About hiking in Howard County

Howard County, Maryland has 166 named trails tagged for hiking, covering 179 miles, an average of 1.1 miles each. The longest is Patapsco Traverse (south hiking), at 31.6 miles. 3 run 5 miles or longer.

What the hiking trails in Howard County are like

By length, 130 are under a mile, 33 run 1 to 5 miles, and 3 are 5 miles or longer. 2 are loops, ending where they start; the longest is Lake Elkhorn Loop, at 1.9 miles.

Every one carries a difficulty rating: 88 easy, 69 moderate, and 9 hard. Of the 153 with measured elevation, Patapsco Traverse (south hiking) climbs the most, about 7,876 ft, and 3 gain 1,000 ft or more.

All 166 hiking trails, longest first

Patapsco Traverse (south hiking)Hike31.6 mi Patapsco Howard County Thru TrailHike30.9 mi Morning Choice TrailHike5.3 mi Patuxent Branch TrailHikeMTB4.9 mi Elkhorn Branch TrailHike3.8 mi Wood-Marr (HoCo Thru Trail)HikeMTB3.6 mi Old Main Line (HoCo Thru Trail)HikeMTB3.0 mi Wilde Lake LoopHike2.8 mi Ridge TrailHikeMTB2.5 mi Lake LoopHike2.4 mi OEC Connector TrailHikeMTB2.3 mi Split Rock TrailHikeMTB2.2 mi South Wind TrailHike2.2 mi Wildlife Loop TrailHike2.1 mi Daniels SingletrackHikeMTB1.9 mi Lake Elkhorn LoopHike1.9 mi River Hill SouthHikeMTB1.8 mi Daniels Laurel TrailHikeMTB1.8 mi Smith Farm TrailHike1.7 mi Green TrailHikeMTB1.6 mi Bloede Dam TrailHikeMTB1.5 mi Woodstock Station (HoCo Thru Trail)HikeMTB1.5 mi Woodstock to DriverHikeMTB1.5 mi Cascade Falls TrailHikeMTB1.4 mi White TrailHikeMTB1.4 mi NachoHikeMTB1.3 mi Rockburn TrailHikeMTB1.3 mi Ole Ranger Trail (blue)HikeMTB1.3 mi Red TrailHikeMTB1.3 mi Tulip Poplar TrailHike1.2 mi Valley View TrailHikeMTB1.1 mi Union Dam TrailHikeMTB1.1 mi Rockburn Branch Trail (purple)HikeMTB1.1 mi Woodland TrailHike1.0 mi Chapelgate LoopHike1.0 mi TVO Main TrailHikeMTB1.0 mi Belmont TrailHikeMTB1.0 mi Out of Range TrailHike0.9 mi Orange TrailHikeMTB0.9 mi Colt 45HikeMTB0.9 mi Mullineaux OrchardHikeMTB0.9 mi Fisherman's TrailHike0.8 mi Lil' BirdHikeMTB0.8 mi Nu TrailHike0.8 mi New RangerHikeMTB0.8 mi Outside of RangeHikeMTB0.8 mi Pain CaveHikeMTB0.8 mi River RoadHikeMTB0.8 mi Davis Trail (Affeldt Gasline)HikeMTB0.7 mi Little Patuxent FlatsHikeMTB0.7 mi Savage Historic Mill TrailHike0.7 mi Old Park DriveHikeMTB0.6 mi Peaceful Pond TrailHike0.6 mi Lewis and ClarkHikeMTB0.6 mi Hop The SnakeHikeMTB0.6 mi Upper Cascade Falls TrailHikeMTB0.6 mi Church Loop 1HikeMTB0.6 mi Turf Valley FlatsHikeMTB0.6 mi Blandair Hunting TrailHike0.6 mi Turf Valley Nature TrailHike0.6 mi Barley and HopsHikeMTB0.6 mi South Upper LoopHike0.5 mi Whoop De DoosHikeMTB0.5 mi Davis Trail (Allenford)HikeMTB0.5 mi TVO Grass TrailHikeMTB0.5 mi Log TrailHikeMTB0.5 mi Daniels Singletrack (Switchplate)HikeMTB0.5 mi Turf RidgeHike0.5 mi Cedar Lane PathHike0.5 mi Church Loop 2HikeMTB0.5 mi SmokeyHikeMTB0.5 mi Davis Trail (No Beech Lost)HikeMTB0.5 mi Old Track LoopHikeMTB0.5 mi Church Loop 3HikeMTB0.5 mi Turf TraverseHikeMTB0.5 mi The Fox and the HoundHikeMTB0.5 mi Blue-Green TrailHikeMTB0.5 mi KillarneyHikeMTB0.5 mi Grassland LoopHike0.4 mi Magic MikeHikeMTB0.4 mi Woodland Nature PathHikeMTB0.4 mi Church Loop 4HikeMTB0.4 mi Bethany BypassHikeMTB0.4 mi Captain John Smith LoopHikeMTB0.4 mi East Branch TrailHike0.4 mi Purple TrailHikeMTB0.4 mi Switchplate Trail LoopHikeMTB0.4 mi Long CutHike0.4 mi Old Columbia Bike TrailHikeMTB0.4 mi Dorseys RunHike0.4 mi Bike Buster-DownhillHikeMTB0.4 mi OvergrowthHikeMTB0.4 mi North Area PathHike0.4 mi Woodland Park PathHikeMTB0.4 mi Turf ValleyHikeMTB0.4 mi Fairmont ForestHikeMTB0.3 mi Skills Park TrailHikeMTB0.3 mi Pond LoopHike0.3 mi Davis Trail (Wall Trail)HikeMTB0.3 mi Even Foxes Need a BenchHikeMTB0.3 mi Pale Morning Dun ConnectorHike0.3 mi Stone Wall TrailHike0.3 mi RivesideHike0.3 mi RootballHikeMTB0.3 mi Davis HoleHikeMTB0.3 mi Airrang | River Ridge TrailHikeMTB0.3 mi Dunloggin Middleschool's Watershed FootpathHike0.3 mi Little DipperHikeMTB0.3 mi Backside of DanielsHikeMTB0.3 mi Something's Gotta GiveHikeMTB0.3 mi Water BarsHikeMTB0.3 mi Yellow TrailHikeMTB0.3 mi Davis Trail (Candyman)HikeMTB0.3 mi Old ConnectorHikeMTB0.3 mi Quarry TrailHike0.3 mi Frisbee Golf Drag StripHike0.3 mi Ballfield PathHike0.3 mi Affeldt ClimbHikeMTB0.3 mi Horse Fly AlleyHikeMTB0.3 mi Daniels Singletrack (Backside of Daniels)HikeMTB0.2 mi One EyeHikeMTB0.2 mi North Area LoopHike0.2 mi Boones BountyHikeMTB0.2 mi River Road TrailHike0.2 mi Davis Trail (Affeldt Drop to the Beech)HikeMTB0.2 mi Campground Connector TrailHikeMTB0.2 mi Force of NatureHikeMTB0.2 mi Hop The Snake Alt (New)Hike0.2 mi Affeldt Climb (HoCo Thru Trail)HikeMTB0.2 mi Davis Branch TrailHike0.2 mi Big DipperHikeMTB0.2 mi Davis Trail (Formerly Ol' Man River)HikeMTB0.2 mi Jelly BeanHike0.2 mi Super Secret Frisbee Golf BypassHike0.2 mi Quarry AccessHikeMTB0.2 mi TVO Cross TrailHikeMTB0.2 mi Lookout LoopHike0.2 mi Raven WoodsHikeMTB0.2 mi Ole RangerHikeMTB0.2 mi Hill Top PathHike0.2 mi Belmont-Rockburn ConnectorHikeMTB0.2 mi Davis TrailHikeMTB0.2 mi The Springs of ExcelsiorHikeMTB0.2 mi Kindler RoadHike0.2 mi The NarrowsHikeMTB0.2 mi Hozik Habitat TrailHike0.2 mi TwistiesHikeMTB0.2 mi To the RiverHike0.1 mi River Ridge TrailHikeMTB0.1 mi Yorkshire ConnectorHike0.1 mi 99 DropHikeMTB0.1 mi B&H-MC ConnectorHike0.1 mi Davis Trail (Formerly I've Gotta Be Me)HikeMTB0.1 mi Dude Where's My CarHike0.1 mi Parking Lot DropHike0.1 mi Lakefront / Oakland Mills Connector - Pedestrian BridgeHikeMTB0.1 mi Frisbee Field ConnectorHikeMTB0.1 mi Blue TrailHikeMTB0.1 mi Black MagicHikeMTB0.1 mi Boca BoulevardHike0.1 mi Don't Fall InHikeMTB0.1 mi Morning Log ConnectorHike0.1 mi Pavilion H PathHikeMTB0.1 mi Old Guilford Road (closed)Hike0.1 mi School PathHike0.1 mi Sylvia's StrongholdHikeMTB0.1 mi

← All Howard County trails

Trail geometry from OpenStreetMap contributors, licensed ODbL. Elevation from the USGS 3D Elevation Program. Compiled and published by Trailmonger · trail data last rebuilt October 25, 2026.