Baltimore was building grand parks before most American cities thought of it. Druid Hill Park, established in 1860, ranks among the oldest landscaped public parks in the United States — 745 acres of forests, meadows and lakes northwest of downtown, in the grand tradition of Central Park (and designed in the same era of park-making).
The park layers pleasures: the Maryland Zoo has called it home since 1876; the Rawlings Conservatory’s 1888 glasshouse glows with orchids and palms; Druid Lake (a reservoir ringed by a beloved walking loop) anchors the southern edge; and trails thread into some of the finest mature woodland inside any American city. The park’s ‘Big Four’ — its gateway arches, conservatory, zoo and lake — make a full day easy.
Druid Hill Park is free and open daily; the conservatory and zoo have their own hours. Start at the Rawlings Conservatory on Gwynns Falls Parkway and wander in.
