1
Franklin Point State Park
Managed by Maryland Department of Natural Resources, Maryland Park Service
487 acres3.7 mi of trail
Circuit TrailFlag Pond TrailPine Alley LoopPicnic Area Loop
Dog rules not recorded
Outdoors · Shady Side
Shady Side, MD parks, trails & bike paths
About 14% of Shady Side is conserved land, roughly 691 acres. There are about 5.7 miles of mapped trails, and the biggest networks are in Franklin Point State Park (3.7 mi), Jack Creek Park (1.4 mi), and Shady Cove Natural Area (0.6 mi).
Conserved land, trails, parks and bike routes in Shady Side, measured from OpenStreetMap and USGS data.
At a glance
Shady Side outdoors
Conserved land
14%
691 of 5,000 acres
Trails
5.7 mi
0.7 mi per sq mi · 6 on conserved land
Parks & preserves
5
146 conserved acres per 1,000 residents
Bike routes
0.0 mi
0.0 mi lanes · 0.0 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
Jack Creek Park
Managed by Anne Arundel County Parks and Recreation
56 acres1.4 mi of trail
Meadow Trail NorthMeadow Trail SouthForest Loop (white)
Dog rules not recorded
3
Shady Cove Natural Area
Park
26 acres0.6 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
4
Snug Harbor Natural Area
Park
8 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Things to do
Beaches, playgrounds, falls & more
Pick a kind of place for the list, directions, or pins on the map above.
Playgrounds in Shady Side
Unnamed playground
Unnamed playground
Trails
Named trails
Unpaved 1.1 mi
- Circuit Trail1.5 mi
- Flag Pond Trail1.0 mi
- Pine Alley Loop0.7 mi
- Meadow Trail North0.7 mi
- Meadow Trail South0.3 mi
- Forest Loop (white)0.3 mi
- Picnic Area Loop0.2 mi
Water
Lakes & rivers
Tap a name for directions.
Who protects the land
691 conserved acres
Who manages it, from PAD-US. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Conserved doesn't always mean open to visitors. 96 acres are conservation easements, which are usually private land. Public access isn't recorded for 9 of 36 parcels. The places listed above are parks and preserves people visit.
Biking & sports
Bike routes, courts & fields
- Painted or protected bike lanes0.0 mi
- Off-road bike paths0.0 mi
- Shoulders & shared lanes0.0 mi
Courts & fields
- Basketball2
- Baseball2
Counts include school and college facilities, which aren't always open to the public.
Public lands
The biggest protected places in Shady Side
From USGS PAD-US: who manages each one and whether visitors are welcome.
State Park 487 acLocal Park 108 acConservation Easement 53 acForest Stewardship Easement 51 acHistoric or Cultural Easement 42 ac
| Place | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Franklin Point State ParkState Park | State natural resources | 487 | Open |
| Jack Creek ParkLocal Park | Other or Unknown Local Government | 47 | Open |
| Shady Cove Natural AreaLocal Park | Other or Unknown Local Government | 28 | Open |
| Shadyside4 ParkLocal Park | Other or Unknown Local Government | 16 | Open |
| Snug Harbor ParkLocal Park | Other or Unknown Local Government | 12 | Open |
| Churchton ParkLocal Park | Other or Unknown Local Government | 6 | Open |
Nearby
Shady Side and its neighbors
Towns whose outdoors data has been built so far.
| Town | Conserved | Trails | Parks & preserves |
|---|---|---|---|
| Shady Side | 13.8% | 5.7 mi | 5 |
| Galesville | 4.2% | 0.2 mi | 4 |
| Deale | 5% | 0.7 mi | 2 |
Trail talk
Conditions & tips from neighbors
No recent posts about Shady Side'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 20-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.