HIKING/BIKING


Local Trails

There are several local trails in the Patapsco Heritage Area. At the present time most of those trails are located in the Catonsville area.

The Number 8 Trolley Trail. The Trail follows a portion of the old Number 8 street car line ( which came out of Baltimore to Catonsville along Frederick Road ) from the vicinity of South Rolling and Frederick Roads across to Edmondson Avenue. The trail ends at Edmondson Avenue at the Catonsville Junction. The half mile long Trail is gravel at this time, but is expected to be paved in 2008. At the Catonsville Junction street car passengers had to transfer to the Number 9 Trolley to continue on to Ellicott City.

The Number 9 Trolley Trail. The Trail begins at the Catonsville Junction and follows designated bike shoulders westward along Edmondson Avenue for the first mile. At the end of Edmondson Avenue the Trail continues along a scenic two mile section of paved trail following Coopers Run to Oella/Ellicott City. A section of this trail is within Baltimore County's Benjamin Banneker Historic Park (click below for map of trails within this park).

map of Trails of Benjamin Banneker Historic Park (1.3 MB jpg)

The Catonsville Rail To Trail ( CRRT ). The CRRT follows along a two mile section of the old Catonsville Short Line Railroad from Charlestown to Catonsville. The one mile eastern section of the Trail from Charlestown to the Beltway has been cleared. A one half mile section of Trail has also been cleared on the western side of the Beltway. Plans are to complete the clearing and pave both sections of the Trail. A bridge across the Beltway is envisioned to connect the two sections of the Trail in the future.

Patapsco State Park Trails

There are several trail systems in and around the Patapsco Valley State Park; some of these are listed below.

Patapsco Heritage Trail

Grist Mill Trail

Patapsco State Park Trails

Mill Race Trail. The Mill Race Trail is a mile long dirt foot path along the levee from Union Dam towards Oella. The Trail is on the Baltimore County side of the Patapsco River across from the Hollofield area of the Patapsco Valley State Park. The Trail follows the longest mill race in the country. At the present time the Trail ends at the Park boundary just above Oella. Public access to the trail is only possible from the Rock Haven Trail.

Rock Haven Trail. The half mile Trail follows an abandoned section of the old Rock Haven Road which used to go through the Park. Gates block off both ends of the old road. The current trail surface is hard packed dirt and gravel. A spur trail goes down a steep incline to meet the Mill Race Trail.

Regional Trails

There are also several regional trail systems which connect to the Patapsco Valley trails; some of these are listed below.

Baltimore & Annapolis Trail

BWI Regional Trail System

East Coast Greenway

American Discovery Trail


Other Baltimore Area Trails

There are several other trail systems in and around Baltimore which do not presently connect to the Patapsco Heritage Area. However, efforts are being made to connect each of these trails to the BWI Regional Trail System.

The State of Maryland is in the process of developing a comprehensive statewide map of all the trails within the State. The link to this map system is www.mdot.maryland.gov/planning/trails/index.html.

Gwynns Falls Trail. A paved 15 mile hiking/biking trail from the eastern end of Interstate 70 to Baltimore's Inner Harbor.

Jones Falls Trail. An envisioned paved trail along the Interstate 83 corridor going north from Baltimore. Sections of the Trail have been completed. Additional sections are in various phases of design and construction.

The Northern Central Railroad Trail. The Trail runs along the old Northern Central Railroad line from Hunt Valley towards York, Pa. The 15 mile Trail has a crushed rock surface. At the Pennsylvania line it meets another trail which makes it a continuous trail to York, Pa.