Heavenly Waters Park
Nature preserve
316 acres1.4 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
D. H. Springhouse · Photo: Jerrye & Roy Klotz, MD · CC BY-SA 3.0BOutdoors
Outdoors in Bel Air North
15% of Bel Air North’s land is conserved: 1,574 acres
The biggest trail networks: Heavenly Waters Park (1.4 mi). 44% of residents live within a half mile of a park. 457 acres are parks and preserves, 15 per 1,000 residents.
Ahead of 61% of U.S. towns · #162 of 261 in Maryland. What drives it
Conserved land
15%
1,574 acres · of 16.0 sq mi of land
Trails
5.2 mi
0.3 per sq mi of land
Park land
457 ac
15 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
44%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
5.0 mi
5.0 mi paths
Lakes & rivers
2
What kind of outdoors town is Bel Air North?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Bel Air North have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Bel Air North is ahead of 61% of U.S. towns, #162 of 261 in Maryland. Conserved land holds the grade up; the share of residents near a park pulls it down.
B
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Bel Air North’s overall grade.
Conserved land15% of the land · typical MD town 9% · U.S. 4%A−Trails0.3 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (5 mi) · MD 0.5 · U.S. 0.4B−Park land15 acres of park per 1,000 residents (457 acres) · MD 9 · U.S. 13BParks close to home44% of residents within a half mile of a park · MD 87% · U.S. 72%C+
All U.S. towns we grade (21,298)Ahead of 61%
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 Bel Air North’s 15% is ahead of 75% of Maryland towns, while its trails per square mile lead 33% of them.
How sure. Graded on any three of the four inputs instead, the letter would range from B− to B+. 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 Heavenly Waters Park, with 1.4 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Vale Road Park
Nature preserve
28 acres0.3 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Forest Hill Recreation Complex
Park
27 acres0.2 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
All 5 parks & preserves
Heavenly Waters Park316 acres · 1.4 mi of trail
DirectionsBlake's Venture Park44 acres · 0.3 mi of trail
DirectionsVale Road Park28 acres · 0.3 mi of trail
Forest Hill Recreation Complex27 acres · 0.2 mi of trail
DirectionsTollgate Park24 acres
DirectionsWho protects it
1,574 conserved acres
15% of Bel Air North’s land. Who manages Bel Air North’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Other state land937 ac
County708 ac
Other or Unknown Local Government140 ac
State natural resources27 ac
State conservation26 ac
State parks3 ac
Not recorded493 ac
Agricultural Easement · 937 acConservation Easement · 672 acLocal Park · 400 acForest Stewardship Easement · 165 acLocal Other or Unknown · 131 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 1,080 acres are conservation easements, usually private land. Public access isn’t recorded for 78 of 157 parcels. The walks above are places people visit.
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Heavenly Waters Park Local Park | Not recorded | 295 | Unknown |
| Forest Hill Recreation Comples Local Other or Unknown | Not recorded | 82 | Unknown |
| Harford County Property Local Other or Unknown | Not recorded | 53 | Unknown |
| Vale Road Park Local Park | Not recorded | 31 | Unknown |
| Equestrian Center - Heavenly Waters Park Local Park | Not recorded | 24 | Unknown |
| Edgeley Grove Farm Local Other or Unknown | Not recorded | 19 | Unknown |
| Oak Ridge Park Local Park | Not recorded | 13 | Unknown |
| Wade R. Tucker II Memorial Fields Local Other or Unknown | Not recorded | 9 | Unknown |
| County Local Other or Unknown | Other or Unknown Local Government | 2 | Open |
| Old Fields Park Local Park | Not recorded | 1 | Unknown |
1 smaller protected places aren’t shown.
Things to do
19 places to go in Bel Air North
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Public pools in Bel Air North
Rock Spring Swim Club
DirectionsPlaygrounds in Bel Air North
15 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Dog parks in Bel Air North
Ma & Pa Dog ParkIn Heavenly Waters Park
DirectionsScenic views in Bel Air North
1 scenic view without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Picnic areas in Bel Air North
1 picnic area without a name on the map.
Trails & water
2 lakes & rivers
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
Biking & sports
5.0 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
5.0 mi
off-road bike paths
Courts & fields
19Baseball
16Golf
7Tennis
4Equestrian
4Basketball
3Soccer
2Lacrosse
2Football
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
History along the way
History →5 places on the National Register
The country’s official list of places worth saving (National Park Service). The map also marks 5 historic points from OpenStreetMap: plaques, memorials and old buildings.
When to get out
The best walking months in Bel Air North: April to June and August
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 | 9.9 | 9.4 |
| High (°F) | 41 | 44 | 52 | 65 | 74 | 83 | 87 | 85 | 78 | 67 | 55 | 45 |
| Rain (in) | 3.3 | 2.7 | 4.2 | 3.6 | 3.9 | 4.4 | 4.7 | 4.2 | 4.7 | 4.0 | 3.3 | 3.9 |
February is the driest month (2.7 in) and July the warmest (highs of 87 °F). 4.7 inches fall in September, the wettest month. Summer highs reach 87 °F, too hot for the outline. The climate in Bel Air North →
Next door
Bel Air North 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bel Air North | 15% | 0.3 | 15 | 44% | B |
| Fallston | 8% | 0.6 | 35 | 39% | B+ |
| Bel Air | 7% | 0.3 | 13 | 97% | B+ |
| Bel Air South | 10% | 1.0 | 11 | 70% | B+ |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Bel Air North
Where can I hike in Bel Air North?
The longest trail networks: Heavenly Waters Park, 1.4 miles; Blake's Venture Park, 0.3 miles; Vale Road Park, 0.3 miles; Forest Hill Recreation Complex, 0.2 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Bel Air North is conserved land?
15% 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 Bel Air North’s trails?
Heavenly Waters Park and Blake's Venture Park don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Bel Air North?
5.0 miles of bike routes are on the map: 5.0 of off-road paths.
Is there public land near Bel Air North?
17,839 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Bel Air North or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 457 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Bel Air North have?
Ahead of 61% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #162 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 Bel Air North 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 →