Pottery Farm Park
Nature preserve
130 acres2.2 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Photo: Rph92 · CC BY 4.0BOutdoors
Outdoors in Essex
Essex has 6.7 miles of mapped trails, 0.7 for every square mile of land
The biggest trail networks: Pottery Farm Park (2.2 mi), Renaissance Park (1.1 mi), Cox's Point Park (0.5 mi). 81% of residents live within a half mile of a park. 296 acres are parks and preserves, 7.3 per 1,000 residents.
Ahead of 64% of U.S. towns · #156 of 261 in Maryland. What drives it
Conserved land
5%
289 acres · of 9.3 sq mi of land
Trails
6.7 mi
0.7 per sq mi of land
Park land
296 ac
7.3 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
81%
of residents within ½ mile
Lakes & rivers
7
1 beach · 30 boat launches
What kind of outdoors town is Essex?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Essex have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Essex is ahead of 64% of U.S. towns, #156 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 Essex’s overall grade.
Conserved land5% of the land · typical MD town 9% · U.S. 4%BTrails0.7 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (7 mi) · MD 0.5 · U.S. 0.4B+Park land7.3 acres of park per 1,000 residents (296 acres) · MD 9 · U.S. 13C+Parks close to home81% 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 64%
LessMore
Maryland towns of 2,500+ (261)Ahead of 40%
Maryland towns conserve more land than most (a typical one, 9%; the U.S., 4%), so Essex’s 5% is ahead of 25% of Maryland towns, while its trails per square mile lead 62% of them.
Water is 23% of Essex’s area (3 of 12 square miles), so every share here is of land; over land and water together, the conserved share would read 4%.
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 Pottery Farm Park, with 2.2 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Somogyi Property Park Site
Managed by Baltimore County Department of Recreation and Parks
83 acres0.4 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
All 14 parks & preserves
Pottery Farm Park130 acres · 2.2 mi of trail
Renaissance Park34 acres · 1.1 mi of trail
DirectionsCox's Point Park19 acres · 0.5 mi of trail
DirectionsSomogyi Property Park Site83 acres · 0.4 mi of trail · Baltimore County Department of Recreation and Parks
Montrose Farms Open Space2 acres · 0.1 mi of trail
Turkey Point Park30 acres
DirectionsBauernschmidt Manor Park17 acres
DirectionsSue Creek Park13 acres
DirectionsMartindale Park11 acres
DirectionsFox Ridge Park3 acres · Baltimore County Department of Recreation and Parks
Deep Creek Park3 acres · Baltimore County Department of Recreation and Parks
Eastern Waterfront Park2 acres
DirectionsCountry Ridge Park1 acres · Baltimore County Department of Recreation and Parks
DirectionsSussex Community Park1 acres
Who protects it
289 conserved acres
5% of Essex’s land. Water is left out: Essex has 9.3 square miles of land and 2.8 of water, so the share counts land only. Who manages Essex’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Other or Unknown Local Government54 ac
County47 ac
Other state land38 ac
Town or city1 ac
Not recorded205 ac
Local Park · 221 acLocal Other or Unknown · 48 acConservation Easement · 38 acOther Easement · 38 acPrivate Other or Unknown · 1 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 38 acres are conservation easements, usually private land. Public access isn’t recorded for 9 of 17 parcels. The walks above are places people visit.
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sue Creek Park Local Park | Not recorded | 143 | Unknown |
| Local Open Space Local Other or Unknown | Not recorded | 46 | Unknown |
| Turkey Point Local Park | Other or Unknown Local Government | 30 | Open |
| Coxs Point Park Local Park | Not recorded | 18 | Unknown |
| Martindale Park Local Park | Not recorded | 12 | Unknown |
| Drainage And Utility Local Other or Unknown | Not recorded | 9 | Unknown |
| Pottery Farm Park Local Park | County | 7 | Open |
| Fox Ridge Park Local Park | County | 3 | Open |
| Old Portable School House Local Park | Town or city | 1 | Open |
| Baltimore County Property Local Other or Unknown | Not recorded | 1 | Unknown |
Things to do
75 places to go in Essex
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Beaches in Essex
1 beach without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Playgrounds in Essex
Tot LotIn Cox's Point Park
Directions42 playgrounds are on OpenStreetMap in all; the list shows named ones from the first 30.
Boat launches in Essex
Cox's Point Park Boat RampIn Cox's Point Park
DirectionsPlus 29 boat launches without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Peaks in Essex
2 peaks without a name on the map.
Trails & water
7 lakes & rivers
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
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
32Baseball
13Tennis
12Basketball
8Soccer
5Lacrosse
5Softball
4Football
3Tracks
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
When to get out
The best walking months in Essex: 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) | 43 | 46 | 54 | 66 | 75 | 84 | 89 | 87 | 80 | 68 | 57 | 47 |
| Rain (in) | 3.2 | 2.8 | 4.1 | 3.5 | 4.0 | 4.2 | 4.6 | 4.5 | 4.6 | 4.0 | 3.4 | 3.9 |
February is the driest month (2.8 in) and July the warmest (highs of 89 °F). 4.6 inches fall in July, the wettest month. Summer highs reach 89 °F, too hot for the outline. The climate in Essex →
Next door
Essex 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Essex | 5% | 0.7 | 7 | 81% | B |
| Middle River | 6% | 1.3 | 5 | 58% | B |
| Rosedale | 3% | 1.2 | 9 | 81% | B+ |
| Dundalk | 4% | 0.7 | 7 | 94% | B+ |
| Bowleys Quarters | 4% | 0.7 | 9 | 80% | B+ |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Essex
Where can I hike in Essex?
The longest trail networks: Pottery Farm Park, 2.2 miles; Renaissance Park, 1.1 miles; Cox's Point Park, 0.5 miles; Somogyi Property Park Site, 0.4 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Essex is conserved land?
5% 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 Essex’s trails?
Pottery Farm Park and Renaissance Park don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Is there public land near Essex?
19,742 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Essex or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 296 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Essex have?
Ahead of 64% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #156 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 Essex 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 →