History:
The Liberty Reservoir spans Carroll and Baltimore Counties, covering about 3,106 acres and serving as the largest source of water supply for the Baltimore region. Before the reservoir was created, the valley was home to the historic mill town of Oakland Mills. Land grants in the area date back to the 1720s, when settlers sought fertile farmland and opportunities to supply grain to the rapidly growing port city of Baltimore. Oakland Mills became a thriving industrial village with the Melville Woolen Mills, church, and homes which provided livelihoods for hundreds until families were forced to evacuate when the Patapsco Water Basin Act was signed in 1931. Dam construction began in 1951, completed in 1954, and by 1956 the historic town of Oakland Mills was completely flooded with 43 billion gallons of water from neighboring tributaries.
Significance:
This route had been an idea for several years and I finally completed the map this spring after six consecutive reconnaissance missions. This personal passion project has been a tremendously fun adventure and, most rewardingly, reinforced the feelings of joy found in exploring new trails and connecting forgotten pieces of a landscape through running.
My strengthened connection to this land parallels my pursuits in trail running but really began years ago in my teen years. Growing up, this was our getaway, for better or for worse. Eventually after returning home years later I slowly started revisiting trails from my youth while training for my first 50 miler. Many sections remain lightly maintained following reductions in county funding for the fire road system in 2011. Despite that, the route reveals a surprising variety of single-track and double-track which inspired me to keep exploring the area. I would typically commute to Patapsco State Park but soon found I had access to a wide variety of trails locally which provided sufficient training. The reservoir trails and old roadbeds are frequented by hikers, horseback riders, fisherman, and occasional mountain bikers. The Strava heatmap remains surprisingly cold, but the more trails I explored, the harder it became to ignore the idea of connecting the entire perimeter into a single loop. The project came full circle during an early morning run. These shorelines were once a place I escaped to as a teenager to get high, party, etc - I never would have guessed that nearly twenty years later I'd return as a sober ultrarunner in recovery, with the ability and desire to circumnavigate the entire reservoir on foot. As of now, plans are to attempt a supported effort on 6/13.
Route:
Beginning at the Liberty Watershed fire road gate at the end of Cockeys Mill Road, this route follows the reservoir's perimeter southbound until crossing the South Branch of the Patapsco River beneath the Liberty Dam around mile 16. This southernmost section and low point of the route briefly crosses through the McKeldin Area of the Patapsco Valley State Park which is the Baltimore area's most expansive trail network and hosts races like the MD Heat Race 50km and Patapsco Valley 50 km. The Patapsco River continues to flow through the valley where it eventually makes its way to the Baltimore inner harbor. Patapsco Valley is truly the premier destination for trail running in our area, and to me the Liberty Reservoir perimeter trail system is an extension of that with a more locally rooted personal significance. This route continues north out of the McKeldin Area, eventually crossing rt 26, rt 32, and Deer Park rd as you navigate northbound along the western reservoir shore. From there, it crosses over rt 140 northbound and southbound to wrap around the northernmost portion of the reservoir body before the final stretch back to the Cockeys Mill Road gate. In total, it's 68 miles and 7800 ft of elevation gain, consisting primarily of single-track and double-track, with intermittent fire roads and less than 2 miles of paved road. The feature of the route is as close to the lake as normal trails will allow without any single path out-and-back (appendices) and is the full perimeter of the reservoir.
