - The celebratory beers for each end-of-day can only be purchased @ an eating establishment? About 730pm on Day3, we enjoyed a relaxing ride on AmTrak back to Pittsburg (it only made 1 stop @ Connelsville) - I easily biked back to 1st Ave Parking Lot where I had parked my truck. My bro, Al, and I rode 190miles of the KATY trail 3 days Aug 2016, and we had a great time; but the GAP impressed me as much or more. In my opinion, the GAP has more admirable beauty - more often! Although my goal is to ride 1-2 new rails-trails each year, Tom and I have discussed the possibility of returning in the Fall, just to ride the 2-days from Connelsville to Cumberland; I think those 2 days were the most impressive! Every Biker should set the GAP on their dream-trail list!
Many years ago I lived on Bragers Rd. The trail at that time was not paved & not maintained by the county. We used a tractor with a blade to plow out in the winter. Some of my family resides in one of the houses between Patuxent & Conway Roads. Reason I am mentioning is that the trail at that point is also a private driveway. They don't live in a McMansion, they live on a farm that has been in their family for 5 generations. Please know that they have to use the trail to get to their homes.
That all being said, I love the trail. My husband & I are getting back into casual bike riding. The trail is very level with only one spot that is a little challenging but we are getting better. It is amazing how different it is now. There were a lot of man hours that went into clearing the trail. We also love the new parking at Patuxent Road. Very convenient to head either North or South. Finally, a great project using tax money!
Great smooth trail that is well kept and full of wonderful scenery. Highly recommended.
Didn't realize that the C&D and the Castle trail combined to make the 17 mile trail. The sign near Schaefer's Canal House restaurant gave me the impression that all of it was the C&D. Even the map on the trail link site says the C&D is the 12 mile from Delaware City to Cheapeake City. This was my 152 ride (trail) in 47 states.
Wife and I had some great crab bisque and Maryland chowder at Kath's Crab House at the end of the trail in Delaware City.
I would not rate this a hike since it is paved. We choose this because my husband is in a shoulder sling and it had been raining hard the few days previous, so we needed on easy walk. Starting at the Avalon area, near Lost Lake, we completed the 2.2 mike trail each way. Along the trail there are interesting ruins from train bridges, the trail parallels an active train track for a lot of it. There are also the ruins of a flour mill and dam. The most fun for us were the swing bridges. One over the river that you can cross to go to a rest area and another at the end of the trail. They were fun as they move while your crossing. We went on a Sunday and there were a lot of people using the trail and camping, tubing, wading in the water along the trail. Will go again to hike some of the unsaved trails in the beautiful Patapsco Park.
Date: August, 2017. Riders 63 year old man and women. So that you know our skill level, my wife and I usually ride 15 – 20 miles without any problem. Often we ride the W&OD from route 28 north, the Custis trail, the Mount Vernon trail (both upper and lower), Four Mile Run…..
This trail is not what I expected after reading the description and reviews.
The Good: The trail is mostly covered with trees so the ride – even on a sunny day – is cool. There are many brooks and foliage as well as deer to see. It was not crowded on the Sunday afternoon when we went. There are many cross trails you can take and many parks along the way. The trail is very well marked and easy to follow. Steep grades are marked so rides riders can prepare. A great cardio workout.
The Bad: This trail is covered in asphalt, but it is not the smooth asphalt. The asphalt has tiny rocks in it providing a very bumpy ride. The trail has many parts where tree roots have broken the asphalt and the soil below is showing through – it has not been maintained. It has many hills and dales with some hills make “steep grade” – which was absolutely true – some were very difficult to get up. There are many blind curves.
I'm rating this for biking. If you're under the age of 70, and if you ride faster than 5 miles per hour, this trail is not for you. I ride a street (racing) bike, and this trail was a very bad experience for me. The "trail" is extremely bumpy throughout because of tree roots. It winds through the woods, which makes for beautiful scenery, but because of the twisty nature, it also has poor visibility. I turned a curve and almost ran into a woman and her child because they were stopped and completely blocking the trail. There are sections where you can see more than 20 feet, but overall, I would not ride this again. It was rough on my bike and on my rear.
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