Downtown | Greater Baltimore
Carroll Park is located in southwest Baltimore and features 171 acres of country landscape. Carroll Park also houses one of Baltimore’s oldest historic mansions. Once a part of Charles Carroll, Barrister’s, Mount Clare estate, the park is now home to a bike and skate facility for extreme sports and is a venue for several youth field sports. The park features a nine-hole golf course; several fields for baseball, softball, football, and soccer; tennis and basketball courts; a playground; and picnic areas. Carroll Park is situated alongside Washington Boulevard and S. Monroe Street not far from Washington Village.
800 Bayard Street, 21223; 410-245-0613 or 410-244-0833
The Carroll Park Bike and Skate Facility is home to several extreme sports that include biking and skateboarding. The season begins in April and is open from dusk to dawn seven days a week. Free and open to the public, youth can register to compete in monthly contests.
1500 Washington Boulevard, 21230; 410-837-3262
The Mount Clare House was once the centerpiece of the Georgia Plantation and home to Charles Carroll, Barrister, a leading patriot and one of Maryland’s first state senators. Completed in 1790, the home contains nearly 3,000 objects from the 18th and 19th centuries that include painting, furniture, and decorative art that once belonged to the Carroll family. Mount Clare visits begin with an introductory video, followed by a guided tour of the house.
Clifton Park was originally purchased by Johns Hopkins as a working farm in 1938 and then was slowly converted into an Italian villa with a tower that provides a spectacular view of the harbor and city. Still maintaining its English garden charm, the park offers 259 acres of open green space that includes an 18-hole golf course; baseball, softball, football, and soccer fields; picnic areas and a playground; and a public swimming pool. Clifton Park is located in East Baltimore between Sinclair Lane and Indian Drive/Indian Head Drive.
4915 Greenspring Avenue, 21209; 410-367-2217
With the feel of an estate amongst the rolling countryside, Cylburn Arboretum spreads across 207 acres of woodland within the city limits. The park has more than two miles of nature trails, large specimens of trees, seasonal gardens, and a historic Victorian mansion. Each year in May, the Cylburn Arboretum Association sponsors Market Day, a popular event where flowers, plants, trees, shrubs, herbs, and vegetables are available for sale. Food and beverages are also available, and children can partake in arts and craft projects.
Located in Northern Baltimore, Druid Hill Park is known for its 744 acres of rolling hills, forest trees, and lots of shade. Over two centuries ago, the Susquehannock Indians ceded the land to Lord Baltimore, and the park is now listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Druid Hill Park is home to the Maryland Zoo in Baltimore; the Jones Falls biking and hiking path; a conservatory and botanic garden; a park pool; baseball and softball diamonds; football and soccer fields, and volleyball and basketball courts.
800 Wyman Park Drive, 21211; 410-396-6477
The Druid Hill Park Pool is an outdoor pool open in the summer from June to August and operated by the Department of Recreation and Parks. Learn-to-swim classes and children’s lessons are available.
3100 Swan Drive in Druid Hill Park, 21217; 410-396-0008
The Howard Peters Rawlings Conservatory and Botanic Gardens of Baltimore envisions its existence as a celebrated cultural center of learning and enjoyment. The conservatory plans three major flower displays throughout the year that include the Spring Flower Show, the Fall Chrysanthemum, and the Holiday Poinsettias. Each Sunday from 1:30–3:30 p.m., conservatory staff and students from Johns Hopkins University’s Department of Geography and Environmental Engineering also present educational events for various audiences, including a story hour for children 6 years old and under on the third Sunday of the month. With year-round plant materials displayed throughout the facility, the Howard Peters Rawlings Conservatory and Botanic Gardens of Baltimore is a perfect venue for weddings, parties, or special events.
Druid Hill Park
443-984-4058
The Jones Falls Trail biking and hiking path goes 4.25 miles from Penn Station to Clipper Mill, winding through historic Druid Hill Park, wrapping around the 1.5-mile reservoir, passing the Howard Peters Rawlings Conservatory and Botanic Gardens of Baltimore, the Maryland Zoo, three sister ponds, and the 18-hole disc golf course.
410-396-0440
The Gwynns Falls/Leakin Park is a distinct natural environment within an urban setting. At 953 acres, the Gwynns Falls/Leakin Park is one of the largest municipal tracts in the United Sates. Once part of the Thomas Winans country estate during the mid-1800s, the park is now a historic site and home to the Carrie Murray Nature Center and the Gwynns Falls Trail biking and hiking path. Other points of interest include the baseball and softball diamonds, football and soccer fields, tennis courts, picnic area, and playground. Leakin Park is also home to the annual springtime Baltimore Herb Festival.
1901 Ridegtop Road 21207; 410-396-0808
The Carrie Murray Nature Center is a wildlife rescue center. The center houses an insect zoo, live reptiles, and amphibian displays.
1920 Eagle Drive, 21207; 410-396-0440
The Gwynns Falls Trail biking and hiking path connects 30 neighborhoods in west and southwest Baltimore, with parklands that stretch over 15 miles of mostly of paved trail. The trail begins in Leakin Park and ends at the Inner Harbor Visitor Center or the southern edge of the city in Middle Branch Park. Neighborhoods which border the trail include Federal Hill, Otterbein, Pigtown, Ridgley’s Delight, and Washington Village.
Located within the Guilford community, just a few miles north of downtown and within the city limits, Sherwood Gardens is known as one of the most famous tulip gardens in the country. Free and open to the public, the fenceless and gateless six-acre garden is home to approximately 80,000 tulips in the spring, revealing its best blooming potential toward the end of April and early May. Dogwoods, flowering cherries, wisteria, and magnolias also bloom throughout the garden, and during the summer months, masses of annuals are planted throughout the space. The garden park serves as a perfect backdrop for a family picnic and day outing, with plenty of green space for children to run and explore. Sherwood Gardens is located one block east of the 4100 block of St. Paul Street and bounded by E. Highfield Road, Underwood Road, Stratford Road, and Greenway.