THE PARKS...
Benjamin Banneker Historical Park
Phone - (410) 887-1081
Website - None
Admission Fee - None
Directions - Ellicott City, Baltimore County; the entrance is on Oella Avenue off Frederick Road (MD 144). Parking for the Trolley Trail is plentiful in a lot on Oella Aveue and at the western terminus of Edmundsen Avenue.
The Park
Molly Welsh, an English indentured servant, gained her freedom and began growing tobacco on this prop-erty around 1690. She soon bought two African slaves, freeing the one called “Banneky” and marrying him. Benjamin Banneker was the grandson of that union. He had gained a local reputation for mechanical and mathematical prowess when three Quaker brothers from Pennsylvania arrived in the 1770s to build a flour mill on the Patapsco River. The Ellicott brothers befriended Banneker and lent him books to fuel his isolated studies. In 1791 he left his one-room homestead for the only time in his life to help Andrew Ellicott survey the boundaries for the new capital city of Washington. Upon returning he published an annual almanac of his astronomical observations from 1792 to 1797. Thomas Jefferson lauded the self-taught farmer who is remembered as a pioneering African-American scientist. Baltimore County purchased Banneker’s former property in 1985 to establish a museum and 142-acre park.
The Walks
Grand canine hiking lies behind an unpromising little mulched trail that leads into the woods behind the picnic area at the back of the musuem. The wood chip trail is a short loop through a forest thick with a spicebush understory. A wide trail then shoots off the back of the loop and rolls downhill into a stream valley that eventually leaves the park to join the #9 Trolley Historic Trail. Turn right and the paved path curves uphill towards a residential area thinly veiled by border woods. To the left the trail slides downhill, following the Coopers Branch until reaching an overlook of Ellicott City.
Where The Paw Meets The Earth: Wood chips, leafy dirt and macadam
Workout For Your Dog - Hilly in the park; flat on the trolley line
Swimming - Coopers Branch is good for a cool splash in rocky pools but not sustained canine aquatics
Restrictions On Dogs - None
Something Extra
Near the Ellicott City terminus of the #9 Trolley Line is a railroad cut through solid rock that enables the train to reach town. A wooden boardwalk traverses this shady canyon; above cars rattle across a rickety iron bridge.
Cromwell Valley Park
Phone - (410) 887-2503
Website - http://www.bcpl.net/~cvpark/
Admission Fee - Yes
Directions - Baltimore, Baltimore County; on Cromwell Bridge Road (MD 567), north of Exit 29 of the Baltimore Beltway (I-695).
The Park
Cromwell Valley Park is the result of the melding of three former farm properties by Baltimore County in 1994. The land has been cultivated for nearly 300 years and a Christmas tree farm still operates here. Four iron mines once produced ore near the headwaters of Minebank Run and the valley evolved into a major producer of agricultural lime. The remains of kilns used to cook Cockeysville marble into lime powder are still visible in a hillside along the stream.
The Walks
Still a young park, Cromwell Valley has already become a favorite with Baltimore area dog walkers. The park’s 367 acres begin in a mile-wide riparian stream valley and taper across open fields and pastures until reaching upland forests. Six short marked trails, totalling about four miles, visit all corners of Cromwell Valley. Most of the walking is on wide former farm roads. For a flat, easy stroll walk the length of the out-and-back Minebank Run Trail for 1.2 miles. Although you are only yards from the stream the water is seldom seen but the shrubs and small trees that shelter the banks are a haven for songbirds. The Willow Grove Trail climbs steadily to the top of a ridge for a loop through woods filled with tall, straight yellow poplar trees.
Where The Paw Meets The Earth: Dirt and grass farm roads
Workout For Your Dog - Some good climbs on tap
Swimming - Minebank Run is a gurgling little flow of water that is good for cooling off on a hot day but little more
Restrictions On Dogs - None
Something Extra
The sport of orienteering began as a military training exercise in Scandinavian forests in the last decades of the 19th century. It came to America in 1967 at Valley Forge, Pennsylvania. The term “orienteering” comes from the military practice of orientation, finding ones way through unfamiliar ground with a “chart and compass.” Cromwell Valley has developed a permanent self-guided course for the practioners of the art. Pick up a topographical map in the office at Sherwood Farm and challenge your dog’s nose in a wayfinding contest.
Cylburn Arboretum
Phone - (410) 396-0180
Website - http://www.cylburnassociation.org/index.htm
Admission Fee - None
Directions - Baltimore, Baltimore City; in northwest part of the city at 4915 Greenspring Lane.
The Park
Jesse Tyson, heir to a family chrome fortune, began developing Cylburn estate in 1863 by starting construction on a gray stone Second Empire mansion. His home was not ready to live in until 1888 and Tyson, a lifelong bachelor then in his 60s, celebrated by taking a 19-year old wife, Edyth Johns. “I have the fairest wife, the fastest horses and the finest house in Maryland,” boasted Tyson. When he died 16 years later his wife carried on the family matrimonial tradition by marrying a younger man. When she died in 1942, husband Bruce Cotton sold the property to the city of Baltimore for a pittance so that the land would be used as a park. After housing neglected children for several years, the Cylburn Arboretum opened to the public in 1958.
The Walks
The 176 acres of Cylburn Arboretum’s grounds are visited by five loop trails. These passageways are wide and paw-friendly soft dirt or cedar mulch but you will still want to stray off the paths to read the labels of the many ornamental trees. Most of the walking is easy going along the top of a wooded ridge although the Woodland Trail does plunge down a hillside. Beware of the Witch-Hazel Trail which is rocky under paw as it lopes down the same hill. There are also several garden areas to explore off the trails. The feature trail at Cylburn, the Circle Trail, is enveloped by the relentless pounding of traffic on I-83 but it eventually fades into white noise.
Where The Paw Meets The Earth: Natural surface paths with cedar mulch
Workout For Your Dog - Easy going around the tree museum
Swimming - None
Restrictions On Dogs - None
Something Extra
The collection at Cylburn Arboretum features several Maryland Big Tree Champions including an Italian maple and a paperback maple. Two easy champions to see are on the lawn in the right front of the mansion: a castor aralia with large glossy leaves and an Amur maackia. Both trees are native to Asia and are resilient to pests. The maackia is a member of the pea family discovered by 19th century explorer Karlovich Maack along the Amur River between Siberia and China.
Double Rock Park
Phone - None
Website - None
Admission Fee - None
Directions - Parkville, Baltimore County; from I-695 take Exit 31 South (Harford Road) to Parkville. After 1/4 mile cross Putty Hill Avenue at the top of a hill and go downhill for 1/2 mile to Texas Avenue. Turn left and go one mile to the end at Glen Road. Cross road into park entrance.
The Park
The land that now contains the 102-acre Double Rock Park was part of a 3,000-acre tract first surveyed in 1735 for English overseers William Chetwynd and John Whitwick. It is believed the new owners were interested in exploiting the virgin forests that blanketed the hills they called Grindon. Served only by a very narrow gravel toll road known as the Baltimore and Harford Turnpike, settlement came slowly to the area. In 1874, city surveyor Simon Jonas Martinet purchased 35 acres of land about one mile west of present-day Double Rock Park which he named Parkville. On the heels of the suburban migration following World War II, the park was dedicated in 1947.
The Walks
A popular ball-playing and picnic park on the top of a hill, the active dog owner can find enchanting trails down below. The wide dirt paths are completely wooded with plenty of elevation changes throughout the trail system. The Yellow Trail, picked up to the right of the parking lot, works around the perimeter of the property and is joined at several junctions by the Red Trail which meanders down and around Stemmer’s Run. The stream was restored in 1997 and has a number of interesting nooks and crannies as it flows through the park. The blue-blazed Falls Trail starts down the stairs from the parking lot and follows a macadam path two-tenths of a mile to a small waterfall.
Where The Paw Meets The Earth: Wooded dirt paths
Workout For Your Dog - Rolling hills
Swimming - Stemmer’s Run is not deep enough for anything other than a refreshing splash
Restrictions On Dogs - None
Something Extra
The namesake rocks for Double Rock Park mark the entrance and are not worth a special trip; more intriguing are the rock perches on the hillside above the stream that make ideal rest stops for a tired dog.
Gunpowder Falls State Park-Belair Road
Phone - (410) 592-2897
Website - http://www.dnr.state.md.us/publiclands/central/gunpowder.html
Admission Fee - None
Directions - Kingsville, Baltimore County; the parking area and trailheads are on the northbound side of US 1 (Belair Road) after it crosses the Big Gunpowder Falls, about 5.4 miles north of the I-695 Beltway). Polar parking lots on the ends of the park are on the south side of the river on Harford Road (MD 147) and on Jones Road off the Pulaski Highway (US 40).
The Park
The fall line between the Piedmont and coastal plains occurs in this section of the park, just west of Route 40. Sloops could come up the Big Gunpowder Falls as far as this point to load shipments from the many mills operating upstream. A popular ferry once operated at Long Calm, the stretch of river west of today’s I-95. The Marquis de Lafayette camped here famously during the American Revolution. Today the park’s trails run for 8 miles along the Big Gunpowder Falls water chutes.
The Walks
The highlight for canine hikers here is the Sweathouse Branch Wildlands Area that provides some of the best loop trails in the Gunpowder park system. The outside loop links the Wildlands Trail (pink), the Stocksdale Trail (blue) and the Sweathouse Trail (yellow) and covers 5.1 miles. The healthy hill climbs and wide trails give a big feel to this walk as it meanders through differing forest types. The Lost Pond Trail runs in a 3.1-mile long lasso on its way to an abandoned mill pond. The yellow-blazed Sawmill Trail visits the ruins of the 1833 Carroll family sawmill. These trails require several stream crossings and are often muddy. For all-day hikers the Big Gunpowder Trail picks its way through the woods along the entire length of the river on the south bank, eventually reaching the last rapids of the Gunpowder.
Where The Paw Meets The Earth: Dirt trails with some rocky patches
Workout For Your Dog - Long trails with a few climbs
Swimming - The dam-controlled Big Gunpowder Falls is often only deep enough only for splashing
Restrictions On Dogs - None
Something Extra
In the center of the Big Gunpowder Falls, about 1.2 miles east of the parking lot, are the Pot Rocks. Best accessed from the Big Gunpowder Trail, you and the dog can walk out and examine the conical depressions created in the bed rock by swirling waters armed with millions of years worth of grinding cobbles. These unique potholes can be a foot or more deep.
Gunpowder Falls State Park-Hereford
Phone - (410) 592-2897
Website - http://www.dnr.state.md.us/publiclands/hereford.html
Admission Fee - None
Directions - Pasadena, Baltimore County; take Exit 27 off I-83 onto Mt. Carmel Road. The main lot is at the end of Bunker Hill Road off York Road. Other trailheads are on Mt. Carmel, York, Masemore, Falls and Big Falls roads.
The Park
Gunpowder Falls State Park embraces more than 17,000 acres of property in distinct tracts from the Maryland-Pennsylvania state line to the Chesapeake Bay. The Hereford Area on the Big Gunpowder River preserves 3,620 acres of pristine Maryland woodlands. Located where rivers tumble down the fall line of the Piedmont Plateau to the flat Coastal Plain, there was plenty of water power here to drive the industry of a young America. Ruins of these mills, including a gunpowder mill which exploded on the Panther Branch on July 7, 1874, can still be seen in the park.
The Walks
At Hereford the canine hiker can find any length or type of hike to set tails wagging. The marquee trail among 20 miles of hiking is the 7.1-mile Gunpowder South Trail that includes bites of trail more reminiscent of West Virginia than Baltimore, especially the western segment from Falls Road to Prettyboy Dam. While most of the narrow dirt trails at Hereford are easy on the paw, this waterside path is rocky and requires a fair amount of rock scrambling. Your reward is stunning views of the rugged gorge. Walking along the South Trail, and its companion North Trail on the opposite bank, is generally level as it follows the meanderings of the stream. For hearty climbers, look to the many side trails which can be wedded to the South Trail to form several loops of between one and two miles of length.
Where The Paw Meets The Earth: Rock-studded dirt
Workout For Your Dog - Moderate stretches mingled with climbs
Swimming - Plenty of great pools in the stream
Restrictions On Dogs - Dogs are not allowed in the campground
Something Extra
The Gunpowder South Trail continues past the park boundaries to the base of the Prettyboy Dam where you can watch water releases from the reservoir. This water blasts out from the bottom of the lake providing a steady supply of chilled water favored by trout and the Big Gunpowder Falls is a nationally recognized trout stream.
Gunpowder Falls State Park-Jerusalem Mill
Phone - (410) 557-7994
Website - http://www.dnr.state.md.us/publiclands/central/gunpowder.html
Admission Fee - None
Directions - Kingsville, Baltimore County; the park office is in Kingsville on Jerusalem Mill Road off US 1.
The Park
Established as a grain mill in 1772, Jerusalem Mill operated until 1961. Restoration began in 1985 and has expanded to include the entire Village of Jerusalem with tenant houses, smith shops, and a general store. Since 1995, the Jerusalem Mill has housed the administrative headquarters for all of sprawling Gunpowder Falls State Park.
The Walks
There are many miles of hiking along the Little Gunpowder Falls on both sides of park headquarters here. Upstream from Jerusalem Mill the white-blazed Little Gunpowder Trail is a bouncing ramble through the woods. The return trip on the linear trail can loop into the hillsides on blue-blazed side trails like the Quarry Trail. Downstream (cross the bridge by the Mill to pick up the trail) the route takes in more open fields as it leads to a loop around the Kingsville Athletic Fields. For a quick loop, stop at the Jericho Covered Bridge and return on the yellow-blazed horse trail.
Where The Paw Meets The Earth: Dirt trails
Workout For Your Dog - Long, easy-going trails
Swimming - The trails stay true to the whims of the Little Gunpowder Falls with many access points to the water
Restrictions On Dogs - None
Something Extra
Downstream from Jerusalem Mill about 1/2 mile is Jericho Covered Bridge, one of only six remaining covered bridges in Maryland and the only one of its kind in Baltimore and Harford counties. Old folk wisdom held that these bridges were built to resemble a barn to entice a wary horse across water but the bridges are covered simply to protect the expensive wooden decks. The ford at this point across the Little Gunpowder Falls dates to Colonial times; the bridge was constructed in 1865. Builder Thomas F. Forsyth used three truss types in its construction: the simple Multiple King Post; the horizontal Queen Post extension; and the Burr Arch, patented in 1804 by Theodore Burr, for stability. Renovated in 1981, the Jericho Covered Bridge still carries traffic.
Gunpowder Falls State Park-Pleasantville
Phone - (410) 557-7994
Website - http://www.dnr.state.md.us/publiclands/central/gunpowder.html
Admission Fee - None
Directions - Belair, Baltimore County; from Harford Road (MD 147), take Fork Road west and make a right on either Bottom Road or, quickly following, Pleasantville Road. Parking is along the street and more plentiful at Bottom Road than Pleasantville.
The Park
This isolated trail system on the Little Gunpowder Falls comes to canine hikers courtesy of the Maryland and Pennsylvania Railroad, known affectionately as the Ma & Pa. To create the railbed nineteenth century railroad engineers clawed their way up the steep river valley here levelling hillsides and filling ravines. That railbed of the abandoned line now makes up the bulk of the hiking at Pleasantville.
The Walks
There are three hikes at Pleasantville, including a candidate for the “Least-Traveled Path” in the Baltimore area - the Pleasantville Loop. This 1.5-mile trek begins with one of the steepest climbs in the Gunpowder Falls State Park system to reach the start of the loop. Virtually indiscernible as a trail in most parts, let the dog lead the way and keep an eye out for white blazes. The loop follows a creative series of 270-degree turns through the thick forest with only occasional glimpses of the river below before returning to that steep stem trail. The main hiking is across Pleasantville Road (a tricky crossing with a dog). Linear trails run along the river on both sides for two miles between Pleasantville and Bottom roads that can be combined for a loop across narrow bridges. The hike on the Baltimore County (white blazes) side is more topsy-turvy, tumbling in and out and around ravines; the Harford side (yellow blazes) uses more of the Ma & Pa trailbed, which crossed the river near the center of these trails, and is a bit tamer. It also adheres more closely to the flow of the river.
Where The Paw Meets The Earth: Wooded dirt paths
Workout For Your Dog - One steep climb
Swimming - Good, but there is not as much access to the river as might be expected due to high banks andvegetation
Restrictions On Dogs - None
Something Extra
The Baltimore region offers many chances to hike along the right-ofways of historic railroads, but perhaps none so exotic as here. It is easy to picture the slow-moving steam trains chugging through this lush valley as you amble along.
Gunpowder Falls State Park-Sweet Water
Phone - (410) 557-7994
Website - http://www.dnr.state.md.us/publiclands/central/gunpowder.html
Admission Fee - None
Directions - Jacksonville, Baltimore County; from Sweet Air Road (MD 145) turn onto Greene Road and make a left on Moores Road to park entrance.
The Park
Unlike other sections of Gunpowder Falls State Park, the water is not the star at Sweet Air. Only a short segment of the trail system follows the Little Gunpowder Falls, which flows thinly near its headwaters at this point. The attraction at Sweet Air is a patchwork of open fields (still under cultivation) and wooded landscapes on either side of the river.
The Walks
Sweet Air offers more than twelve miles of well-marked rambles on four main trails and several connector branches. The feature hike is the white-blazed Little Gunpowder Trail, serving up a buffet of Sweet Air splendor in the course of its 3.8 miles: fern-encrusted hillsides, upland farm fields and ultra-green forests. Short loops off this trail visit a quiet woodland pond and a small white pine plantation. Look for a cornucopia of trail surfaces - soft dirt, hard pack, wood chip and mown grass. A total exploration of Sweet Air will include the blue-blazed Boundary Trail which means wading through the Little Gunpowder to walk into Baltimore County. If this proves enjoyable, consider some of the rogue trails at Sweet Air near the water.
Where The Paw Meets The Earth: Natural surface trails throughout
Workout For Your Dog - Moderate canine hiking
Swimming - Gunpowder Falls is generally deep enough only for sustained splashing but the farm ponds on the property make for good dog paddling
Restrictions On Dogs - None
Something Extra
Rest stops have been set up along the trails that give Sweet Air the feel of an English manor park, a good place to come and forget about time. One of the best is at a pretty stretch of riverwalk where a sycamore tree has grown horizontally inches above the water and its branches are growing vertically like a grove of slender trees.
Hashawha Trails
Phone - (410) 848-2517
Website - http://ccgovernment.carr.org/ccg/hashawha/default.asp
Admission Fee - None
Directions - Westminster, Carroll County; go north on Route 97 and turn right on John Owings Road. Go 1.5 miles and make a left on Hashawha Road. The Nature Center is up the hill on the right.
The Park
Carroll County maintains nearly 8 acres of open space for every 100 residents and nearly 1900 of those acres are at the Union Mills Resorvoir Site. In 1972 the county purchased the land to establish the Bear Branch Nature Center and the surrounding Hashawha (an Indian term meaning “old fields”) Environmental Center trails.
The Walks
There is something for every canine hiking taste at the well-designed Hashawha trails. Out for a simple trot? The blue blazed Vista Trail is a 1.2-mile circuit on mostly level ground that takes in fields, woods and ponds. Toss in the Stream Trail (green blazes) and you add a restored log cabin, grassy meadows, the gurgling Bear Branch Creek and a boardwalk crossing over part of Lake Hashawha. This blue-green circuit totals a bit less than 3 miles. For longer hikes take to the wooded hills of the Wilderness Trail (yellow blazes) where four loops pile upon one another until reaching Big Pipe Creek. The complete outer loop brings 2.2 miles of rolling and sometimes rocky trails into your hiking day. Looking for an all-day hiking adventure? There are eight more miles of marked trails laid out by the Carroll County Equestrian Council, including the Kowomu Trail, beyond the Hashawha trails. These can also be accessed from their own parking lots. Don’t overlook the short interpretive Bear Path Trail behind the Nature Center that helps explain our everyday environment.
Where The Paw Meets The Earth: Natural surface; sometimes rocky
Workout For Your Dog - Mostly flat and easy with an occasional hill
Swimming - The streams at Hashawha provide a welcome splash on a hot day but aren’t deep enough for extended dog paddling
Restrictions On Dogs - None
Something Extra
Here is the chance for your curious dog to look a bald eagle in the eye. The Nature Center maintains a M.A.S.H. unit for raptors who have been injured too badly to be returned to the wild. The cages for eagles, kestrels, hawks, owls, turkey vultures and other recovering birds of prey are on the Vista Trail.
Leakin Park/Gwynn Falls Park
Phone - (410) 557-7994
Website - None
Admission Fee - None
Directions - Baltimore City; the entrance to Leakin Park is on Windsor Mill Road; a centralized parking location for both parks and the Gwynns Falls Trail is at the Winans Meadow Trailhead on Franklintown Road.
The Park
In 1922 J. Wilson Leakin, an attorney of means, died and gave Baltimore money from his rental properties to buy a large city park. Planners settled on the Gwynns Falls valley in western Baltimore, once the boundary of the Iroquoian and Algonquian speaking tribes. Much of the original land for the park when it opened in 1948 came from the estate of Thomas Winens which overlooked the Dead Run valley. Today Leakin Park and the adjoining Gwynns Falls Park, at 686 acres the largest public park in Baltimore, comprise over 1000 acres of recreational opportunity.
The Walks
Gwynns Falls is largely undeveloped so most of your hiking will be in Leakin Park. The trails are surprisingly lush for an urban park, with a thick understory thriving beneath towering trees. The primeval feeling of the park is so pervasive it was chosen as a filming site for the horror film Book of Shadows: Blair Witch 2. Remnants of the Winans estate are sprinkled throughout the park: the family home, an 1850s stone Victorian mansion called Crimea; a wedding chapel; a waterwheel; and ruins of a mock fort that may have been built during the Civil War. The first 4.5 miles of a planned 14-mile trail to the Inner Harbor, Gwynns Falls Trail, has been completed to Leon Day Park.
Where The Paw Meets The Earth: Rocky surfaces under paw
Workout For Your Dog - You bet, hearty hill climbs
Swimming - Dead Run is an aptly named trickle of a stream and access to the swift-flowing Gwynns Falls is limited
Restrictions On Dogs - None
Something Extra
Thomas Winans made his fortune building the Russian transcontinental railroad for Czar Nicholas I. He learned railroading from his father Ross who invented the swivel wheel truck that enabled trains to negotiate curves. Their railroad heritage is preserved at Leakin Park by the Chesapeake & Allegheny Live Steamers who maintain 3 miles of track for miniature steam train that carry passengers (sorry, no dogs) free of charge the second Sunday of every month.
Loch Raven Reservoir
Phone - (410) 795-6151
Website - None
Admission Fee - None
Directions - Sunnybrook, Baltimore County; accessed from Exit 27 of the Baltimore Beltway (I-695) on Dulaney Valley Road (MD 146). Some of the more popular parking areas can be found on Seminary Road, Providence Road, Morgan Mill Road at Loch Raven Road, the Dulaney Valley Road bridge, Warren Road and at the end of Pot Springs Road.
The Park
Robert Gilmor, son of a successful Baltimore merchant, bought 2,000 acres in the Gunpowder River valley with dreams of building a castle resembling those of his ancestral Scotland. His mansion Glen Ellen never quite accomplished his vision and the estate was sold to the city just before he died in 1883. A dam and water tunnel to funnel water into Baltimore were built in 1881 and enough property was acquired by the 1920s to raise the height of the dam and create the 10-mile long Loch Raven Reservoir - the name being a tip of the hat to Robert Gilmor’s beloved Scottish lochs.
The Walks
There is enough hiking on wide fire roads at Loch Raven to require days to complete. Throw in the ubiquitous side trails and it could take a dog’s life to see the entire watershed. All the trails through the buffer zone around the “loch” are heavily wooded with mature trees that help protect the reservoir’s water quality. Many of the trails track along high ridges with commanding views of the water, especially when the trees are not in leaf. A day of hiking Loch Raven with your dog will involve many hill climbs, some that will leave both human and dog panting. There are stream crossings and rough stretches of trail, especially through ravines.
Where The Paw Meets The Earth: Dirt paths
Workout For Your Dog - Plenty of hills and long trails
Swimming - Swimming and wading are not permitted in Loch Raven
Restrictions On Dogs - None
Something Extra
Simply having the opportunity to hike these scenic trails is the biggest bonus at Loch Raven. Most municipalities do not allow access to its reservoirs and in fact recreational use here is an on-going experiment. If any activity is judged to adversely affect the water supply (like dogwalking) for Loch Raven’s 1.8 million users, the privilege will be withdrawn.
Morgan Run Natural Environment Area
Phone - None
Website - None
Admission Fee - None
Directions - Westminster, Carroll County; south of town, just off MD 97. After a left on Bartholow Road, turn left on Jim Bowers Road after .1 mile and another immediate left on Ben Rose Lane to the parking lot at the end in .6 mile. The hiking and angler trails are in the north section at the end of Jim Bowers Road off Nicodemus Road from MD 97.
The Park
The land that would eventually be preserved as the Morgan Run Natural Environment Area was settled in the early 1700s when a stagecoach road (now Liberty Road) was established between Baltimore and Frederick. Carroll County leads Maryland in agricultural preservation and these 1,400 acres of natural land are slated to grow to more than 3,000 in the future.
The Walks
Step out of the car onto the gravel parking lot and this looks like a place to walk the dog. Wide grass trails cut into rolling fields dip and dart across the horizon into woodlands. There are many intersecting trails cut through the grass (sometimes high) to extend the canine hiking experience here. When the trails reach the wooded areas at the cold, clear waters of Morgan Run they continue to be a pawfriendly, hard-packed dirt. There are unconnected trails on either side of Morgan Run in the flood-plain. Although these are hiker-only trails they are narrow and can be over-grown; a special trip to try them is not recommended.
Where The Paw Meets The Earth: Wide, dirt paths through woods
Workout For Your Dog - Long hikes and many hills
Swimming - Morgan Run is a premier trout stream, especially in the winter, a modest five yards across in most places, it occasionally sports a canine swimming hole; a small pond can also sustain a doggie dip.
Restrictions On Dogs - None
Something Extra
Hiking with the dog and the horse? Carroll County offers several equestrian trails but none with the feeling of vast open spaces like Morgan Run.
Oregon Ridge Park
Phone - (410) 887-1815
Website - http://www.oregonridge.org/
Admission Fee - None
Directions - Cockeysville, Baltimore County; from I-83 take Exit 20B west on Shawan Road. After one mile make a left on Beaver Dam Road and immediately take right fork into the park.
The Park
An active mining community thrived at Oregon Ridge in the mid-19th century. Irish immigrants and emancipated slaves did most of the hard work pulling first Geothite, containing iron ore, and then highgrade Cockeysville marble from the hills. The iron was smelted in a furnace along Oregon Branch and the marble was used to build the United States Capitol and the Washington Monument. The Oregon Ridge Iron Works supported a company town of 220 workers and their families before the business died away in the 1870s. Today Oregon Ridge Park is Baltimore County’s largest park with more than 1000 acres of woods and meadows.
The Walks
Although you get under way with a pleasant stroll into the forest across the wooden bridge spanning the Grand Canyon of Oregon Ridge (an abandoned open pit mine), it doesn’t take long to realize you have signed on for a serious hike here. The Loggers Red Trail pulls you to the top of the ridge - elevated enough to launch hang gliders - and your pick of nine short trails. The full loop of the property leads south along the yellow trails and will add 4 stream crossings and serious hill climbs to your outing. All told there are 6 miles of trails at Oregon Ridge. All are wooded and almost uniformly wide and soft to the paw. The lone exception is the rocky slopes of the S. James Campbell Trail which are a trade-off for the scenic trekking in the ravine. Be sure to make your way to the half-mile Lake Trail, a rollicking romp above the green waters of the 45-foot deep Oregon Lake, a flooded old iron quarry.
Where The Paw Meets The Earth: Natural surface throughout
Workout For Your Dog - Some good climbs on long trails
Swimming - Baisman Run is simply for splashing but Ivy Pond is a delightful stop for a dip
Restrictions On Dogs - Dogs are not permitted in the beach area at Oregon Lake
Something Extra
An interpretive trail leads to exhibits on the bountiful natural resources that Oregon Ridge provided to settlers in the region: water, timber, iron, marble and rich farmland. The trail begins at recreated tenant houses of the Oregon Ridge Iron Works just below the Nature Center.
Patapsco Valley State Park
Phone - (410) 260-8835
Website - http://www.dnr.state.md.us/publiclands/central/patapscovalley.html
Admission Fee - Only in developed areas; no dogs allowed
Directions - Ellicott City, Baltimore County; several sections.
The Park
Maryland’s state park system began with the establishment of Patapsco State Forest Reserve in 1907. Today the park sprawls across 14,000 acres and four counties. The linear park traces the Patapsco River for 32 miles from southeastern Carroll County to tidewater in Baltimore Harbor.
The Walks
The widespread prohibitions against dogs in developed areas of Patapsco Valley State Park are a prime frustration for Maryland dog owners. But there is plenty of lemonade to be squeezed from the lemons served up by the State of Maryland. Four undeveloped areas are recommended by the park service to take the dog: Feezer’s Lane (gravel road on west side of Marriottsville Road just north of the bridge over North Branch of Patapsco River); Henryton Road (off MD 99 at the end of the road at the washed out bridge over South Branch Patapsco River); Daniels Area (at end of Daniels Road off Old Frederick Road, east of the intesection of Routes 29 and 99); Hilltop Road at Hilton Area (off Frederick Road, Md 144, between Catonsville and Ellicott City).
Where The Paw Meets The Earth: A variety of natural trails
Workout For Your Dog - Long trails with good moderate climbs
Swimming - There is great canine swimming in the Patapsco River in all four park areas, save Feezer’s Lane
Restrictions On Dogs - Dogs are not allowed in the Avalon, Orange Grove, Glen Artney, Hilton, Hollofield, Pickall and McKeldin day-use areas, as well as the Hilton campground. One camp loop for visitors with pets is available in the Hollofield campground.
Something Extra
When the trail crosses a section of Baltimore & Ohio track in the Henryton Road section look to the west at the Henryton Tunnel. Opened in 1850, it is the second-oldest tunnel in the world that remains in active railroad use. Look to the east and find a short concrete post by the side of the track. It is a vintage whistle post used to warn of the upcoming Marriottsville Road grade crossing around the bend. Few whistle posts survive today.
Piney Run Park
Phone - (410) 795-3274
Website - None
Admission Fee - Yes
Directions - Sykesville, Carroll County; From Exit 76 of I-70 take MD 97 North. After 5 miles look for Obrecht Road and make a right. Go 1 mile and make a left on White Rock Road. After another mile make a right on Martz Road and follow to park at end. To reach the equestrian trails, stay on White Rock Road to Liberty Road (MD 26). Make a right and another right on Martz Road and go 1 mile to parking area.
The Park
In 1975 Piney Run was dammed to provide drinking water for Sykesville. The resulting reservoir covers 298 acres and the surrounding park that grew up around the lake is another 200 acres.
The Walks
Piney Run Park features more than 5 miles of wooded lakeside trails. The marquee trail here is the 3.5-mile Inlet Trail but canine hikers may want to start explorations on the .7-mile Field Trail Loop, especially for early arrivers. Dogs are allowed on this trail off-leash and under voice control until 8:00 a.m. Despite its name, most of this trail is under groves of Norway Spruce, Scotch Pine and White Pine. The Field Trail also has the best access to the Piney Run shoreline of any of its four trails.The Inlet Trail is essentially a long lasso of a trail with three scenic paths intersecting the loopthat take in both cultivated farm fields and a variety of forest habitats. Near the trailhead the Inlet Trail connects to the Indian Trail loop and then the Lake Trail, both wooded paths less than 1/2 mile long. The Lake Trail is a flat, semi-arc trail that features snatches of pretty lakeviews through the trees; the Indian Trail is a narrower pick-your-way hike in the deciduous forest. Across the lake are nearly 4 miles of equestrian trails for hikers who prefer their trails a bit less groomed, but free of charge. The southern trail is a linear trail along the shoreline; the northern section features more loops. Again, these Piney Run trails are wooded.
Where The Paw Meets The Earth: Paw-friendly grass and soft dirt
Workout For Your Dog - Mostly easy going
Swimming - The trails seldom touch Piney Run Lake but when they do the dog paddling is excellent
Restrictions On Dogs - None
Something Extra
Nailed to a post along the Indian Trail is a dugout canoe. No longer seaworthy, the wooden canoe is still an unexpected reminder of how transportation used to take place at Piney Run before dams and power boats.
Prettyboy Reservoir
Phone - None
Website - None
Admission Fee - None
Directions - Middletown, Baltimore County; go west from Exit 31 off I-83. Middletown Road will lead to several roads with trailheads including Spooks Hill Road, Beckleysville Road and Gunpowder Road.
The Park
In 1775 William Hoffman, recently arrived from Frankfurt, Germany, hacked his way through the wilderness to the West Branch of Great Gunpowder Falls to build Maryland’s first paper mill. Hoffman’s Clipper Mill is said to have produced paper for Continental currency during the Revolution. The state’s paper industry thrived here for a century before giant mills in the West usurped its business. The river was dammed in 1933 to create Prettyboy Reservoir for a thirsty Baltimore. The colorful name survives from a local farmer’s favorite horse that perished in a nearby stream.
The Walks
Baltimore City controls 7,380 heavily timbered acres along 46 miles of shoreline in the Prettyboy watershed. Most of the trekking is done high above the water level and the reservoiris only rarely glimpsed. Instead, it is the richness of differing forest types and not lake views that is the enduring beauty of Prettyboy. The reservoir slopes have been regularly logged and the forests are in differing stages of succession.
Where The Paw Meets The Earth: Dirt and rocky fire roads mostly
Workout For Your Dog - Long climbs and descents
Swimming - Some splashing and dog paddling available in Gunpowder Falls but there are long stretches without water here
Restrictions On Dogs - None
Something Extra
The best hiking at Prettyboy is out of sight of the reservoir and along the Gunpowder Falls, accessed by pull-offs on Gunpowder Road. Here you’ll find walks through dense hemlock forests, none more special than the hike back in time to Hemlock Gorge. For this one, leave the fire roads behind and walk down a narrow dirt path on the northeast side of the bridge over the river. After crossing a tumbling stream the towering hemlocks begin in earnest, blocking out all other plants except the mosses clinging to the rock outcroppings on the steep slopes. When the river bends 90 degrees to the right, it serves up one lasting impression of Hemlock Gorge before the trail fades away. Scarcely, a half-mile long there is a good amount of rock scrambling and log-hopping for a fairly robust dog to follow the river.
Robert E. Lee Park
Phone - None
Website - None
Admission Fee - None
Directions - Baltimore County; just north of the city. The entrance to Robert E. Lee Park is on Lakeside Drive off Falls Road (MD 25), just north of Lake Avenue.
The Park
Lake Roland was created in 1862 as Baltimore’s first city water reservoir, eventually named for Roland Run, a feeder stream from the north that got its name from 17th-century settler Roland Thornberry. The water system was abandoned in 1915 due to silting in the lake. In the 1940s the 456-acre property was converted into a Baltimore city park (although outside the city limits) using funds bequeathed to the city for a statue honoring Confederate General Robert E. Lee.
The Walks
Robert E. Lee Park lacks a public entrance, has no signage, no amenities - in short, a perfect place to take a dog. And you will see more dogs per hour here than anywhere in Baltimore. Improvements will mean more visitation and more restrictions on dogs. Until that time, however, Robert E. Lee can provide just about any type of outing you want with your dog. Interested in a quick walk with a swim? Circle the old Lakeside Park Loop above the Lake Roland dam. Looking for a long, solitary hike? Cross the light rail line and explore a maze of hard-packed dirt trails through the woods. Some push into marshy areas along the lake for a bit of Baltimore’s best bird watching. Warblers, ducks, geese and herons ply the reed-choked wetlands. Desire a walk around a lake? Cut across the lake on a narrow path beside the rail line (not for skittery dogs - a passing train will be only a few unfenced feet from the trail) and pick up a rollercoaster lakeside path across Lake Roland. Your dog will delight in bounding up the short slopes in happy anticipation of what the other side holds.
Where The Paw Meets The Earth: Wooded dirt paths
Workout For Your Dog - Mostly level trotting
Swimming - There are many great places for a canine swim in Lake Roland on the dam side of the railroad bridge; across the tracks access to the lake is more limited; look for a dip in the wide, but shallow, Jones Falls over here.
Restrictions On Dogs - None
Something Extra
After a long hike at Lake Roland you can sit on top of the Greek Revival valve house completed in 1862 and look over the stone dam. Lake Roland was created after plugging up Jones Falls.
Rocks State Park
Phone - (410) 557-7994
Website - http://www.dnr.state.md.us/publiclands/central/rocks.html
Admission Fee - Yes, for picnic areas
Directions - Jarretsville, Harford County; the park office is in the Chrome Hill Road section, eight miles northwest of Bel Air on MD 24.
The Park
The trails through dense forests along the Deer Creek are on the first Maryland lands purchased specifically to become a state park, back in 1951. The area was originally settled by the Susqehannock Indians who staged ceremonial gatherings at the massive 190-foot rock outcroppings known as the King and Queen Seat. Today Rocks State Park encompasses 900 acres of land in three separate parcels.
The Walks
Chrome Hill Road. The trails at the signature section of Rocks State Park all lead eventually to the top of King and Queen Seat. The views of the lush forestland from the top of the rock pile are spectacular but the outcroppings are unfenced and great care is required for dogs near the cliffs. The White Trail is a sporty loop trail up and down and around the mountainous knob; it accounts for most of the four miles of trails at Chrome Hill Road. A low-lying Nature Trail loop is a short, pleasant walk opposite the Hills Grove Picnic Area on St. Clair Bridge Road. Falling Branch. In this 67-acre sanctuary a path leads to the base of Kilgore Falls, Maryland’s second-highest vertical waterfall. At the falls, trails cross to the base and climb to the top of the 30-foot downspout. Hidden Valley Natural Area. Quiet! That is what awaits you in this undeveloped tract of woods about five miles north of Rocks. Your
one-mile stroll along level ground beside Deer Creek will end at an idyllic spot beneath a jagged rock crag protecting dark pines. While you drink in the serenity your dog will enjoy the spa-like rapids in the shallow stream.
Where The Paw Meets The Earth: Natural surface dirt
Workout For Your Dog - Challenging climbs with narrow passages at times
Swimming - Plenty of access to Deer Creek from the parking lots but not the trails; at Kilgore Falls are wonderful pockets of water
Restrictions On Dogs - None
Something Extra
The chance to watch rock climbers tackle the namesake rock outcroppings of the King and Queen Seat which rule over the waters of the Deer Creek as they have for centuries.
Savage Park
Phone - (410) 313-4682
Website - http://www.co.ho.md.us/RAP/RAP_HoCoParksSavage.htm
Admission Fee - None
Directions - Savage, Howard County; west of US 1. To reach the Wincopin Trails, exit US 1 to Guilford Road west. Make a left on Vollmerhausen Road to parking lot on left past schools. The Savage Loop is in town at the end of Baltimore Street. Parking for the Savage Mill Trail is on Foundry Street.
The Park
Amos Williams and three brothers built a cotton works on the Patuxent River in 1822, naming it for John Savage, a director of the Bank of the United States who backed the project with $20,000. A major cloth producer for 125 years, the business declined rapidly after World War II due to a glut of canvas from returning war supplies and was gone by 1947. A visionary named Harry Heim bought the entire company town for $450,000 with dreams of a year-round Christmas village called Santa Heim, Merryland. Perhaps ahead of his time, the scheme suffered a quick death and the old mill was used mainly for warehouses until renovated for shops and offices and a park in 1988.
The Walks
Three unconnected areas surrounding the confluence of the Middle Patuxent and Little Patuxent rivers conspire to form Savage Park. Although the Wincopin Neck Trails are the prime destination of the canine hiker, you may want to warm up on the Savage Historic Mill Trail. This wide, level wooded path traces the boulder-pocked stream below the confluence for 3/4 of a mile. Up the road are the hilly River Trail and Lost Horse Trail behind the recreation area.
Where The Paw Meets The Earth: Most hiking is along wide pathways, save for rocky and narrow stretches near the Middle Patuxent
Workout For Your Dog - Some steep descents
Swimming - Pools in the falls are the prettiest canine swimming holes in the Baltimore region
Restrictions On Dogs - None
Something Extra
On Foundry Road, at the trailhead for the Historic Mill Trail, is the last remaining Bollman Truss bridge in the world. Your dog can trot across the first successful iron bridge used by railroads, patented by Wendell A. Bolman in 1852. This example, a National Historic Civil Engineering Landmark, originally carried traffic on the B&O main line but was disassembled and put into service here for Savage Mill in 1887.
Soldier’s Delight NEA
Phone - (410) 922-3044
Website - http://www.dnr.state.md.us/publiclands/central/soldiers.html
Admission Fee - None
Directions - Owings Mills, Baltimore County; from I-795 take Franklin Boulevard West to Church Road. Go right and left on Berrymans Lane and left on Deer Park Road to the Visitor Center on the right.
The Park
Soldiers Delight NEA’s 1900 acres are part of a prairie-like grassland that rests on igneous rock that is one of only three such formations in North America. Early settlers called the area of Blackjack Pines and Post Oaks “The Barrens” because its low nutrient level was unfriendly to cultivation. The distinctive green rock was named “serpentine” for its resemblance to a snake native to northern Italy. This arid soil has produced a landscape more common in the American West than suburban Baltimore. Here you will find rare insects, rocks and at least 39 endangered plant species.
The Walks
The thing that makes Soldiers Delight so unique and visually appealing - the serpentine barrens - does not do hiking dogs any favors. The green-tinted stone is embedded in probably half of the park’s seven miles of trails, jutting through the soil in hard ridges. So little soil accumulates in the barrens that the Maryland Geological Survey locates its seismic recording station here because such ready access to the bedrock makes it a simple matter to record vibrations during earthquakes. Soldiers Delight, so easy on the eye, can be tough on the paw. The trail system is essentially two loops connected at the Deer Park Road Overlook, While the terrain rolls up and down there are no tough climbs on these hikes. The woods are airy - and will become more so. The Virginia pines and Eastern Red Cedar you see are invasive species being removed by prescribed burning.
Where The Paw Meets The Earth: Some rocky trails
Workout For Your Dog - Long loops and hills will tire any dog
Swimming - The streams are rarely more than knee-high to a dogleg
Restrictions On Dogs - None
Something Extra
The first chromium mines in America were opened here in 1808 and from 1828 to 1850 just about every scrap of chrome in the world came from Soldiers Delight. Along the Choate Mine Trail you can stand in front of the entrance to the Choate Mine and look into the slanting holes kept open by half-timbered posts. So close the cool air wafting up from the mine will rustle your dog’s fur.