aacounty.org/recparks/parks/trails/bandatrailpark.cfm or dnr.state.md.us/greenways/ba_trail.html
DIRECTIONS
The Annapolis trailhead is located off US 50 past the Severn River. Take Exit 27 and head south less than 0.25 mile toward the U.S. Naval Academy on MD 450. The parking lot for Jonas Green Park is on the right. Directions to the trail via an on-road bike lane are on the board near the entrance of the parking lot. The actual rail-trail begins at Boulters Way.
To reach the Glen Burnie trailhead, take US 50 east from Washington, D.C., to Exit 21, and follow I-97 north 42 miles. Take Exit 15 leading to MD 176 E/Dorsey Road. Continue on MD 176 for approximately 0.6 mile before turning right onto MD 648/Baltimore and Annapolis Blvd. At the first light (after 0.5 mile), take a right onto Crain Hwy. and then a right onto Central Ave. The parking lot is on the right and runs along the trail.
5 Cross Island Trail
County
Queen Anne’s
Endpoints
Terrapin Nature Park to Kent Narrows (Kent Island)
Mileage
6
Type
Rail-Trail
Roughness Index
1
Surface
Asphalt
Maryland’s Cross Island Trail spans Kent Island, east to west, in Queen Anne’s County, providing multiple points of access to everything from libraries and schools to ball fields and the waterfront. It’s an impressively signed, well-maintained, charming trail with some truly exceptional views.
Begin at Terrapin Nature Park, a parcel of protected land for birds and native plant life. Just past the nature area, to the left of the trail, is an old graveyard with fewer than a dozen cracked and weathered headstones tucked among the trees. If you can spot it, it’s worth a peek. From here, the trail quickly winds through neighborhoods and stands of white pines and hemlocks. At the first mile marker, you come to Old Love Point Park, a recreation area with baseball and soccer fields.
Get a taste of Chesapeake Bay on the Cross Island Trail.
Continuing along, the trail passes through farmlands, and you’ll be able to see a lighthouse in the distance that indicates how close you really are to the seashore. At mile 3.8, you will have to do a short back-road jog to reconnect with the trail, but a blue-painted bike lane makes this a simple transition. Back on the path, you’ll come to a long wooden bridge that provides the first unhindered view of the water. This lovely expanse is a gem on the Cross Island Trail.
To access the Chesapeake Exploration Center in Kent Narrows, head left onto Piney Narrows Road, which bends right toward the water. The center is located at the end of the road, to the left.
Or to continue along the trail, when you reach the marina, head uphill to cross over the causeway, MD 18/Main Street, where there is an extremely wide shoulder. Here, the trail becomes a series of sidewalks and access points to the waterfront and its restaurants and boat slips.
CONTACT: parksnrec.org
DIRECTIONS
To reach the start at Terrapin Nature Park, from Annapolis, take US 50 east to Exit 37 (the first exit after crossing the Chesapeake Bay Bridge). After 0.3 mile, turn left onto MD 8. Follow MD 8 0.4 mile to the Chesapeake Bay Business Park, and turn left. Follow the road to the right around the circle until you come to Terrapin Nature Park. There is ample parking, and portable toilets are at the trailhead. Note that you must purchase and display a Queen Anne’s County Beach Permit to leave your vehicle in the park’s parking lot.
To reach Kent Narrows, take US 50 east from Annapolis. Take Exit 41/MD 18 E/Main St. Follow MD 18 for just under 1 mile (you’ll pass over Kent Narrows on a bridge), and then turn left onto Kent Narrows Road. Turn left onto Narrows Road. Parking is available under the bridge.
6 Gold Mine Loop Trail
County
Montgomery
Endpoints
Great Falls Tavern Visitor Center (Potomac)
Mileage
2.5
Type
Rail-Trail
Roughness Index
2
Surface
Dirt
Tucked in the meandering, wooded hills of the sprawling yet understated multimillion-dollar estates of Great Falls, just outside Washington, D.C., is the Chesapeake & Ohio Canal National Historical Park. Home to the already famous C&O Canal Towpath, the Great Falls section of the park also hosts this unique rail-trail circuit.
The trail begins at the hillside just beyond the historic, early 1800s Great Falls Tavern Visitor Center. Start at the well-marked post and head up a series of stairs that are cut into the hillside and reinforced with logs. This is not your traditional rail-trail. Only part of it runs on the former railroad corridor, so prepare for some gentle uphill climbs. (The trail is off-limits to bicycles.)
The path, marked by a blue blaze, immediately takes you into the surrounding airy forest. After less than a mile, you reach the beginning of the actual loop. Take note: Detours on yellow-blazed spur trails along the route take you to the Maryland Mine ruins, where gold was processed from 1867 to 1939. Upon reaching the start of the loop, go either left or right; both ways will take you back to this starting point.
Even little ones enjoy exploring the woodlands along this route.
