Sea Wall Trail
in Maryland · centroid 2 mi from Baltimore
The sea wall trail is a mile long loop around the park of Fort McHenry. The trail is a paved path that runs along the Patapsco River for roughly 3/4 of a mile. Visitors who walk the trail will get a scenic glimpse of the tip of the Locust Point peninsula in Baltimore.
The trail offers various angles to view the star fort structure as well small glimpses into nature with a wide variety of birds, memorial cherry blossoms, and river wildlife. Visitors will also pass by the large Orpheus statue that was dedicated to Francis Scott Key in the early 20th Century. There is no cost to walk the trail and there are various benches and signage along the way.
- States
- Maryland
- Trail type
- National Monument and Historic Shrine trail
- Centroid nearest city
- Baltimore, MD · 2 mi · ~5 min drive
- Centroid coords
- 39.2655°, -76.5792°
About Fort McHenry National Monument and Historic Shrine
This trail is inside Fort McHenry National Monument and Historic Shrine, a national monument and historic shrine managed by the U.S. National Park Service. Conditions, road status, trail closures, and reservation requirements are published on the park's NPS page — check it before driving in, especially in winter or during major weather events.
Entrance fee: $15 per vehicle (verify current rate on the park page). An America the Beautiful annual pass ($80) covers entrance to all NPS units.
Official NPS trail page: https://www.nps.gov/places/sea-wall-trail.htm
Park homepage: https://www.nps.gov/fomc/index.htm
Plan your hike
Maps + permits: long-distance trails like this often require permits for through-hiking, backcountry camping, or specific sections (especially in National Parks). Check with the maintaining organisation listed above and the relevant land manager before booking travel.
Water + supplies: water sources vary seasonally on most U.S. trails. Carry a filter and consult current trail-condition reports — through-hiker journals (PCT-L, AT Reddit, etc.) and the maintaining organisation publish regular updates.
When to go: hiking seasons vary widely with elevation, latitude, and snowpack. Through-hikers traditionally start the AT in March-April (Springer northbound) and the PCT in late April (Campo northbound). High-elevation western trails (CDT, JMT, Wonderland) generally aren't passable until July.
If you've hiked Sea Wall Trail and have current notes (water sources, trail closures, permit changes), tell us at /contact — we update pages as we learn.
Stay nearby
Other trails within 50 miles
Patapsco Traverse (south hiking)
14 miles from this trail's centroid
Patapsco Traverse (north hiking)
14 miles from this trail's centroid
Patapsco Howard County Thru Trail
14 miles from this trail's centroid
ADT - Maryland - Seg 2
19 miles from this trail's centroid
Washington, Baltimore & Annapolis Trail
20 miles from this trail's centroid
Torrey C. Brown Rail Trail
24 miles from this trail's centroid
Sources
Trail data on this page is compiled from OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL), the maintaining organisation's public-facing materials, and Wikipedia (CC BY-SA where excerpts are quoted). Distance, terminus, and descriptive text for nationally-designated trails are hand-curated from federal land-manager websites and trail-association sources. We do not modify the underlying data; this page presents what is already publicly recorded. To suggest corrections, see our methodology page.