Waterworks Park
Managed by Annapolis City
137 acres3.5 mi of trail
Housley LoopWoodland LoopMissing Link ConnectorOverlook Trail+1
Dogs on leash
Directionsto the parking lotWebsite ↗
Howard's Inheritance · Photo: JERRYE & ROY KLOTZ, M.D. · CC BY-SA 4.0B−Outdoors
Outdoors in Parole
Parole has 9.8 miles of mapped trails, 1.0 for every square mile of land
The biggest trail networks: Waterworks Park (3.5 mi), Broad Creek Park (3.3 mi). 46% of residents live within a half mile of a park. 101 acres are parks and preserves, 5.9 per 1,000 residents.
Ahead of 45% of U.S. towns · #211 of 261 in Maryland. What drives it
Conserved land
2%
137 acres · of 10.3 sq mi of land
Trails
9.8 mi
1.0 per sq mi of land
Park land
101 ac
5.9 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
46%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
5.5 mi
1.1 mi lanes · 4.2 mi paths
Lakes & rivers
6
2 beaches · 3 boat launches
What kind of outdoors town is Parole?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Parole have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Parole is ahead of 45% of U.S. towns, #211 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 Parole’s overall grade.
Conserved land2% of the land · typical MD town 9% · U.S. 4%C+Trails1.0 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (10 mi) · MD 0.5 · U.S. 0.4A−Park land5.9 acres of park per 1,000 residents (101 acres) · MD 9 · U.S. 13CParks close to home46% 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 45%
LessMore
Maryland towns of 2,500+ (261)Ahead of 19%
Maryland towns conserve more land than most (a typical one, 9%; the U.S., 4%), so Parole’s 2% is ahead of 8% of Maryland towns, while its trails per square mile lead 72% of them.
Water is 14% of Parole’s area (2 of 12 square miles), so every share here is of land; over land and water together, the conserved share would read 2%.
How sure. Graded on any three of the four inputs instead, the letter would range from C 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 Waterworks Park, with 3.5 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Broad Creek Park
Park
86 acres3.3 mi of trail
Panther Trail Loop (Maroon)Broad Creek Trail Loop (Orange)Watershed Trail (Green)Watershed Connector Trail (Green/White)+1
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Saltworks Creek Natural Area
Managed by Anne Arundel County
46 acres
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
All 5 parks & preserves
Waterworks Park137 acres · 3.5 mi of trail · Annapolis City
DirectionsBroad Creek Park86 acres · 3.3 mi of trail
DirectionsBestgate Park9 acres · 0.1 mi of trail
DirectionsSaltworks Creek Natural Area46 acres · Anne Arundel County
DirectionsDrevar Park1 acres · Epping Forest
Who protects it
137 conserved acres
2% of Parole’s land. Water is left out: Parole has 10.3 square miles of land and 1.6 of water, so the share counts land only. Who manages Parole’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
County133 ac
State natural resources43 ac
State conservation31 ac
Land trusts & nonprofits12 ac
Other or Unknown Local Government4 ac
Other state land1 ac
Not recorded9 ac
Conservation Easement · 107 acForest Stewardship Easement · 70 acUnknown Easement · 43 acLocal Park · 12 acHistoric or Cultural Easement · 1 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 125 acres are conservation easements, usually private land. Public access isn’t recorded for 32 of 67 parcels. The walks above are places people visit.
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bestgate Park Local Park | Not recorded | 9 | Unknown |
| Forest Plaza Parole Greenspace Local Park | Other or Unknown Local Government | 3 | Open |
Things to do
14 places to go in Parole
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Beaches in Parole
Lindamoor Community Beach
DirectionsPlus 1 beach without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Swimming spots in Parole
1 swimming spot without a name on the map.
Public pools in Parole
Rich people mansionHours: Open 24 hours
DirectionsPlaygrounds in Parole
AV Bounce
DirectionsPlus 6 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Boat launches in Parole
3 boat launches without a name on the map.
Trails & water
14 named trails and 6 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Open to bikes · 3.5 miUnpaved · 9.3 mi
Broad Creek Trail Loop (Orange)1.7 mi
Panther Trail Loop (Maroon)1.5 mi
Housley Loop1.1 mi
Woodland Loop0.7 mi
Missing Link Connector0.6 mi
Watershed Trail (Green)0.5 mi
Overlook Trail0.4 mi
Overlook Connector0.3 mi
Housley Loop Access0.3 mi
Watershed Connector Trail (Green/White)0.2 mi
4 more trails
Access Trail (White)
0.1 miTrail
0.1 miDay Use Area Through Trail
0.1 miIncomplete path
0.1 miLakes & rivers tap for directions
Biking & sports
5.5 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
1.1 mi
painted or protected bike lanes
4.2 mi
off-road bike paths
0.2 mi
shoulders & shared lanes
Courts & fields
18Tennis
7Basketball
3Tracks
3Soccer
3Baseball
2Football
2Pickleball
1Lacrosse
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
History along the way
History →1 place on the National Register
The country’s official list of places worth saving (National Park Service).
Howard's InheritanceBuilding · listed 1998
About itWhen to get out
The best walking months in Parole: 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 | 14.6 | 13.7 | 12.4 | 11.1 | 10.0 | 9.4 |
| High (°F) | 44 | 47 | 55 | 66 | 75 | 84 | 88 | 86 | 79 | 68 | 57 | 48 |
| Rain (in) | 3.0 | 2.6 | 4.0 | 3.4 | 3.8 | 4.3 | 4.5 | 4.4 | 4.6 | 3.9 | 3.1 | 3.7 |
February is the driest month (2.6 in) and July the warmest (highs of 88 °F). 4.6 inches fall in September, the wettest month. Summer highs reach 88 °F, too hot for the outline. The climate in Parole →
Next door
Parole and its neighbors
Parole has the second most mapped trails of the 6 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Parole | 2% | 1.0 | 6 | 46% | B− |
| Annapolis | 4% | 0.6 | 5 | 94% | B |
| Riva | 5% | 0.1 | 1 | 80% | C+ |
| Annapolis Neck | 7% | 0.5 | 35 | 62% | B+ |
| Arnold | 3% | 1.9 | 6 | 75% | B |
| Edgewater | 4% | 0.4 | 4 | 67% | C+ |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Parole
Where can I hike in Parole?
The longest trail networks: Waterworks Park, 3.5 miles; Broad Creek Park, 3.3 miles; Bestgate Park, 0.1 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Parole is conserved land?
2% 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 Parole’s trails?
OpenStreetMap records dogs as welcome at Waterworks Park (on leash). For the rest, check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Parole?
5.5 miles of bike routes are on the map: 1.1 of painted or protected lanes, 4.2 of off-road paths and 0.2 of shoulders and shared lanes.
Is there public land near Parole?
11,553 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Parole or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 101 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Parole have?
Ahead of 45% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #211 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 Parole 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 →