Gwynns Falls Park at I-70/Franklintown

Here at Interstate 70, this hiking and biking trail runs 15 miles through nearby Franklintown and the Gwynns Falls valley to the Inner Harbor in downtown Baltimore and the Middle Branch of the Patapsco River, a tributary of the Chesapeake Bay. The trail takes you on historic Franklin Turnpike for a few blocks near Dead Run and into Franklintown Historic District. Parking is available at the Park & Ride facility. Picnic areas and restrooms are available at Winans Meadow (Trailhead 2) located 1.6 miles east in Leakin Park.

Study the MapAfter Franklintown, you will pass through a mature Piedmont hardwood forest. As you cross over Dead Run and enter Winans Meadow, you will pass by a mid-1800's iron waterwheel, which pumped water from Dead Run to Thomas de Kay Winan's former Crimea estate on top of the ridge.

(Inscription above the image on the bottom left) John H. Piel ran a grocery and livestock feed store in Franklintown, one of Baltimore's first planned communities.

(Inscription in the image at the top) Bicyclists cross over Dead Run which flows into the Gwynns Falls and eventually the Chesapeake Bay.

(Inscription beside the image on the right) This 1969 drawing shows how I-70 was envisioned to go through Gwynns Falls and Leakin Parks, tunneling under the historic Crimea estate, as well as
developing active recreation facilities to compensate for the highway. Community residents fought to retain the natural character of the two parks, so I-70 stops here at the park boundary.

(Inscription over the image in the bottom right) Children pose on Franklintown Road in 1901.

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Show me all markers in:  Baltimore, MD  |  21229  |  Maryland  |  United States of America

Gwynns Falls Trail
Franklintown's Historic Roots
Caretaker House Historical
Crimea
Chapel Historical
Crimea Mansion
Norman Van Allan Reeves
Leakin Park at the Crimea Estate Historical
Crimea Estate
Orianda House

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