Spriggs Farm Park
Park
44 acres1.7 mi of trail
Spriggs Farm Trail (red)Melon Patch Trail (green)Connector (white)
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Photo: Famartin · CC BY-SA 4.0BOutdoors
Outdoors in Arnold
Arnold has 21 miles of mapped trails, 1.9 for every square mile of land
The biggest trail networks: Spriggs Farm Park (1.7 mi), Mago Vista Park (0.5 mi). 75% of residents live within a half mile of a park. 137 acres are parks and preserves, 5.6 per 1,000 residents.
Ahead of 62% of U.S. towns · #161 of 261 in Maryland. What drives it
Conserved land
3%
203 acres · of 10.8 sq mi of land
Trails
21 mi
1.9 per sq mi of land
Park land
137 ac
5.6 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
75%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
8.7 mi
0.6 mi lanes · 7.8 mi paths
Lakes & rivers
5
2 beaches · 4 boat launches
What kind of outdoors town is Arnold?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Arnold have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Arnold is ahead of 62% of U.S. towns, #161 of 261 in Maryland. Trail miles hold the grade up; park acres per resident pull it down.
B
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Arnold’s overall grade.
Conserved land3% of the land · typical MD town 9% · U.S. 4%B−Trails1.9 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (21 mi) · MD 0.5 · U.S. 0.4APark land5.6 acres of park per 1,000 residents (137 acres) · MD 9 · U.S. 13CParks close to home75% of residents within a half mile of a park · MD 87% · U.S. 72%B
All U.S. towns we grade (21,298)Ahead of 62%
LessMore
Maryland towns of 2,500+ (261)Ahead of 38%
Maryland towns conserve more land than most (a typical one, 9%; the U.S., 4%), so Arnold’s 3% is ahead of 12% of Maryland towns, while its trails per square mile lead 88% of them.
Water is 20% of Arnold’s area (3 of 14 square miles), so every share here is of land; over land and water together, the conserved share would read 2%.
How sure. Graded on any three of the four inputs instead, the letter would range from C+ to A−. Trails and many small parks come from OpenStreetMap, mapped by volunteers, so coverage varies from town to town; the half mile is a straight line from each census block, so a river or highway in the way isn’t counted against it.
PAD-US, OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors), Census 2025 Gazetteer and 2020 blocks; details in Sources below. How TownRatings grades the outdoors →
The map
Conserved land, trails & bike routes
Tap a number to zoom to a park. Tap a layer to hide it.
Easements protect land from building but are usually private.© OpenStreetMap contributors · USGS PAD-US
Places to walk
Pick a walk
The longest trail network is Spriggs Farm Park, with 1.7 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
All 7 parks & preserves
Spriggs Farm Park44 acres · 1.7 mi of trail
DirectionsMago Vista Park8 acres · 0.5 mi of trail
DirectionsTwin Oaks Park10 acres · 0.2 mi of trail
DirectionsBelvedere Park6 acres · 0.1 mi of trail
DirectionsBaltimore & Annapolis Trail28 acres
DirectionsArnold Park19 acres
DirectionsBelleview Estates HOA12 acres
Who protects it
203 conserved acres
3% of Arnold’s land. Water is left out: Arnold has 10.8 square miles of land and 2.7 of water, so the share counts land only. Who manages Arnold’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
County239 ac
Other or Unknown Local Government20 ac
Not recorded20 ac
Local Park · 98 acForest Stewardship Easement · 92 acConservation Easement · 89 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 105 acres are conservation easements, usually private land. Public access isn’t recorded for 27 of 74 parcels. The walks above are places people visit.
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Spriggs Farm Park On The Magothy Local Park | County | 56 | Open |
| Arnold Park Local Park | Not recorded | 15 | Unknown |
| Twin Oaks Park Local Park | Other or Unknown Local Government | 11 | Open |
| Magovista Park Local Park | Other or Unknown Local Government | 9 | Open |
| Belvedere Park Local Park | Not recorded | 5 | Unknown |
| Ulmstead Cardens Community Park Local Park | County | 2 | Open |
Things to do
17 places to go in Arnold
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Beaches in Arnold
Pines on the Severn Community Beach
DirectionsPlus 1 beach without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Playgrounds in Arnold
Broadneck Elementary School
DirectionsUlmstead Gardens Playground
DirectionsPlus 9 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Boat launches in Arnold
4 boat launches without a name on the map.
Trails & water
25 named trails and 5 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Open to bikes · 7.1 miUnpaved · 8.8 mi
Spriggs Farm Trail (red)0.6 mi
Shack0.5 mi
Big Gully0.4 mi
Forked Creek Overlook0.4 mi
Kimwood Connector0.3 mi
Melon Patch Trail (green)0.3 mi
Foundation0.3 mi
Cars0.3 mi
Greenhill Spur0.3 mi
Frog Hollow0.3 mi
15 more trails
Forked Creek Branch
0.3 miGreenhill Overlook
0.3 miTurtle Run
0.3 miBroadneck Trail
0.3 miPine Hill Path
0.3 miBroadneck Branch
0.2 miCarwash
0.2 miFlownation
0.2 miCollege Parkway Spur
0.2 miKimwood Farm Trail
0.2 miRidge Trail
0.1 miConnector (white)
0.1 miGreenhill Branch
0.1 miFloat
0.1 miAlligator's Wedge
0.1 miLakes & rivers tap for directions
Biking & sports
8.7 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
0.6 mi
painted or protected bike lanes
7.8 mi
off-road bike paths
0.3 mi
shoulders & shared lanes
Courts & fields
13Tennis
9Pickleball
6Basketball
4Baseball
3Golf
1Equestrian
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
When to get out
The best walking months in Arnold: April to June
NOAA’s 1991–2020 normals for the town and the daylight at its latitude. Outlined months have long days, highs of 59 to 86 °F and little rain for the place.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Daylight (h) | 9.7 | 10.7 | 11.8 | 13.2 | 14.3 | 14.9 | 14.6 | 13.7 | 12.4 | 11.1 | 10.0 | 9.4 |
| High (°F) | 44 | 47 | 54 | 66 | 75 | 84 | 89 | 86 | 80 | 69 | 57 | 48 |
| Rain (in) | 3.1 | 2.7 | 4.1 | 3.4 | 3.9 | 4.2 | 4.5 | 4.5 | 4.6 | 4.0 | 3.2 | 3.8 |
February is the driest month (2.7 in) and July the warmest (highs of 89 °F). 4.6 inches fall in September, the wettest month. Summer highs reach 89 °F, too hot for the outline. The climate in Arnold →
Next door
Arnold and its neighbors
Arnold has the most mapped trails of the 5 towns around it. Tap a town to see its outdoors.
| Town | Conserved of land | Trail mi per sq mi | Park acres per 1,000 | Near a park ½ mile | Outdoors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Arnold | 3% | 1.9 | 6 | 75% | B |
| Severna Park | 5% | 0.6 | 15 | 74% | B+ |
| Cape St. Claire | 1% | under 0.1 | 2 | 71% | C− |
| Parole | 2% | 1.0 | 6 | 46% | B− |
| Lake Shore | 14% | 1.2 | 16 | 48% | A− |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Arnold
Where can I hike in Arnold?
The longest trail networks: Spriggs Farm Park, 1.7 miles; Mago Vista Park, 0.5 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Arnold is conserved land?
3% of its land, against a typical 9% for a Maryland town and 4% nationally (PAD-US). Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors: easements are usually private land.
Are dogs allowed on Arnold’s trails?
Spriggs Farm Park and Mago Vista Park don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Arnold?
8.7 miles of bike routes are on the map: 0.6 of painted or protected lanes, 7.8 of off-road paths and 0.3 of shoulders and shared lanes.
Is there public land near Arnold?
8,397 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Arnold or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 137 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Arnold have?
Ahead of 62% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #161 of 261 in Maryland. The grade combines the share of land that is conserved, miles of mapped trail per square mile of land, park acres per 1,000 residents and the share of residents within a half mile of a park. It’s a character grade, so it isn’t part of the overall grade. How it works.
Trail talk
Conditions, parking and favorite walks from Arnold neighbors.
Share a tip
Sources
Where this page comes from
Conserved and public land: USGS Protected Areas Database of the United States (PAD-US), service updated July 2026. Parks, trails, playgrounds, beaches and other places: OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL), map data as of 2026-10-28. Land and water area: Census 2025 Gazetteer. Residents near a park: 2020 Census blocks. National Register: National Park Service. How TownRatings grades the outdoors →