Falls Road

The Falls Road Byway begins near PRETTYBOY RESERVOIR near the tiny community of Alesia. Hiking, fishing and paddle sports are popular pursuits at Prettyboy. The tranquil drive continues through woodland and rural landscapes to GUNPOWDER FALLS STATE PARK , where hiking trails and a blue-ribbon trout stream are found below Prettyboy Dam. Spend the night at MILL POND COTTAGE for a remote retreat just steps from the stream.

Enter the town of Butler to browse among the various antiques stores and specialty shops before moving on to the OREGON RIDGE NATURE CENTER . A swimming beach in a marble quarry, a nature center with wild animal displays and miles of wooded trails are some of the highlights of this 1,100-acre park, which hosts outdoor events ranging from orchestral concerts to hot-air balloon ascensions, maple sugaring festivals and more.

Head south past historic country estates and idyllic landscapes in the Green Spring Valley. Get a closer look with a sidetrack down MD 130 (Green Spring Valley Road). GRAMERCY MANSION BED AND BREAKFAST offers an opportunity to stay in luxury in one of the grand mansions.

Passing through an intersection with Joppa Road and the Jones Falls Expressway (I-83), you approach what looks like a European castle. THE CLOISTERS , a mansion built in 1932, based on late medieval French and English architecture, is used for special events.

Grand homes and well-manicured properties characterize residential areas found just inside the Baltimore Beltway (I-695). Soon you’ll approach Rockland, a National Register Historic District that developed around the milling industry, now a quiet community of impressive stone buildings. The historic neighborhood of Bare Hills, with its Gothic revival homes, was a free Black community from the 1800s that took its name from mining operations. St. John’s Church, an African Union Methodist Protestant Church still stands in Ruxton and once served African Americans living there and in Bare Hills.