Patapsco Valley State Park Pickall Area
Managed by Maryland Park Service
433 acres10.1 mi of trail
Schools Out LoopDevil's HornsPickall TrailBestivus+1
Dogs on leash
Directionsto the parking lotWebsite ↗
Photo: Carol M. Highsmith · Public domainBOutdoors
Outdoors in Woodlawn
Woodlawn has 16 miles of mapped trails, 1.7 for every square mile of land
The biggest trail networks: Patapsco Valley State Park Pickall Area (10.1 mi). 146 acres are parks and preserves, 3.6 per 1,000 residents. 78% of residents live within a half mile of a park.
Ahead of 63% of U.S. towns · #159 of 261 in Maryland. What drives it
Conserved land
4%
245 acres · of 9.5 sq mi of land
Trails
16 mi
1.7 per sq mi of land
Park land
146 ac
3.6 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
78%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
2.8 mi
0.9 mi lanes · 0.2 mi paths
Lakes & rivers
2
What kind of outdoors town is Woodlawn?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Woodlawn have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Woodlawn is ahead of 63% of U.S. towns, #159 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 Woodlawn’s overall grade.
Conserved land4% of the land · typical MD town 9% · U.S. 4%BTrails1.7 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (16 mi) · MD 0.5 · U.S. 0.4APark land3.6 acres of park per 1,000 residents (146 acres) · MD 9 · U.S. 13CParks close to home78% 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 63%
LessMore
Maryland towns of 2,500+ (261)Ahead of 39%
Maryland towns conserve more land than most (a typical one, 9%; the U.S., 4%), so Woodlawn’s 4% is ahead of 20% of Maryland towns, while its trails per square mile lead 86% of them.
How sure. Graded on any three of the four inputs instead, the letter would range from C+ 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 Patapsco Valley State Park Pickall Area, with 10.1 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Dead Run Stream Valley Park
Managed by Baltimore County Department of Recreation and Parks
39 acres
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Western Hills Community Park
Park
19 acres0.1 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Westview Recreation Area
Park
17 acres0.2 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
All 10 parks & preserves
Patapsco Valley State Park Pickall Area433 acres · 10.1 mi of trail · Maryland Park Service
DirectionsWestview Recreation Area17 acres · 0.2 mi of trail
Western Hills Community Park19 acres · 0.1 mi of trail
DirectionsDead Run Stream Valley Park39 acres · Baltimore County Department of Recreation and Parks
DirectionsBurnside Park13 acres · Baltimore County Department of Recreation and Parks
DirectionsPatapsco Valley State Park Alberton Area10 acres · Maryland Park Service
DirectionsEdmondson Heights Park8 acres
DirectionsPVSP Hollofield Area4 acres · Maryland Park Service
Courtyard3 acres · Social Security Administration
DirectionsWest Hills Park1 acres
Who protects it
245 conserved acres
4% of Woodlawn’s land. Who manages Woodlawn’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
County11 ac
Other or Unknown Local Government1 ac
Not recorded242 ac
Local Other or Unknown · 134 acLocal Park · 100 acPrivate Other or Unknown · 15 acConservation Easement · 3 acState Park · 3 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 2 acres are conservation easements, usually private land. Public access isn’t recorded for 12 of 16 parcels. The walks above are places people visit.
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Local Open Space Local Other or Unknown | Not recorded | 93 | Unknown |
| Drainage And Utility Local Other or Unknown | Not recorded | 39 | Unknown |
| Deer Run Park Local Park | Not recorded | 34 | Unknown |
| Gilson Park Local Park | Not recorded | 28 | Unknown |
| Powdermill Park Local Park | Not recorded | 20 | Unknown |
| Western Hills Local Other or Unknown | Not recorded | 17 | Unknown |
| Westview Park Local Park | Not recorded | 12 | Unknown |
| Edmonson Heights Park Local Park | Not recorded | 7 | Unknown |
| Patapsco Valley Sp State Park | Not recorded | 3 | Unknown |
Things to do
33 places to go in Woodlawn
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Public pools in Woodlawn
Parkview Trail Community Swim Club
DirectionsPlus 2 public pools without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Playgrounds in Woodlawn
28 playgrounds without a name on the map.
Picnic areas in Woodlawn
Pickall AreaIn Patapsco Valley State Park Pickall Area
DirectionsPlus 1 picnic area without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Trails & water
9 named trails and 2 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Open to bikes · 9.1 miHorses · 1.0 miUnpaved · 12.0 mi
Schools Out Loop1.7 mi
Pickall Trail1.5 mi
Devil's Horns1.4 mi
Bestivus0.8 mi
Dogwood Trail0.8 mi
School's Out Loop0.8 mi
Restivus0.6 mi
Festivus0.5 mi
Festivus for the Rest of Us0.1 mi
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
Biking & sports
2.8 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
0.9 mi
painted or protected bike lanes
0.2 mi
off-road bike paths
1.7 mi
shoulders & shared lanes
Patapsco Traverse (north mtb)Bike route
3.1 miCourts & fields
28Baseball
7Tennis
4Basketball
1Soccer
1Equestrian
1Multi-sport
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 Woodlawn: 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) | 42 | 45 | 54 | 66 | 75 | 83 | 88 | 85 | 79 | 68 | 56 | 47 |
| Rain (in) | 3.2 | 2.8 | 4.0 | 3.8 | 4.3 | 4.4 | 4.5 | 4.4 | 4.6 | 4.4 | 3.6 | 3.8 |
February is the driest month (2.8 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 Woodlawn →
Next door
Woodlawn 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Woodlawn | 4% | 1.7 | 4 | 78% | B |
| Ellicott City | 16% | 2.1 | 22 | 75% | A |
| Lochearn | 12% | 0.1 | 16 | 87% | B+ |
| Milford Mill | 10% | 0.1 | 1 | 71% | C+ |
| Baltimore | 9% | 1.1 | 10 | 98% | A− |
| Catonsville | 3% | 3.8 | 7 | 77% | B+ |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Woodlawn
Where can I hike in Woodlawn?
The longest trail networks: Patapsco Valley State Park Pickall Area, 10.1 miles; Western Hills Community Park, 0.1 miles; Westview Recreation Area, 0.2 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Woodlawn is conserved land?
4% 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 Woodlawn’s trails?
OpenStreetMap records dogs as welcome at Patapsco Valley State Park Pickall Area (on leash). For the rest, check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Woodlawn?
2.8 miles of bike routes are on the map: 0.9 of painted or protected lanes, 0.2 of off-road paths and 1.7 of shoulders and shared lanes. Named routes: Patapsco Traverse (north mtb).
Is there public land near Woodlawn?
18,482 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Woodlawn or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 146 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Woodlawn have?
Ahead of 63% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #159 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 Woodlawn 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 →