Flag Ponds Nature Park
Park
396 acres5 mi of trail
Woodland Creek TrailNorth Ridge TrailLower North Ridge TrailNorth Loop Trail+1
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the trail signWebsite ↗
AOutdoors
Outdoors in Long Beach
Long Beach has 5.0 miles of mapped trails, 3.0 for every square mile of land
403 acres are parks and preserves, 218 per 1,000 residents. 11% of Long Beach’s land is conserved, about 117 acres. 66% of residents live within a half mile of a park.
Ahead of 93% of U.S. towns. What drives it
Conserved land
11%
117 acres · of 1.7 sq mi of land
Trails
5.0 mi
3.0 per sq mi of land
Park land
403 ac
218 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
66%
of residents within ½ mile
Lakes & rivers
3
4 beaches
What kind of outdoors town is Long Beach?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Long Beach have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Long Beach is ahead of 93% of U.S. towns. All four inputs are above most U.S. towns; trail miles rank highest, the share of residents near a park lowest.
A
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Long Beach’s overall grade.
Conserved land11% of the land · typical MD town 9% · U.S. 4%A−Trails3.0 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (5 mi) · MD 0.5 · U.S. 0.4A+Park land218 acres of park per 1,000 residents (403 acres) · MD 9 · U.S. 13AParks close to home66% 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 93%
LessMore
Maryland towns conserve more land than most (a typical one, 9%; the U.S., 4%), so Long Beach’s 11% is ahead of 60% of Maryland towns, while its trails per square mile lead 97% 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 Flag Ponds Nature Park, with 5 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Who protects it
117 conserved acres
11% of Long Beach’s land. Who manages Long Beach’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Private owners85 ac
County54 ac
Other or Unknown Local Government8 ac
Conservation Easement · 124 acForest Stewardship Easement · 23 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 117 acres are conservation easements, usually private land. Public access isn’t recorded for 4 of 9 parcels. The walks above are places people visit.
Things to do
4 places to go in Long Beach
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Beaches in Long Beach
Long Beach
DirectionsPlus 3 beaches without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Trails & water
8 named trails and 3 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Unpaved · 4.5 mi
Woodland Creek Trail1.6 mi
North Ridge Trail0.6 mi
Lower North Ridge Trail0.4 mi
North Loop Trail0.4 mi
Duncan's Pond Trail0.4 mi
South Ridge Trail0.3 mi
Observation Trail0.2 mi
Natural Heritage Trail0.2 mi
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
When to get out
The best walking months in Long Beach: 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) | 9.8 | 10.7 | 11.8 | 13.2 | 14.2 | 14.8 | 14.6 | 13.6 | 12.4 | 11.1 | 10.0 | 9.5 |
| High (°F) | 45 | 48 | 55 | 66 | 74 | 83 | 87 | 86 | 79 | 69 | 58 | 49 |
| Rain (in) | 3.1 | 2.7 | 4.0 | 3.3 | 3.8 | 4.2 | 4.6 | 4.6 | 4.4 | 3.9 | 3.3 | 3.7 |
February is the driest month (2.7 in) and July the warmest (highs of 87 °F). 4.6 inches fall in August, the wettest month. Summer highs reach 87 °F, too hot for the outline. The climate in Long Beach →
Questions about parks and trails in Long Beach
Where can I hike in Long Beach?
The longest trail networks: Flag Ponds Nature Park, 5 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Long Beach is conserved land?
11% 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 Long Beach’s trails?
Flag Ponds Nature Park doesn’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Is there public land near Long Beach?
4,120 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Long Beach or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 403 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Long Beach have?
Ahead of 93% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade. 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 Long Beach 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 →