{"id":233765557,"date":"2012-05-29T14:52:37","date_gmt":"2012-05-29T14:52:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp.baltimorespokes.org\/?p=233765557"},"modified":"2012-05-29T14:52:37","modified_gmt":"2012-05-29T14:52:37","slug":"trails-in-maryland-maryland-department-of-natural-resources","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wp.baltimorespokes.org\/?p=233765557","title":{"rendered":"Trails in Maryland &#8211; Maryland Department of Natural Resources"},"content":{"rendered":"<h3>Trails provide many economic benefits to local communities and create a wide<br \/>\nrange of jobs, from B&amp;B&#8217;s to bike shops. They also help tell the wonderful<br \/>\nstories of Maryland and its rich history. And hiking and bicycle trails are for<br \/>\nthe whole family. They make us all healthier and happier while opening up the<br \/>\nnatural world around us. <\/h3>\n<h3>The Maryland Department of Natural Resources (DNR) is currently working<br \/>\nclosely with the National Park Service, the Maryland Department of<br \/>\nTransportation, State Highway Administration, Department of Planning, Office of<br \/>\nTourism, local governments, trail groups, and volunteer citizens on a wide<br \/>\nassortment of trails throughout the state. <\/h3>\n<h3>Check out some of the cool trails we<br \/>\nare working on:<\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li>\n<h2>The Potomac Heritage National Scenic Trail (PHNST)<\/h2>\n<p>DNR is partnering with the Potomac Heritage Trail Association and the National<br \/>\nPark Service to evaluate an alignment for hiking between Point Lookout State<br \/>\nPark and Marshall Hall, potentially connecting 11 DNR-managed lands, including<br \/>\nChapman\u2019s Landing (Chapman State Park), Smallwood State Park, Chicamauxen WMA,<br \/>\nNanjemoy Natural Resource Management Area, Wilson Farm, Purse State Park, Chapel<br \/>\nPoint State Park (on Port Tobacco River), Cedar Point (1,737 acres), New Towne<br \/>\nNeck (776 acres) and St. Inigoes (985 acres). A natural-surface, mostly off-road<br \/>\ntrail in the Potomac River corridor, if feasible, would be a significant part of<br \/>\na multi-use trail network between the Chesapeake Bay and two northern<br \/>\ntermini\u2014Point State Park in Pittsburgh and the northern terminus of the Laurel<br \/>\nHighlands Hiking Trail near Johnstown.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li>\n<h2>Garrett Trails<\/h2>\n<p>Governor O&#8217;Malley has put $300,000 in his proposed budget for trail design<br \/>\nand environmental upgrades on state lands in Garrett County. DNR recently<br \/>\nfinalized a Trail License Agreement with Garrett Trails in Western Maryland for<br \/>\nthe proposed Meadow Mountain section of the Eastern Continental Divide Loop<br \/>\nTrail (ECDL), from I-68 to just south of Frank Brennerman Road. <\/p>\n<p>The ECDL will eventually connect to the Greater Allegheny Passage (GAP) in Meyersdale,<br \/>\nPennsylvania and run through Savage River State Forest, Deep Creek Lake,<br \/>\nOakland, Herrington Manor and Swallow Falls State Park, Friendsville, and then<br \/>\nback into the GAP at Confluence, PA. <\/p>\n<p>The International Mountain Bike Association (IMBA) and the Mid-Atlantic Off Road Enthusiasts (MORE) are also assisting<br \/>\nGarrett Trails in building sustainable mountain bike trails on The Wisp and<br \/>\nclosing rogue (illegal) trails throughout the county. <\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li>\n<h2>Western Maryland Rail Trail Phase IV<\/h2>\n<p>The Maryland Department of Transportation and State Highway Administration<br \/>\nhave appropriated funds through the Transportation Enhancement Program to add<br \/>\nanother 4.7 miles to the 20-mile-long Western Rail Trail that is managed by DNR<br \/>\nand currently runs from historic Ft. Frederick State Park, through the town of<br \/>\nHancock, and ending along the Potomac River at the forgotten canal town of<br \/>\nPearre. Over 135,000 visitors rode this very popular trail last year.\n<\/p>\n<p>The new trail extension will bypass the 106-year-old Indigo Tunnel located ten miles<br \/>\nsouthwest of Hancock, MD within the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal National<br \/>\nHistorical Park. This abandoned railroad tunnel is one of the largest and still<br \/>\nhealthy hibernaculums, or roosts, in the state and is home to five species of<br \/>\nbats including the Eastern Small-footed bat listed by Maryland as endangered and<br \/>\nthe Indiana bat on the federal endangered species list. In order to reduce any<br \/>\nchance of introducing White Nose Syndrome which has decimated bat populations<br \/>\nalong the eastern seaboard, the trail will bypass the tunnel.\n<\/p>\n<p>The National Park<br \/>\nService is the lead on this project and is currently conducting an environmental<br \/>\nassessment. The public is welcome to comment. For more information:<br \/>\n<a href=\"https:\/\/www.journal-news.net\/page\/content.detail\/id\/578996\/Trail-focus-of-meeting.html?nav=5006\"><br \/>\nhttps:\/\/www.journal-news.net\/page\/content.detail\/id\/578996\/Trail-focus-of-meeting.html?nav=5006<\/a>\n<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li>\n<h2>The September 11th National Memorial Trail<\/h2>\n<p>The September 11th National Memorial Trail is a planned 1,140-mile on-road<br \/>\nand off-road trail connecting the three 9\/11 memorial sites in New York City,<br \/>\nthe Pentagon, and Shanksville, Pa. The trail will be a tribute to all those that<br \/>\nperished in America&#8217;s single worse terrorist attack and serve as a symbol of the<br \/>\nresiliency and character of the communities in which the victims and their<br \/>\nfamilies lived and worked. The patriotic volunteers at the Memorial Trail<br \/>\nAlliance are hoping to create a multi-use, hiking, biking, and driving<br \/>\npilgrimage that will officially be designated by the federal government as a<br \/>\nnational trail. The Maryland segment, running along the C&amp;O Canal Trail, is<br \/>\nalready in place all the way to Cumberland and beyond.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li>\n<h2>W3R Trail<\/h2>\n<p>The Washington-Rochambeau was designated a National Historic Trail in 2009,<br \/>\nand follows the rambling route taken by General George Washington&#8217;s Continental<br \/>\nArmy and French soldiers led by General Jean-Baptiste de Rochambeau, starting in<br \/>\nNewport, Rhode Island and ending in Yorktown, Virginia where British General<br \/>\nCornwallis surrendered. The Maryland segment of what is primarily a driving<br \/>\ntrail will include army encampments at Head of the Elk River, Lower Ferry,<br \/>\nBushtown, White Marsh, Baltimore, Annapolis, Scot&#8217;s House, Spurrier&#8217;s Tavern,<br \/>\nSnowden&#8217;s Iron Works, Bladensburg, and Georgetown. There will be an official<br \/>\nNational Park Service website up and running in early 2012, followed by Facebook<br \/>\nand Twitter presence, and a blog for highlighting events, stories, and<br \/>\ninteractive discussion.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3>Like the flowers of spring, all sorts of interesting and colorful trails are<br \/>\npopping up all over the state, from Chesapeake City up near the Delaware Line to<br \/>\nway down in St. Mary&#8217;s County at the mouth of the Potomac River, and the<br \/>\nMaryland Department of Natural Resources is proud to help provide new and<br \/>\nrewarding recreational opportunities for our citizens and visitors alike. So now<br \/>\nthat winter is over and spring is back in town, enjoy a Maryland trail. It&#8217;s<br \/>\nguaranteed to make your day!<\/h3>\n<p>\n&#8230;<br \/>\n<!--more--><br \/>\n<br \/>\n<a href=\"https:\/\/www.dnr.maryland.gov\/land\/MD_Trails\/Trails_in_MD.asp\">https:\/\/www.dnr.maryland.gov\/land\/MD_Trails\/Trails_in_MD.asp<\/a>oldId.20120529145237217<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Trails provide many economic benefits to local communities and create a wide range of jobs, from B&amp;B&#8217;s to bike shops. They also help tell the wonderful stories of Maryland and its rich history. And hiking and bicycle trails are for the whole family. They make us all healthier and happier while opening up the natural &hellip; <\/p>\n<p class=\"link-more\"><a href=\"https:\/\/wp.baltimorespokes.org\/?p=233765557\" class=\"more-link\">Continue reading<span class=\"screen-reader-text\"> &#8220;Trails in Maryland &#8211; Maryland Department of Natural Resources&#8221;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"1","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-233765557","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-bike-paths"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/wp.baltimorespokes.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/233765557","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/wp.baltimorespokes.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/wp.baltimorespokes.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wp.baltimorespokes.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wp.baltimorespokes.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=233765557"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/wp.baltimorespokes.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/233765557\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/wp.baltimorespokes.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=233765557"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wp.baltimorespokes.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=233765557"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wp.baltimorespokes.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=233765557"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}