Bloom Field Park
Park
4 acres0.3 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Photo: Acroterion · CC BY-SA 4.0A−Outdoors
Outdoors in Sykesville
18% of Sykesville’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. 18% of Sykesville’s land is conserved, about 179 acres. 60 acres are parks and preserves, 13 per 1,000 residents.
Ahead of 82% of U.S. towns · #78 of 261 in Maryland. What drives it
Conserved land
18%
179 acres · of 1.6 sq mi of land
Trails
0.4 mi
0.3 per sq mi of land
Park land
60 ac
13 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
99%+
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
0.6 mi
0.6 mi paths
What kind of outdoors town is Sykesville?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Sykesville have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Sykesville is ahead of 82% of U.S. towns, #78 of 261 in Maryland. The share of residents near a park holds the grade up; trail miles pull it down.
A−
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Sykesville’s overall grade.
Conserved land18% of the land · typical MD town 9% · U.S. 4%ATrails0.3 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (0 mi) · MD 0.5 · U.S. 0.4B−Park land13 acres of park per 1,000 residents (60 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 82%
LessMore
Maryland towns of 2,500+ (261)Ahead of 70%
Maryland towns conserve more land than most (a typical one, 9%; the U.S., 4%), so Sykesville’s 18% is ahead of 81% of Maryland towns, while its trails per square mile lead 25% 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 Bloom Field Park, with 0.3 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Patapsco Valley State Park Freedom Area
Managed by Maryland Park Service
51 acres
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lotWebsite ↗
Carrie Dorsey Park
Managed by Town of Sykesville
30 acres
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
All 9 parks & preserves
Bloom Field Park4 acres · 0.3 mi of trail
Patapsco Valley State Park Freedom Area51 acres · Maryland Park Service
DirectionsCarrie Dorsey Park30 acres · Town of Sykesville
DirectionsMillard Cooper Park11 acres
DirectionsHarold Burkett Park5 acres
DirectionsHugg-Thomas Wildlife Management Area4 acres · Wildlife and Heritage Service
Shannon Run Park2 acres
Little Sykes Railway Park1 acres
DirectionsSykesville Linear Trail Park1 acres · Town of Sykesville
Who protects it
179 conserved acres
18% of Sykesville’s land. Who manages Sykesville’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Other state land94 ac
County61 ac
Town or city12 ac
Other or Unknown Local Government5 ac
State natural resources5 ac
Not recorded54 ac
Historic or Cultural Easement · 94 acLocal Other or Unknown · 50 acForest Stewardship Easement · 38 acConservation Easement · 28 acLocal Park · 12 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 111 acres are conservation easements, usually private land. Public access isn’t recorded for 22 of 48 parcels. The walks above are places people visit.
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sykesville Linear Trial Local Other or Unknown | Not recorded | 36 | Unknown |
| Sykesville MS Local Other or Unknown | Not recorded | 13 | Unknown |
| Harold Burkett Park Local Park | Town or city | 6 | Open |
| Hugg-Thomas Wma State Conservation Area | Not recorded | 5 | Unknown |
| Bloom Field Park Local Park | Town or city | 4 | Open |
| Hugg-Thomas Wildlife Management Area State Conservation Area | State natural resources | 4 | Restricted |
| Park Local Park | Town or city | 2 | Open |
| Sykesville Middle School Local Recreation Area | Other or Unknown Local Government | 1 | Open |
Things to do
15 places to go in Sykesville
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Playgrounds in Sykesville
Beach Park
DirectionsBurkett Park PlaygroundIn Harold Burkett Park
DirectionsJones ParkIn Jones Park (Hidden Park)
DirectionsPlus 8 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Picnic areas in Sykesville
4 picnic areas without a name on the map.
Biking & sports
0.6 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
0.6 mi
off-road bike paths
Courts & fields
5Basketball
1Soccer
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
History along the way
History →3 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 Sykesville: 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) | 41 | 44 | 53 | 65 | 74 | 82 | 86 | 84 | 78 | 66 | 55 | 45 |
| Rain (in) | 3.1 | 2.7 | 3.9 | 3.6 | 4.3 | 4.3 | 4.4 | 3.8 | 4.5 | 3.9 | 3.3 | 3.6 |
February is the driest month (2.7 in) and July the warmest (highs of 86 °F). 4.5 inches fall in September, the wettest month. Summer highs reach 86 °F, too hot for the outline. The climate in Sykesville →
Next door
Sykesville and its neighbors
Sykesville 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sykesville | 18% | 0.3 | 13 | 99%+ | A− |
| Eldersburg | 22% | 2.5 | 69 | 59% | A |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Sykesville
Where can I hike in Sykesville?
The longest trail networks: Bloom Field Park, 0.3 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Sykesville is conserved land?
18% 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 Sykesville’s trails?
Bloom Field Park and Patapsco Valley State Park Freedom Area don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Sykesville?
0.6 miles of bike routes are on the map: 0.6 of off-road paths.
Is there public land near Sykesville?
10,253 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Sykesville or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 60 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Sykesville have?
Ahead of 82% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #78 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 Sykesville 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 →