1
Middle Patuxent Environmental Area
Nature preserve
1,009 acres8.2 mi of trail
South Wind TrailWildlife Loop TrailConnector Trail
Dog rules not recorded
DirectionsTo the parking lot
Outdoors · Columbia
Columbia, MD parks, trails & bike paths
About 26% of Columbia is conserved land, roughly 5,322 acres. There are about 31 miles of mapped trails, and the biggest networks are in Middle Patuxent Environmental Area (8.2 mi), Blandair Regional Park (5.6 mi), and Sweet Hours Park (1.8 mi).
Conserved land, trails, parks and bike routes in Columbia, measured from OpenStreetMap and USGS data.
At a glance
Columbia outdoors
Conserved land
26%
5,322 of 20,494 acres
Trails
31 mi
1 mi per sq mi · 26 on conserved land
Parks & preserves
23
51 conserved acres per 1,000 residents
Bike routes
82.6 mi
19.0 mi lanes · 55.7 mi off-road paths
Conserved land is a share of the whole town area. Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
Map
Conserved land, trails & bike routes
Tap a number or a place below to zoom in© OpenStreetMap contributors · USGS PAD-US
Places to walk
Parks & preserves with trails
Ranked by mapped trail miles. Directions go to the nearest marked trailhead or public parking.
2
Blandair Regional Park
Managed by Howard County Department of Recreation & Parks
297 acres5.6 mi of trail
Smith Farm TrailBlandair Hunting Trail
Dog rules not recorded
DirectionsTo North Area Parking
3
Sweet Hours Park
Managed by Columbia Association
154 acres1.8 mi of trail
Fisherman's TrailOvergrowth
Dog rules not recorded
DirectionsTo the parking lot
4
Symphony Woods
Park
65 acres1 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
DirectionsTo the parking lot
5
Robinson Nature Center
Nature preserve
18 acres0.8 mi of trail
Lookout LoopSycamoer Stroll
Dog rules not recorded
6
Lake Kittamaqundi Park
Park
77 acres0.3 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
DirectionsTo the parking lot
7
Gorman Stream Valley Natural Resource Area
Nature preserve
29 acres0.3 mi of trail
Overgrowth
Dog rules not recorded
DirectionsTo Gorman Park Trail Parking
All 23 parks & preserves
Showing 1–10 of 23 parks & preserves
Middle Patuxent Environmental Area1,009 acres · 8.2 mi of trail
Blandair Regional Park297 acres · 5.6 mi of trail · Howard County Department of Recreation & Parks
Sweet Hours Park154 acres · 1.8 mi of trail · Columbia Association
Symphony Woods65 acres · 1 mi of trail
Robinson Nature Center18 acres · 0.8 mi of trail
Lake Kittamaqundi Park77 acres · 0.3 mi of trail
Gorman Stream Valley Natural Resource Area29 acres · 0.3 mi of trail
Cedar Lane Park92 acres · 0.2 mi of trail
Columbia SportsPark and SkatePark14 acres · 0.2 mi of trail · Columbia Association
Atholton Park12 acres · 0.2 mi of trail
Things to do
Beaches, playgrounds, falls & more
Pick a kind of place for the list, directions, or pins on the map above.
Playgrounds in Columbia
Showing 1–10 of 50 playgrounds
Animal ParkIn Sweet Hours Park
KC1In Sweet Hours Park
KC15 - Sandbox ParkIn Sweet Hours Park
KC16 - White Tree ParkIn Sweet Hours Park
KC3
KC5
KC9
Laura's PlaceIn Blandair Regional Park
Owen Brown Playground 2
Unnamed playground
199 more unnamed playgrounds are mapped in Columbia.
Trails
Named trails
Open to bikes 6.8 miUnpaved 25.2 mi
Showing 1–10 of 14 trails
- South Wind Trail2.2 mi
- Wildlife Loop Trail2.1 mi
- Smith Farm Trail1.7 mi
- White Trail1.1 mi
- Orange Trail0.9 mi
- Fisherman's Trail0.8 mi
- Patuxent Branch Trail0.7 mi
- Blandair Hunting Trail0.6 mi
- Connector Trail0.4 mi
- Purple Trail0.4 mi
Water
Lakes & rivers
Showing 1–10 of 15 places
Beaverbrook LakelakeBusy Grass PondpondGeneral Electric Retention PondreservoirGlenmont PondGuilford Quarry Pit (historic)pondJackson PondLake ElkhornlakeLake KittamaqundiPitQuarry Pit (historic)
Tap a name for directions.
Who protects the land
5,322 conserved acres
Who manages it, from PAD-US. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Conserved doesn't always mean open to visitors. 229 acres are conservation easements, which are usually private land. Public access isn't recorded for 134 of 277 parcels. The places listed above are parks and preserves people visit.
Biking & sports
Bike routes, courts & fields
- Painted or protected bike lanes19.0 mi
- Off-road bike paths55.7 mi
- Shoulders & shared lanes7.9 mi
- Clarksville-Fort Meade Signed State Bicycle Route (bike route)0.9 mi
Courts & fields
- Tennis87
- Baseball57
- Multi-sport48
- Basketball32
- Golf13
- Pickleball6
- Volleyball5
Counts include school and college facilities, which aren't always open to the public.
Public lands
The biggest protected places in Columbia
From USGS PAD-US: who manages each one and whether visitors are welcome.
Local Other or Unknown 3,592 acPrivate Other or Unknown 3,217 acLocal Park 776 acConservation Easement 252 acForest Stewardship Easement 163 ac
Showing 1–10 of 15 places
| Place | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Open SpacePrivate Other or Unknown | Not recorded | 3,491 | Access unknown |
| Columbia AsscLocal Other or Unknown | Other or Unknown Local Government | 1,590 | Open |
| Natural Resource Man. AreaLocal Other or Unknown | Not recorded | 1,011 | Access unknown |
| Blandair ParkLocal Park | Not recorded | 325 | Access unknown |
| Rt. 29 Pedestrian BridgeLocal Other or Unknown | Other or Unknown Local Government | 189 | Open |
| Natural Resource AreaLocal Other or Unknown | Other or Unknown Local Government | 169 | Open |
| Kings Contrivance Park (columbia)Local Park | Other or Unknown Local Government | 115 | Open |
| Gorman Stream ValleyLocal Other or Unknown | Not recorded | 107 | Access unknown |
| County Open SpaceLocal Other or Unknown | Not recorded | 89 | Access unknown |
| Elkhorn Garden PlotsLocal Other or Unknown | Not recorded | 76 | Access unknown |
History
Historic places to visit
Mill RaceIn Middle Patuxent Environmental Area · Ruins
Simpson MillRuins
Columbia Memorial ParkCemetery
Dorsey CemeteryCemetery
First Baptist Church of Guilford CemeteryCemetery
Guilford Quarry CemeteryCemetery
Linthicum CemeteryCemetery
QMSgt Francis WymanCemetery
Saint Johns CemeteryCemetery
Trinity CemeteryCemetery
Nearby
Columbia and its neighbors
Towns whose outdoors data has been built so far.
| Town | Conserved | Trails | Parks & preserves |
|---|---|---|---|
| Columbia | 26% | 31.3 mi | 23 |
| Scaggsville | 28% | 11.2 mi | 4 |
| Ellicott City | 15.9% | 62.6 mi | 18 |
| Ilchester | 18.7% | 35.0 mi | 8 |
| North Laurel | 15.3% | 3.1 mi | 5 |
| Savage | 17.1% | 9.6 mi | 4 |
| Jessup | 7.9% | 0.0 mi | 2 |
Trail talk
Conditions & tips from neighbors
No recent posts about Columbia's trails yet. Muddy, icy, a bridge out, where to park: a quick post helps the next person.
Sources: trails, parks, preserves, courts and bike lanes © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL), map data as of 2026-09-28. Conserved land: USGS Gap Analysis Project, Protected Areas Database of the United States (PAD-US). Measured against the Census town boundary.
How we measure
"Trails" are OpenStreetMap paths, bridleways, public tracks and unpaved footways, plus footways inside a park or preserve or on a named trail route. Sidewalks are left out. Areas are counted on a 23.7-meter grid, so overlapping parcels count once. "Conserved" includes conservation easements, which protect land from development but are usually private property. Trailheads are the nearest marked trailhead, public parking lot or information board within about 150 meters of a preserve. Dog rules come from OpenStreetMap when someone has tagged them; otherwise we show what's typical for the land manager, or say the rules aren't recorded.