Exploring Parkton’s Gunpowder North Trail was a fun adventure

Posted on by Vanessa Junkin (She Runs by the Seashore)
View of trail next to a river with lots of trees.
The Gunpowder North Trail goes along the Gunpowder Falls. (Vanessa Junkin photo)

There are many trails around my mom and stepdad’s house, and when I have the time, I like to explore new places. I looked on the AllTrails app to see what trails were nearby and ended up choosing to drive to the Masemore Water Trail in Gunpowder Falls State Park (Hereford Area) in Parkton, Maryland.

When I got to the parking lot for this trail, someone asked me which way I was going and mentioned which way the falls were. I had not noticed there were two directions, but I figured I’d go the way toward the falls and crossed a bridge over the river to take the Gunpowder North Trail.

The singletrack trail went alongside a river called the Gunpowder Falls. I took the run at an easy pace, stopping for photos and videos along the way and not pushing myself to run at a certain speed. I’d gotten up early for a long run the day before this May 22 run, so I slept in, and it was hot by the time I got out there.

Singletrack trail going through the lush, green woods with plants on either side and trees in the distance.
Here’s a view from the Gunpowder North Trail. (Vanessa Junkin photo)

The area surrounding the trail was lush and green. After about 1.36 miles, I came across a road and continued on a trail marked as the Jim Gracie Trail. I later came across the small waterfall and had to cross the shallow water to continue on the trail.

It looked like there was a trail on the other side of the river, and there were people standing in the river fishing, so I figured it would be safe to cross the shallow water and see if I could go back on the other side to see additional scenery. Unfortunately, while crossing, the current of the river made me slip and fall into the water. I wasn’t hurt, and the water actually felt good on the hot day, but unfortunately, my phone did not make it, so I would not recommend trying to do that. (The phone acted pretty normally for about a week and then had issues, and I replaced it.)

I’d done about two miles one-way, so I made my way back to the start and finished the run with a total of four miles. I’m glad I explored a new trail and it looks like there are other trails and areas to explore nearby. However, I won’t try to cross any rivers next time.

A small waterfall with lots of green plants/trees surrounding it.
This is the small waterfall that I came to during my run. (Vanessa Junkin photo)

2 thoughts on “Exploring Parkton’s Gunpowder North Trail was a fun adventure”

  1. Pingback: May and June Running Wrap-Up: Many miles in May and a marathon in June – She Runs by the Seashore

Comments are closed.