Bike rides in Maryland

Explore 8 rail-trail, greenway and park ride options in Maryland, with route lengths, surfaces, access notes and starting locations. These are selected recreational outings, not an exhaustive trail inventory. Read each guide’s scope and access cautions before choosing a ride.

8 ride guides · alphabetical order

• B&A Trail: short return from Earleigh Heights

  Severna Park

  Up to 2 miles return · Out-and-back

  Paved main rail-trail

  Take the main B&A trail north toward Glen Burnie. Turn after one outward mile or before the first public-road crossing, barrier or uncomfortable rise, then retrace. Walk any initial station-lot / access-drive interface; do not use Earleigh Heights Road, Ritchie Highway or a Broadneck road connection to extend the ride.

• C&O Canal: short towpath return from Great Falls Tavern

  Potomac

  Up to 2 miles return · Out and back

  Improved gravel canal towpath; local surface varies

  Walk through the busy tavern area to the canal towpath. Ride upstream up to one mile and retrace, staying beside the canal. Do not ride the Olmsted Island overlook boardwalk or Billy Goat hiking trails.

• Cross Island Trail: short return from Macuum Creek

  Chester / Kent Island

  Up to 2 miles return · Out-and-back

  Paved main trail with possible timber bridge transitions

  Take the signed main Cross Island route west toward Terrapin Park. Turn after one outward mile or before the first public-road crossing, work barrier or uncomfortable bridge approach; retrace. Stay on the main trail, not natural Terrapin loops, marina drives, road shoulders or an eastern extension.

• Lake Artemesia: short ordinary-bicycle lakeside return

  College Park / Berwyn Heights

  Up to 1 mile return · Out-and-back

  Hard-surface main bicycle / pedestrian path

  Join the main bicycle/pedestrian lake path and take a short clockwise-direction outing, keeping the lake on your right. Turn after half an outward mile or before a road, barrier, unclear fork, fishing-pier spur or uncomfortable transition; retrace. Stay on ordinary bicycle-permitted main paths, not dirt nature tracks, piers or offsite Northeast Branch / airport routes.

• Three Notch Trail: short return from Baggett Park

  Laurel Grove / Mechanicsville

  Up to 2 miles return · Out-and-back

  Asphalt northern main rail-trail

  From Baggett Park follow the main paved trail north toward Mechanicsville / Charlotte Hall. Turn after one outward mile or before the first road crossing, work barrier or uncomfortable rise; retrace. Stay on the existing northern course; no MD 235 shoulder, dirt nature trail or southern commercial-site links.

• Torrey C. Brown — Sparks mile-four to mile-five return

  Sparks / Sparks Glencoe

  2.0 mi · Out and back

  Improved natural and crushed-stone rail trail; not all asphalt.

  This short outing uses the improved main rail trail north of Sparks, with approximately two miles on the mile-four to mile-five return course, plus an unmeasured walking approach from the parking area. It is a modest alternative to riding the full Maryland corridor.

• WB&A Trail: short return from Patuxent Road

  Odenton / Two Rivers

  Up to 2 miles return · Out-and-back

  Paved main rail-trail

  Take the main WB&A toward Odenton / Strawberry Lake Way, staying on the Anne Arundel side. Turn after one outward mile or before the first public road, barrier or uncomfortable bridge / ramp, then retrace. Do not take Phase IV spurs, cross the Patuxent River bridge or ride a road detour.

• Western Maryland Rail Trail — Big Pool before Licking Creek Bridge

  Big Pool

  About5miles main return plus parking walk · Out and back

  Paved eastern main trail; western ramps and unpaved bypass excluded.

  The eastern part of the Western Maryland Rail Trail offers an ordinary pedal-bike ride through the Potomac valley on an improved former railway. The manager describes easy grades suitable for families and new recreational riders. A March 2025 DNR report confirms completed resurfacing of 22.5 miles; that is useful evidence of completed work, rather than a promise about the condition of every section today.