Jones Falls Trail

Jones Falls Trail
The Jones Falls Trail between Woodberry and Cold Spring Lane, opened 2013
Established	1999
Location	Baltimore, Maryland
Trailheads	Inner Harbor/Visitors Center Druid Hill Park
Use	Bicycling, hiking
Hiking details
Trail difficulty	Easy
Season	Year-round
Months	Year-round
Surface	Asphalt, concrete

Jones Falls Trail (typically abbreviated JFT) is a hiking and bicycling trail in Baltimore, Maryland. It mostly runs along the length of the namesake Jones Falls, a major north–south stream in and north of the city that has long acted as a major transportation corridor for the city. It also incorporates the bike path encircling Druid Hill Reservoir and its namesake park. The Jones Falls Trail forms a segment of the East Coast Greenway, a partially completed network of off-road bicycling routes that runs the length of the East Coast.

It is projected to extend from the Baltimore waterfront at the Inner Harbor north to the Mount Washington neighborhood, passing through Cylburn Arboretum and Mount Washington Arboretum.

Route description

Currently open

At present, the Jones Falls Trail begins in downtown Baltimore and winds its way north to the Cylburn neighborhood. It has on-street sections, paths parallel to city streets, and unique alignments.

The trail begins by running along a segregated path along the west side of the Inner Harbor, alongside Light Street and beginning at the Lee Street intersection; the sidepath continues south from there as part of the Gwynns Falls Trail. The parallel trail transitions to Pratt Street and continues eastward to Market Street, where it ends; the Jones Falls Trail then turns north onto Market Street on a wide sidewalk. The trail then turns east onto the north sidewalk of Lombard Street, then north again along the west bank of the namesake Jones Falls. As it then meets President Street, it turns north once again after crossing said street, continuing on the eastern sidewalk.

The Trail then meets an alignment that follows the Fallsway. It follows to the west until it meets Madison Street, at which point the Trail alignment switches to the east side of the street. Fallsway passes over I-83 and merges with Guilford Avenue, then curves to the west and becomes Mount Royal Avenue; the trail continues around with it, while Guilford Avenue continues to the north as a bike boulevard. Upon reaching Saint Paul Street, the Trail turns north along the street's east side, passing over the Jones Falls once more and passing to the east of Penn Station. The Jones Falls Trail then turns east onto Lanvale Street, following a path to its south side.

After crossing Maryland Avenue, the Jones Falls Trail follows Falls Road's sidewalk into the Jones Falls Valley, passing underneath the bridges Howard Street and North Avenue use to cross the valley. After passing the Baltimore Streetcar Museum, the Trail switches to the west side of the road, separated from MD 25 by a reverse barrier and trees, running right against the bank of the Jones Falls. This alignment continues until it passes underneath the 29th Street Bridge the Trail then climbs up a relatively steep grade, crosses the street once more, and rises out of the valley on a switchback, joining Wyman Park Drive. The Trail turns west here, passing high over the Jones Falls once more and crossing I-83 once again, continuing to climb out of the valley as it approaches Druid Hill Park.

In Druid Hill Park, the Jones Falls Trail includes the entire loop road around Druid Lake Reservoir, a bike path that runs clockwise around it. The trail enters from the northeast side and exits to the northwest of the lake, climbing as it loops around to the west and then south, meeting Beechwood Drive and continuing north along the street's east side. Going along this route, the trail passes by the Maryland Zoo, where the trail leaves the sidepath route and follows its own alignment once more, entering a heavily wooded area. It features a number of sharp curves, branching paths, and two switchbacks as it descends toward Woodberry.

In Woodberry, the Jones Falls Trail becomes an on-street route once more, entering on Parkdale Avenue. It turns immediately to the right onto Clipper Park Road, utilizing its entire length to Clipper Road. Here, the East Coast Greenway separates from the Jones Falls Trail; the trail turns to the north, while the greenway's route turns south. This intersection is also nearby the Woodberry station. Clipper Road becomes one-way to motor vehicles, but the trail continues in both directions. The trail then separates from the road once again, entering another heavily wooded area. It continues up to Cold Spring Lane and turns west to the crosswalk at Tamarind Road, where the path temporarily ends.

Future construction

The Jones Falls Trail will continue to the north at Tamarind Road, following its own unique alignment just to the east of the street. It will continue up to Springarden Drive, running to the north of that street, before turning onto Greenspring Avenue. The trail will then pass through Cylburn Arboretum. Eventually, it will cross Northern Parkway on a wooden bridge and end at Mount Washington Light Rail Station.

History

The Jones Falls Trail was conceived in the late 1990s.^[1] Construction, however, began later. The Trail is still under construction, with its schedule broken into five phases. Of these, only Phase IV and Phase V have not been completed.

Phase I is the oldest section of the Jones Falls Trail, a 1.6-mile (2.6 km) stretch from Penn Station to Druid Hill Park completed in 2004.

Phase II is a 2.5 miles (4.0 km) long stretch between Penn Station and the Inner Harbor, including reconstruction of the abandoned streetcar right-of-way used by the trail into a full-fledged bike path. It also included the widening of several sidewalks and removing a lane from Guilford Avenue and Fallsway to form a segregated bicycle path. This phase was completed in early 2013.

Phase III, the 2.75-mile (4.43 km) stretch between Druid Hill Park and the Woodberry Light Rail stop, was completed in 2008.

Phase IV is 1.25 miles (2.01 km) long, extending north from the Woodberry Light Rail station to Cylburn Arboretum. This phase was completed in 2013.

Phase V, 4.2 miles (6.8 km) long, will eventually connect Cylburn Arboretum with the Mt. Washington Light Rail Station, and will also connect Western Run Park to the trail via the Western Run Spur. This will include a wooden bridge that will pass over Northern Parkway. Construction has not yet begun.

References