| Blue Ribbon - Robert E. Lee Park (Baltimore | | | | many trail options in this 1000-acre park and don't be |
| County)With its rough-around-the-edges look, Robert | | | | afraid to learn something here. An interpretive trail |
| E. Lee radiates plenty of canine charm. It feels as if | | | | leads to exhibits on the bountiful natural resources |
| dogs are welcome here and the 456-acre park has | | | | that made Oregon Ridge an active mining commun-ity |
| evolved into a prime destination for dog walkers of | | | | in the 19th century: water, timber, iron and marble.#7 |
| all sorts. Looking for a quick walk and a swim? Lake | | | | - Gunpowder Falls State Park - Bel Air (Baltimore |
| Roland can't be beat for deep water dog paddling. | | | | County)From the parking lot on US 1 there are hours |
| After a half-day's outing with your dog on the hiking | | | | of hiking on both sides of the Gunpowder Falls in |
| trails? Cross the light rail line and the trail system | | | | either direction. The highlight for canine hikers here is |
| explodes into a maze of hard-packed dirt | | | | the Sweathouse Branch Wildlands Area that provides |
| passageways through the woods. Just need to let | | | | some of the best loop trails in the Gunpowder Falls |
| the dog romp with some buddies? Robert E. Lee | | | | state park system. The healthy hill climbs and wide |
| Park may as well be Rover E. Lee Park. You'll find | | | | trails give a big feel to this 5.1-mile walk as it |
| more dogs per hour here than any park in the | | | | meanders through differing forest types. Continue |
| Baltimore area.#2 - Gunpowder Falls State Park - | | | | just past the end of the Sweathouse Trail to the |
| Hereford (Baltimore County)At Hereford the canine | | | | Long Green Run and you'll find one of the best canine |
| hiker can find any length or type of hike to set tails | | | | swimming holes in Greater Baltimore. Racing water is |
| wagging. Long out-and-back walks through a rugged | | | | funnelled into a deep pool by a whale-shaped rock |
| gorge (this is Baltimore?) can be combined with many | | | | that serves as a natural diving board for playful |
| side trails that scamper up the valley slopes. You'll find | | | | dogs.#8 - Patapsco Valley State Park (Carroll, |
| plenty of great canine swimming holes in the river, | | | | Howard and Baltimore counties)Dogs are banned in |
| fed by outflows from the Prettyboy Dam. You can | | | | most areas of Maryland's first state park, established |
| even take the dog right to the base of the dam on | | | | in 1907. But there is plenty of lemonade to be |
| a narrow trail drenched in mountain laurel.#3 - | | | | squeezed from those lemons served up by the state |
| Susquehanna State Park (Harford County)The first | | | | of Maryland. Dogs are welcomed in undeveloped |
| European to set eyes on the Susquehanna River was | | | | areas such as Feezer's Lane where a short hike leads |
| English explorer John Smith. He was suitably | | | | to the base of Liberty Dam; Henryton Road which |
| impressed. "Heaven and earth," he wrote, "seemed | | | | sports a wild and wooly streamside adventure; |
| never to have agreed better to frame a place for | | | | access to the tamed Patapsco River at historic |
| man's commodious and delightful habitation." Dog | | | | Daniels; and breathtaking views of the river valley |
| owners might readily concur. At Susquehanna State | | | | from Buzzard's Rock off Hilltop Road.#9 - Savage |
| Park you can test trails in the hills that will leave man | | | | Park (Howard County)Three unconnected areas |
| and dog panting or stroll along the shady | | | | surrounding the confluence of the Middle Patuxent |
| Susquehanna and Tidewater Canal towpath, as level | | | | and Little Patuxent rivers conspire to form Savage |
| and pleasant an excursion as you can take with your | | | | Park. The Wincopin Neck Trails are the prime |
| dog.#4 - Downs Memorial Park (Anne Arundel | | | | destination for the canine hiker where most of the |
| County)Looking for a dog-friendly park? At Downs | | | | walking is level except where the paths plunge to the |
| Memorial Park there is a "pet parking" stall outside the | | | | edge of the rivers. Across the water, the Savage |
| information center. A dog drinking bowl is chained to | | | | Historic Mill Trail is a wide, level wooded path that |
| a human water fountain. The walking is fine too. | | | | traces the boulder-pocked stream below the |
| Some five miles of easy hiking through woodlands of | | | | confluence for 3/4 mile. Pools in the falls are the |
| oak and maple and holly and gum. Best of all is Dog | | | | prettiest canine swimming holes in Greater |
| Beach, an isolated, scruffy 40-yard stretch of sand | | | | Baltimore.#10 - Soldiers Delight Natural Environmental |
| where you can let the dog off leash for canine | | | | Area (Baltimore County)Soldier's Delight is the ideal |
| aquatics in the Chesapeake Bay. The wave action is | | | | change-up from the tall trees and rushing streams |
| just right for dogs and there is enough sand for | | | | found at most Baltimore area parks. Keep your eyes |
| digging. Need we say more?#5 - Gunpowder Falls | | | | open as you wander through Soldier's Delight's 2700 |
| State Park - Sweet Air (Baltimore/Harford | | | | acres. The lack of nutrients in the soil of these |
| County)Sweet Air offers more than 12 miles of | | | | "barrens" produce a prairie-like environment loaded |
| well-marked rambles on four main trails and several | | | | with rare insects, rocks and more than three dozen |
| connector branches. Unlike other sections of | | | | endangered plant species. The distinctive green-tinted |
| Gunpowder Falls State Park, the water is not the | | | | serpentine stone sticks up through the thin soil, |
| star at Sweet Air. Rather the attraction is a pastiche | | | | however, and, while easy on the eye, can be tough |
| of open fields (still under cultivation) and wooded | | | | on the paw.I am the author of over 20 books, |
| landscapes on either side of the river. Don't forget to | | | | including 8 on hiking with your dog, including the |
| check out the farm ponds on the property for some | | | | widely praised The Canine Hiker's Bible. As publisher |
| canine refreshment.#6 - Oregon Ridge Park | | | | of Cruden Bay Books, we |
| (Baltimore County)Save for the demanding rocky | | | | produce the innovative A Bark In The Park series of |
| slopes of the S. James Camp-bell Trail, the hiking on | | | | canine hiking books found at |
| Oregon Ridge's six miles of trails is almost uniformly | | | | During the warm months I lead canine hikes as |
| wide and soft to the paw. The folks at Oregon | | | | tour leader for tours, leading packs of dogs and |
| Ridge are accommodating to dog owners - if you | | | | humans on |
| forget the leash they will loan you one. There are | | | | day and overnight trips. |