Franklin Woodlands
Managed by Reisterstown Improvement Association
5 acres0.3 mi of trail
Franklin Woodlands Trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Photo: Pubdog · Public domainB+Outdoors
Outdoors in Reisterstown
9% of Reisterstown’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. 9% of Reisterstown’s land is conserved, about 287 acres. 124 acres are parks and preserves, 4.9 per 1,000 residents.
Ahead of 70% of U.S. towns · #126 of 261 in Maryland. What drives it
Conserved land
9%
287 acres · of 5.1 sq mi of land
Trails
2.1 mi
0.4 per sq mi of land
Park land
124 ac
4.9 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
99%+
of residents within ½ mile
What kind of outdoors town is Reisterstown?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Reisterstown have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Reisterstown is ahead of 70% of U.S. towns, #126 of 261 in Maryland. The share of residents near a park holds the grade up; park acres per resident pull it down.
B+
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Reisterstown’s overall grade.
Conserved land9% of the land · typical MD town 9% · U.S. 4%B+Trails0.4 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (2 mi) · MD 0.5 · U.S. 0.4BPark land4.9 acres of park per 1,000 residents (124 acres) · MD 9 · U.S. 13CParks 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 70%
LessMore
Maryland towns of 2,500+ (261)Ahead of 52%
Maryland towns conserve more land than most (a typical one, 9%; the U.S., 4%), so Reisterstown’s 9% is ahead of 48% of Maryland towns, while its trails per square mile lead 42% 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 Franklin Woodlands, with 0.3 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Gwynns Falls Greenway
Managed by Baltimore County Department of Public Works
115 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Hannah More Park
Managed by Baltimore County Recreation & Parks
68 acres
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Worthington Glen Local Open Space
Managed by Baltimore County Department of Recreation and Parks
15 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
All 19 parks & preserves
Franklin Woodlands5 acres · 0.3 mi of trail · Reisterstown Improvement Association
DirectionsKendigs Mill Park13 acres · 0.1 mi of trail · Baltimore County Department of Recreation and Parks
Fox Haven Estates Local Open Space4 acres · 0.1 mi of trail
Gwynns Falls Greenway115 acres · Baltimore County Department of Public Works
Hannah More Park68 acres · Baltimore County Recreation & Parks
DirectionsWorthington Glen Local Open Space15 acres · Baltimore County Department of Recreation and Parks
Hammershire Park7 acres · Baltimore County Department of Recreation and Parks
DirectionsMid-Falcon6 acres · Baltimore County Department of Public Works
DirectionsChartley Townhouses Local Open Space5 acres · Baltimore County Department of Recreation and Parks
Timberscape Local Open Space5 acres · Baltimore County Department of Recreation and Parks
Suburbia5 acres · Baltimore County Department of Public Works
DirectionsTimber Grove Local Open Space4 acres · Baltimore County Department of Recreation and Parks
Hathaway Local Open Space4 acres · Baltimore County Department of Public Works
DirectionsKendig Mill Station Local Open Space2 acres · Baltimore County Department of Recreation and Parks
DirectionsOwings Ridge Flood Plain2 acres · Baltimore County Department of Public Works
DirectionsKendig Mill Station Stormwater2 acres · Baltimore County Department of Public Works
Suburbia Local Open Space2 acres · Baltimore County Department of Recreation and Parks
Gwynnbrook Forest Conservation1 acres · Baltimore County Department of Environmental Protection and Sustainability
Crandon Local Open Space1 acres · Baltimore County Department of Recreation and Parks
DirectionsWho protects it
287 conserved acres
9% of Reisterstown’s land. Who manages Reisterstown’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Other state land17 ac
Other or Unknown Local Government13 ac
Private owners11 ac
Not recorded264 ac
Local Other or Unknown · 194 acLocal Park · 72 acConservation Easement · 18 acHistoric or Cultural Easement · 17 acPrivate Other or Unknown · 3 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 18 acres are conservation easements, usually private land. Public access isn’t recorded for 9 of 14 parcels. The walks above are places people visit.
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gwynnbrook Development Local Other or Unknown | Not recorded | 75 | Unknown |
| Hannah More Park Local Park | Not recorded | 67 | Unknown |
| Local Open Space Local Other or Unknown | Not recorded | 47 | Unknown |
| Baltimore County Land Local Other or Unknown | Not recorded | 45 | Unknown |
| Drainage And Utility Local Other or Unknown | Not recorded | 30 | Unknown |
| Roaches Run Park Local Park | Other or Unknown Local Government | 6 | Open |
Things to do
25 places to go in Reisterstown
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Playgrounds in Reisterstown
Crandon Local Open SpaceIn Crandon Local Open Space
DirectionsPlus 22 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Dog parks in Reisterstown
BARC ParkIn Hannah More Park
DirectionsBARC ParkIn Hannah More Park
DirectionsTrails & water
1 named trail
Named trails
Unpaved · 1.5 mi
Franklin Woodlands Trail0.9 mi
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
13Tennis
5Softball
4Basketball
4Baseball
2Multi-sport
1Football
1Skate park
1Soccer
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
History along the way
History →2 places on the National Register
The country’s official list of places worth saving (National Park Service).
When to get out
The best walking months in Reisterstown: April to 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 | 9.9 | 9.4 |
| High (°F) | 41 | 44 | 53 | 65 | 74 | 82 | 86 | 84 | 77 | 66 | 55 | 45 |
| Rain (in) | 3.3 | 2.8 | 4.0 | 3.8 | 4.3 | 4.4 | 4.4 | 4.0 | 4.7 | 4.3 | 3.6 | 3.8 |
February is the driest month (2.8 in) and July the warmest (highs of 86 °F). 4.7 inches fall in September, the wettest month. The climate in Reisterstown →
Next door
Reisterstown and its neighbors
Reisterstown has the second 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Reisterstown | 9% | 0.4 | 5 | 99%+ | B+ |
| Owings Mills | 9% | 0.5 | 3 | 72% | B |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Reisterstown
Where can I hike in Reisterstown?
The longest trail networks: Franklin Woodlands, 0.3 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Reisterstown is conserved land?
9% 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 Reisterstown’s trails?
Franklin Woodlands and Gwynns Falls Greenway don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Is there public land near Reisterstown?
9,231 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Reisterstown or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 124 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Reisterstown have?
Ahead of 70% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #126 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 Reisterstown 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 →