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5 Cross Island Trail

County

Queen Anne’s

Endpoints

Terrapin Nature Park to Kent Narrows (Kent Island)

Mileage

6

Type

Rail-Trail

Roughness Index

1

Surface

Asphalt

Maryland’s Cross Island Trail spans Kent Island, east to west, in Queen Anne’s County, providing multiple points of access to everything from libraries and schools to ball fields and the waterfront. It’s an impressively signed, well-maintained, charming trail with some truly exceptional views.

Begin at Terrapin Nature Park, a parcel of protected land for birds and native plant life. Just past the nature area, to the left of the trail, is an old graveyard with fewer than a dozen cracked and weathered headstones tucked among the trees. If you can spot it, it’s worth a peek. From here, the trail quickly winds through neighborhoods and stands of white pines and hemlocks. At the first mile marker, you come to Old Love Point Park, a recreation area with baseball and soccer fields.

Get a taste of Chesapeake Bay on the Cross Island Trail.

Continuing along, the trail passes through farmlands, and you’ll be able to see a lighthouse in the distance that indicates how close you really are to the seashore. At mile 3.8, you will have to do a short back-road jog to reconnect with the trail, but a blue-painted bike lane makes this a simple transition. Back on the path, you’ll come to a long wooden bridge that provides the first unhindered view of the water. This lovely expanse is a gem on the Cross Island Trail.

To access the Chesapeake Exploration Center in Kent Narrows, head left onto Piney Narrows Road, which bends right toward the water. The center is located at the end of the road, to the left.

Or to continue along the trail, when you reach the marina, head uphill to cross over the causeway, MD 18/Main Street, where there is an extremely wide shoulder. Here, the trail becomes a series of sidewalks and access points to the waterfront and its restaurants and boat slips.

CONTACT: parksnrec.org

DIRECTIONS

To reach the start at Terrapin Nature Park, from Annapolis, take US 50 east to Exit 37 (the first exit after crossing the Chesapeake Bay Bridge). After 0.3 mile, turn left onto MD 8. Follow MD 8 0.4 mile to the Chesapeake Bay Business Park, and turn left. Follow the road to the right around the circle until you come to Terrapin Nature Park. There is ample parking, and portable toilets are at the trailhead. Note that you must purchase and display a Queen Anne’s County Beach Permit to leave your vehicle in the park’s parking lot.

To reach Kent Narrows, take US 50 east from Annapolis. Take Exit 41/MD 18 E/Main St. Follow MD 18 for just under 1 mile (you’ll pass over Kent Narrows on a bridge), and then turn left onto Kent Narrows Road. Turn left onto Narrows Road. Parking is available under the bridge.