Gwynns Falls Trail

(410) 396-0440
http://www.gwynnsfallstrail.org

Gywnns Falls Trail is a 22 mile continuous corridor of hiking and bicycling trails inside Baltimore, Maryland, named for the Gwynns Falls, whose course it follows, and the surrounding Gwynns Falls Leakin Park it passes through. It connects dozens of west and southwest Baltimore neighborhoods with parks, historical and cultural landmarks and the urban business district. 

The trail leads a circuitous route through its namesake park and southeast to downtown Baltimore.  The trail uses unique alignments, sidepaths on existing streets, and on-street sections. The trail consists of one 10.75-mile (17.30 km) mainline, plus a number of branches, including the Middle Branch Trail, the Hutton Trail, and the Dickeyville Trail. All of these trails carry signage designating them as the Gwynns Falls Trail; their individual names are designated via pavement markers designating their route. 

The entirety of the Middle Branch Trail, as well as the section of the mainline trail east of the Middle Branch Trail's northern terminus, are part of the East Coast Greenway. The greenway provides a fantastic off-road way for cyclists and pedestrians to access the city and urban nature corridors, including more than 2,000 acres of publicly owned land within the Gwynns Falls stream valley. 

The Gwynns Falls Trail generally follows the creek to the Middle Branch the Patapsco River and also Baltimore's Inner Harbor- it includes one traveling through the second largest wilderness woodland parks in the United States - the Gwynns Falls /Leakin park. The Gwynns Falls Trail hiker/biker route provides opportunities for access to the Dead Run and Gwynns Falls valley sections of the park as well as a connecting link to the Inner Harbor in downtown Baltimore. It can be accessed from trailhead parking lots at the I-70 terminus Park and Ride, Winans Meadow, Windsor Mill Road, Leon Day Park, and Frederick Avenue. 

There are miles of maintained, color-blazed, walking/hiking trails are available in the forested areas of the park. Principal access points for the trails are Winans Meadow (at the parking lot on Franklintown Road), the upland section of Leakin Park at Eagle Drive (parking is provided at the entrance, off Windsor Mill Road), and the Windsor Mill Road Trailhead (at the Gwynns Falls Trail parking lot). 

The Windsor Hills Conservation Trail provides a quiet woodland area for hiking, birding, and nature study. Its trailhead is across Windsor Mill Road from the Gwynns Falls Trail parking lot. 

An experienced guide directs a gentle hike through the park at 10 a.m. on Thursdays, with particular emphasis on historic features and nature observations.

Amenities