Running and Hiking in Edgewood, MD

I'm travelling for work again, and as always, I've been exploring the area for great places to hike and run.  As often happens, the area immediately around my hotel is no fun for running with busy, narrow-shouldered roads.  And it has taken some effort to find accessible hiking trails nearby.

Earlier this week, I first tried to visit Harford Glen Park off of Wheel Rd west of Hwy 24, which has a nature trail circling a reservoir for a 4.5 mile route.  It is an educational organization, which is really cool.  Unfortunately, it appears to be closed when school is in session.  I drove up to the entrance to be greeted by locked gates.  So disappointing.

Then, I tried a few separate times to find the trail head in Winters Run Park.  I did finally find a trail entrance along Philadelphia Rd near Fashion Way.  The trail here is more of a mowed grassy stretch along the creek than a dirt trail.  It looks like it's main purpose is to provide access to maintenance crews along the creek.  It was neat to see bamboo growing here, but the creek was a little smelly.  I wasn't a huge fan.  However, I only went as far as the I-95 bridge, and as I look at the Google satellite view now, I see that the trail continues north into an area called Winters Run Conservation Area.  It looks like the trail is accessible from the back of a Lowe's parking lot.  I need to check that out on my next trip.

Today, I decided to visit a couple parks after eating lunch, the first of which was Edgewater Village Park off of Hwy 40 near Emmorton.  This park hosts what looks to be a nice recreational building, but the park itself is a bit run down.  There is a pond with a decaying asphalt path running around it.  There were many neighborhood kids playing in the area, but I was hoping for something more wooded.

Flowers at the edge of the pond at Edgewater Village Park

Lastly, I drove over to Leight Estuary, which is another educational organization.  It is open about 4 days a week and has several trails through the woods for walking and bird watching.  There are about 2 miles of trails in total.  I was mildly annoyed by the large number of tiny bugs that seemed to adore buzzing around my eyes, but the park was very nice and had the rougher, hiking-friendly atmosphere that I wanted.  I was also impressed that the trails were well marked with signs and blazes.  I will definitely be back to the Estuary on my next trip to Edgewood.

Yellow Loop at Leight Estuary

Pier at the end of the Blue Loop at Leight Estuary

Yellow Loop at Leight Estuary