Patapsco Valley State Park Belle Grove Area
Managed by Maryland Park Service
126 acres1.2 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Photo: brewbooks from near Seattle, USA · CC BY-SA 2.0A+Outdoors
Outdoors in Baltimore Highlands
25% of Baltimore Highlands’ land is conserved, and virtually every resident lives within a half mile of a park
Virtually every resident lives within a half mile of a park. 4.2 miles of mapped trail cross Baltimore Highlands, 2.4 per square mile of land. 25% of Baltimore Highlands’ land is conserved, about 278 acres.
Among the top 1% of U.S. towns · #5 of 261 in Maryland. What drives it
Conserved land
25%
278 acres · of 1.7 sq mi of land
Trails
4.2 mi
2.4 per sq mi of land
Park land
283 ac
34 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
99%+
of residents within ½ mile
What kind of outdoors town is Baltimore Highlands?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Baltimore Highlands have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Baltimore Highlands is among the top 1% of U.S. towns, #5 of 261 in Maryland. All four inputs are above most U.S. towns; the share of residents near a park ranks highest, park acres per resident lowest.
A+
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Baltimore Highlands’ overall grade.
Conserved land25% of the land · typical MD town 9% · U.S. 4%ATrails2.4 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (4 mi) · MD 0.5 · U.S. 0.4A+Park land34 acres of park per 1,000 residents (283 acres) · MD 9 · U.S. 13B+Parks close to homeVirtually all residents within a half mile of a park · MD 87% · U.S. 72%A+
All U.S. towns we grade (21,298)Among the top 1%
LessMore
Maryland towns of 2,500+ (261)Ahead of 98%
Maryland towns conserve more land than most (a typical one, 9%; the U.S., 4%), so Baltimore Highlands’ 25% is ahead of 92% of Maryland towns, while its trails per square mile lead 95% of them.
How sure. Graded on any three of the four inputs instead, the letter would range from A 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 Patapsco Valley State Park Belle Grove Area, with 1.2 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Southwest Area Park
Managed by Baltimore County Department of Recreation and Parks
234 acres0.9 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Patapsco Flats
Park
21 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Northeast Highlands Park
Managed by Baltimore County Department of Recreation and Parks
11 acres0.1 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lotWebsite ↗
All 6 parks & preserves
Patapsco Valley State Park Belle Grove Area126 acres · 1.2 mi of trail · Maryland Park Service
Southwest Area Park234 acres · 0.9 mi of trail · Baltimore County Department of Recreation and Parks
DirectionsNortheast Highlands Park11 acres · 0.1 mi of trail · Baltimore County Department of Recreation and Parks
DirectionsPatapsco Flats21 acres
Hickory Hills Park4 acres
Baltimore Highlands Annex3 acres
Who protects it
278 conserved acres
25% of Baltimore Highlands’ land. Who manages Baltimore Highlands’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Other or Unknown Local Government254 ac
County5 ac
Not recorded24 ac
Local Park · 259 acState Park · 16 acLocal Other or Unknown · 6 acPrivate Other or Unknown · 1 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. Public access isn’t recorded for 4 of 7 parcels. The walks above are places people visit.
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Southwest Area Park Local Park | Other or Unknown Local Government | 241 | Open |
| Patapsco Valley Sp State Park | Not recorded | 16 | Unknown |
| Northeast Highlands Local Park | Other or Unknown Local Government | 14 | Open |
| Hickkory Hills Park Local Park | County | 5 | Open |
| Local Open Space Local Other or Unknown | Not recorded | 5 | Unknown |
| Drainage And Utility Local Other or Unknown | Not recorded | 2 | Unknown |
Things to do
6 places to go in Baltimore Highlands
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Playgrounds in Baltimore Highlands
4 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Dog parks in Baltimore Highlands
1 dog park without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Boat launches in Baltimore Highlands
1 boat launch without a name on the map.
Biking & sports
0.0 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
Courts & fields
9Baseball
2Pickleball
1Basketball
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
When to get out
The best walking months in Baltimore Highlands: 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 | 14.7 | 13.7 | 12.4 | 11.1 | 10.0 | 9.4 |
| High (°F) | 44 | 47 | 55 | 67 | 76 | 85 | 89 | 87 | 80 | 68 | 57 | 48 |
| Rain (in) | 3.1 | 2.8 | 4.0 | 3.6 | 4.1 | 4.2 | 4.5 | 4.4 | 4.5 | 4.1 | 3.3 | 3.7 |
February is the driest month (2.8 in) and July the warmest (highs of 89 °F). 4.5 inches fall in July, the wettest month. Summer highs reach 89 °F, too hot for the outline. The climate in Baltimore Highlands →
Next door
Baltimore Highlands and its neighbors
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Baltimore Highlands | 25% | 2.4 | 34 | 99%+ | A+ |
| Brooklyn Park | 5% | 0.6 | 9 | 95% | B+ |
| Baltimore | 9% | 1.1 | 10 | 98% | A− |
| Lansdowne | 8% | 2.9 | 16 | 99%+ | A |
| Linthicum | 4% | 0.1 | 12 | 91% | B |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Baltimore Highlands
Where can I hike in Baltimore Highlands?
The longest trail networks: Patapsco Valley State Park Belle Grove Area, 1.2 miles; Southwest Area Park, 0.9 miles; Northeast Highlands Park, 0.1 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Baltimore Highlands is conserved land?
25% 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 Baltimore Highlands’ trails?
Patapsco Valley State Park Belle Grove Area and Southwest Area Park don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Is there public land near Baltimore Highlands?
12,807 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Baltimore Highlands or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 283 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Baltimore Highlands have?
Among the top 1% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #5 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 Baltimore Highlands 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 →