Find the top rated cross country skiing trails in Maryland, whether you're looking for an easy short cross country skiing trail or a long cross country skiing trail, you'll find what you're looking for. Click on a cross country skiing trail below to find trail descriptions, trail maps, photos, and reviews.
I rode this on a sunny day in October. The trail is pretty well maintained, but some tree roots in a few areas. It was kind of eerie that I had to ride through wooded areas and never saw another biker. Didn't feel safe riding the trail alone.
I really like this trail. It runs along the Henson Creek, and you can see the creek as you ride (though, not so much between Oxon Hill Rd and Indian Head Hwy).
The "first half" of the trail (between Temple Hills and Tucker) is the best portion. It is used more than the "second half." There is a spot in the "first-half" that is unpaved; this section has a tall metal fence that protects people from falling into the creek because of erosion.
The "second-half" (between Tucker Rd and Oxon Hill Rd) has more tree cover and a lot of leaves on the trail at certain spots. After you pass the neighborhood park (Tor Bryan Estates) heading west, the trail runs directly behind some suburban houses.
The "first-half" is the safer section to use. I rode this entire trail from end to end about 3 weeks ago. I ran into 5-7 people on the "first half ," in contrast to the "0" amount of people I passed on the "second half."
Overall, a nice trail with natural scenery; you might see a snake swimming in the creek or a heron.
Began this ride north of the trail at Railroad PA along the Heritage Trail that joins the Torrey (also named NCR). The day was brisk, sunny and dry. Trail conditions for a rail-trail were very good. The majority of the trail is tree-lined and shaded. At times the trail was 'two-track' but mostly sufficiently wide to ride two-abreast if traffic permitted. My ride was on a weekday, so traffic was light. The trail offers a lot of rail history if one is so inclined to enjoy in addition to the outdoors.
Great trail for multi-day ride with motels or camping, or single day rides. I had to find parking locations in order to ride several days, with Round trip rides of 40-60 miles/day (20-30 each way). A few confusing spots and a couple steep spots. Quite confusing in Pittsburgh, where markings are absent, and trail goes through the city streets, but lovely to arrive at Point State Park fountain. Cedar Creek Park especially lovely area, with camping (but gates lock at sundown so don't park late). Great long ride down gentle hill from Deal, MD (highest point on trail) to Cumberland. Long uphill ride back up 26 miles from Cumberland back to Deal. Beautiful trail.
Our group just used this little trail to get from the Conowingo Dam to Havre de Grace. I usually love rail trails whether paved or gravel, but this is the first one I've ever encountered that had rails still IN the trail, parallel to the path of travel. Our tandem went down with ugly results for the couple riding it. One of our most experienced cyclists (over 100k miles) came close to doing the same. If you're going to bike it, slow WAY down, and take off your sunglasses because by the time you see the rail, it will be too late.
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!
today I did the first time the B&A trail with my wife. We cycled starting up by the Baltimore Airport and traveled all the way down to the trail and not realizing that you can actually continue on a cross over into Annapolis. That said the trail has gentle gradients and for Monday was amazingly busy just Beware of the crowds but it is a quick SafeRide plenty of rest stops and a beautiful environment.
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!
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