Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Bon Air · Photo: E.H. Pickering, HABS photographer · Public domainThe biggest trail networks: Gunpowder Falls State Park Pleasantville Area (7.5 mi). 8% of Fallston’s land is conserved, about 701 acres. 8.0 miles of mapped trail cross Fallston, 0.6 per square mile of land.
Ahead of 68% of U.S. towns · #138 of 261 in Maryland. What drives it
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Fallston is ahead of 68% of U.S. towns, #138 of 261 in Maryland. Park acres per resident hold the grade up; the share of residents near a park pulls it down.
Maryland towns conserve more land than most (a typical one, 9%; the U.S., 4%), so Fallston’s 8% is ahead of 46% of Maryland towns, while its trails per square mile lead 53% of them.
PAD-US, OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors), Census 2025 Gazetteer and 2020 blocks; details in Sources below. How TownRatings grades the outdoors →
Tap a number to zoom to a park. Tap a layer to hide it.
The longest trail network is Gunpowder Falls State Park Pleasantville Area, with 7.5 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
8% of Fallston’s land. Who manages Fallston’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 348 acres are conservation easements, usually private land. Public access isn’t recorded for 39 of 90 parcels. The walks above are places people visit.
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gunpowder Falls Sp State Park | Not recorded | 280 | Unknown |
| Fallston Recreation Complex Local Park | Other or Unknown Local Government | 73 | Open |
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
5 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
The country’s official list of places worth saving (National Park Service).
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 | 53 | 65 | 75 | 83 | 87 | 85 | 78 | 67 | 55 | 46 |
| Rain (in) | 3.3 | 2.8 | 4.3 | 3.6 | 4.0 | 4.4 | 4.6 | 4.3 | 4.8 | 4.1 | 3.5 | 3.9 |
February is the driest month (2.8 in) and July the warmest (highs of 87 °F). 4.8 inches fall in September, the wettest month. Summer highs reach 87 °F, too hot for the outline. The climate in Fallston →
Fallston has the most mapped trails of the 2 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fallston | 8% | 0.6 | 35 | 39% | B+ |
| Bel Air North | 15% | 0.3 | 15 | 44% | B |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
The longest trail networks: Gunpowder Falls State Park Pleasantville Area, 7.5 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
8% 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.
Gunpowder Falls State Park Pleasantville Area doesn’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
19,777 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Fallston or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 352 of them inside the town line.
Ahead of 68% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #138 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.
Conditions, parking and favorite walks from Fallston neighbors.
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 →