All parks

184.5 miles of flat towpath from Georgetown to Cumberland — the quietly great runner's and cyclist's trail of the mid-Atlantic.

The federal half of the Catoctin ridge — quiet hardwood forest, four-vista ridgewalks (Wolf Rock, Chimney Rock, Thurmont Vista, Blue Ridge Summit), and the wooded buffer around Camp David. No entrance fee.

The state-park half of the Catoctin ridge, immediately south of NPS Catoctin Mountain Park across Route 77. Holds Maryland's tallest cascading waterfall (78 ft) and the Cat Rock quartzite outcrop. Service fee in summer.

Barrier island seashore where wild horses cross your path. Three short interpretive trails through dune, marsh, and loblolly pine. $25/vehicle 7-day pass. Pets are PROHIBITED on all three nature trails and in the backcountry — leashed dogs allowed only on the beach, paved roads, and in the campground.

The AT's 41-mile Maryland section rolls along the South Mountain ridge from Pen Mar to the Potomac. Modest elevation, classic ridgewalking, historic shelters.

Maryland's oldest state park — 32 miles of river gorge with waterfalls, swinging bridges, and the region's best mountain-biking network.

Sprawling linear park following the Gunpowder River from the Mason-Dixon line to the Bay. The Big Gunpowder gorge is Baltimore County hiking at its best.

A 1,282-ft monadnock in Frederick County held in trust for public use since 1946. Free access, short punchy climbs, sweeping Piedmont views.

Lake Habeeb in a mountain bowl off I-68 exit 50, seven miles east of Cumberland. The Lakeside Loop rings the 243-acre lake; the Evitt's Homesite Trail climbs the south flank of Evitts Mountain to the colonial-era homesite.

Swim/picnic park on the long Dans Mountain ridge, near Lonaconing — about 9 miles south of Frostburg, ~18 miles southwest of Cumberland by road. The 2023-built Lonacona Loop Trail is the park's real hiking-and-MTB attraction. (Dan's Rock Overlook to the north is a separate drive-up viewpoint, not trail-accessible from the park.)

Nearly 200,000 acres along the Blue Ridge, with 500+ miles of trails from gentle Skyline Drive overlooks to the brutal granite scramble up Old Rag.

Spectacular Potomac cataracts just 15 miles from DC. River Trail traverses the gorge rim; Difficult Run cuts down to Mather Gorge.

The largest protected natural area in the DC metro — 16,000 acres of mature Piedmont forest and 37 miles of trails, rarely crowded.

DC's 1,754-acre urban forest. The Valley and Western Ridge trails let you run or hike from Boundary Bridge to Pierce Mill without ever leaving the woods.

Roughly 30 miles of trail across northern Delaware's Piedmont forest, north of Newark. Combined with the contiguous PA preserve the system reaches ~37 miles. Multiple sub-areas including Carpenter Recreation Area and the Possum Hill multi-use tract.

Where the Shenandoah meets the Potomac — three-state-view ridges, Civil War history, and the Appalachian Trail running straight through town.