Savage Park
Managed by Howard County Parks
94 acres1.9 mi of trail
Savage Historic Mill TrailWhite Trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Photo: FlugKerl2 · CC BY-SA 3.0AOutdoors
Outdoors in North Laurel
15% of North Laurel’s 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. 15% of North Laurel’s land is conserved, about 636 acres. The biggest trail networks: Savage Park (1.9 mi).
Ahead of 86% of U.S. towns · #55 of 261 in Maryland. What drives it
Conserved land
15%
636 acres · of 6.5 sq mi of land
Trails
3.3 mi
0.5 per sq mi of land
Park land
297 ac
12 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
99%+
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
3.6 mi
2.4 mi lanes · 0.8 mi paths
Lakes & rivers
3
1 beach · 1 boat launch
What kind of outdoors town is North Laurel?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does North Laurel have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, North Laurel is ahead of 86% of U.S. towns, #55 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 North Laurel’s overall grade.
Conserved land15% of the land · typical MD town 9% · U.S. 4%A−Trails0.5 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (3 mi) · MD 0.5 · U.S. 0.4BPark land12 acres of park per 1,000 residents (297 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)Ahead of 86%
LessMore
Maryland towns of 2,500+ (261)Ahead of 79%
Maryland towns conserve more land than most (a typical one, 9%; the U.S., 4%), so North Laurel’s 15% is ahead of 76% of Maryland towns, while its trails per square mile lead 47% of them.
How sure. Graded on any three of the four inputs instead, the letter would range from B+ 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 Savage Park, with 1.9 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
High Ridge Park
Park
78 acres0.3 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lotWebsite ↗
North Laurel Park
Park
43 acres0.2 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lotWebsite ↗
All 5 parks & preserves
Savage Park94 acres · 1.9 mi of trail · Howard County Parks
DirectionsHigh Ridge Park78 acres · 0.3 mi of trail
DirectionsNorth Laurel Park43 acres · 0.2 mi of trail
DirectionsBollman Truss Bridge2 acres · 0.1 mi of trail
DirectionsSterling Park at Emerson1 acres
Who protects it
636 conserved acres
15% of North Laurel’s land. Who manages North Laurel’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
County780 ac
Other or Unknown Local Government145 ac
State parks12 ac
State natural resources11 ac
Not recorded229 ac
Conservation Easement · 484 acForest Stewardship Easement · 411 acLocal Other or Unknown · 155 acLocal Park · 105 acUnknown Easement · 12 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 366 acres are conservation easements, usually private land. Public access isn’t recorded for 138 of 250 parcels. The walks above are places people visit.
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| North Laurel Park Local Park | Not recorded | 53 | Unknown |
| Emerson Local Park | Other or Unknown Local Government | 39 | Open |
| Bowling Brook Farm Private Other or Unknown | Not recorded | 27 | Unknown |
| Hammond Overlook Local Other or Unknown | Not recorded | 26 | Unknown |
| Howard County Property - North Laurel Local Other or Unknown | Not recorded | 23 | Unknown |
| County Open Space Local Other or Unknown | Not recorded | 18 | Unknown |
| Revitz Property Local Other or Unknown | Not recorded | 13 | Unknown |
| First Ridge Local Other or Unknown | Not recorded | 12 | Unknown |
| High Ridge Park Area Local Park | Not recorded | 10 | Unknown |
| Kings Woods (Howard County) Local Other or Unknown | Not recorded | 7 | Unknown |
5 smaller protected places aren’t shown.
Things to do
22 places to go in North Laurel
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Beaches in North Laurel
1 beach without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Playgrounds in North Laurel
17 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Dog parks in North Laurel
1 dog park without a name on the map.
Boat launches in North Laurel
1 boat launch without a name on the map.
Picnic areas in North Laurel
2 picnic areas without a name on the map.
Trails & water
2 named trails and 3 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Unpaved · 2.0 mi
Savage Historic Mill Trail0.6 mi
White Trail0.1 mi
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
Biking & sports
3.6 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
2.4 mi
painted or protected bike lanes
0.8 mi
off-road bike paths
0.4 mi
shoulders & shared lanes
Courts & fields
8Tennis
6Baseball
4Basketball
1Cricket
1Volleyball
1Soccer
1Multi-sport
1Skate park
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
When to get out
The best walking months in North Laurel: 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 | 10.0 | 9.4 |
| High (°F) | 43 | 46 | 54 | 66 | 75 | 83 | 87 | 85 | 79 | 68 | 56 | 47 |
| Rain (in) | 3.1 | 2.7 | 3.9 | 3.6 | 4.3 | 4.3 | 4.5 | 4.2 | 4.4 | 4.1 | 3.3 | 3.8 |
February is the driest month (2.7 in) and July the warmest (highs of 87 °F). 4.5 inches fall in July, the wettest month. Summer highs reach 87 °F, too hot for the outline. The climate in North Laurel →
Next door
North Laurel 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| North Laurel | 15% | 0.5 | 12 | 99%+ | A |
| Savage | 17% | 3.5 | 41 | 93% | A+ |
| Laurel | 4% | 1.2 | 5 | 96% | B+ |
| Scaggsville | 30% | 2.2 | 23 | 87% | A |
| Columbia | 26% | 1.0 | 41 | 99%+ | A+ |
| Maryland City | 18% | 0.3 | 26 | 98% | A− |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in North Laurel
Where can I hike in North Laurel?
The longest trail networks: Savage Park, 1.9 miles; High Ridge Park, 0.3 miles; North Laurel Park, 0.2 miles; Bollman Truss Bridge, 0.1 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of North Laurel 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 North Laurel’s trails?
Savage Park and High Ridge Park don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in North Laurel?
3.6 miles of bike routes are on the map: 2.4 of painted or protected lanes, 0.8 of off-road paths and 0.4 of shoulders and shared lanes.
Is there public land near North Laurel?
17,485 acres of parks and open public land lie inside North Laurel or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 297 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does North Laurel have?
Ahead of 86% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #55 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 North Laurel 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 →