–

One of Baltimore City’s signature parks, Druid Hill Park has something for everybody.  The park is 745 acres, a popular spot for large events and has recreational amenities galore.  It is also Baltimore’s most visited park and is home to the Maryland Zoo.  Although Druid Hill is a well-used park, it is surrounded by busy streets and is largely cut-off from the neighborhoods around it.  Once inside the park, however, there are so many different areas,  that to get the full sense of the character of park requires multiple visits.  

As Druid Hill Park is so large, it has a lot of different amenities. For sports there are numerous baseball fields, soccer fields, tennis courts, basketball courts, stationary exercise equipment, disc golf, a swimming pool and tons of open space for just about any athletic activity you can imagine. For family activities that do not involve athletics, Druid Hill park offers playgrounds, the Maryland Zoo, the Rawlings Conservatory and Botanical Gardens and pavilions that can be rented for parties or events. Even beyond athletics and family activities, Druid Hill Park has garden plots for rent, is the location for the Recreation and Parks Department headquarters and the Maryland Department of Transportation runs Safety City inside of the park. Druid Hill Park really offers a unusually diverse amount of activities for residents.

LOCATION

Druid Hill Park has multiple vehicle entrances that provides access to different sections of the park.   

If driving to the park and you want to access Druid Lake, use the entrance at the intersection of Swann Drive and Druid Hill Park Drive. 

To access the Rawlings Conservatory and Botanical Gardens, use the entrance at   McCullough Street and Gwynns Falls Parkway 

For immediate access to the Maryland Zoo located in Druid Hill Park is located at Greenspring Avenue and McCullough Drive. 

To access the Druid Hill Park Pool or the Department of Recreation and Parks, use Wyman Park Drive at 800 Wyman Park Drive. 

Driving is allowed inside the park, so the below map may be helpful in navigating around the park once inside.

BRIEF HISTORY OF DRUID HILL PARK

Druid Hill Park was formed in 1860 on the eve of the civil war when Baltimore City purchased the land from Lloyd Rogers – the last of three generations of the Rogers family that owned the land that is now Druid Hill Park. The purchase price of the park was raised by implementing a one cent tax on horse-car fares. Druid Hill Park is the third oldest large municipal park in America.

During the era of racial segregation, Druid Hill Park was popular with Black residents even though they were required to use separate facilities from whites. Facilities for Black citizens were located in the west central part of the park and included a playground, swimming pool and tennis courts. Today, signage at the park recognizes the separate swimming and tennis facilities designated for Black citizens along with the protest by Black tennis players in 1948 of the unequal treatment of Black residents at City parks. The policy of segregation at Baltimore parks finally ended in 1955.

In modern times, Black residents remain as the primary users of Druid Hill Park making up three quarters of the 1.7 million visitors the park receives on a yearly basis. Given the number of visitors, Druid Hill Park is certainly Baltimore’s most visited park and is both a major asset to residents and the crown jewel of Baltimore’s park system.

AMENITIES

Druid Hill Park is chocked full of amenities that are spread throughout the park. Below are descriptions of most of the amenities, but undoubtedly some were missed. Use the hyperlinks in the amenity descriptions for more information.

Recreational Amenities

1. Pool

In the past, the Druid Hill Park Pool was very large and had a capacity for 300 swimmers.  As of June 2020, the pool is undergoing a substantial renovation.  The planned renovations will increase the capacity from 300 swimmers to 500 swimmers and add amenities such as water slides and separate pool areas for children.  The below drawing is a picture from Plano-Coudon Construction’s website and sets out what the pool will look like once construction is complete. 

Once, the pool opens back up, you can check pool hours and opening information at Baltimore Recreation and Parks website

2. Tennis Courts

Tennis is a serious business at Druid Hill Park. The park currently has seventeen tennis courts where you can often find very good players.   The courts are located in two different areas of the park  – ten courts are across from the Recreation and Parks Headquarters (directions here) and the remaining seven courts can be accessed by driving to the intersection of Shop Road and Commissary Road inside the park.  These seven tennis courts tend to be more popular than the ten courts near the Recreation and Parks headquarters because they are sometimes shaded.  The courts near Recreation and Parks headquarters are full sun all the time.  Tennis courts are available on a first come, first serve basis. 

3. Disc Golf

Druid Hill Park also has a really nice disc golf course that is set on a picturesque part of the park in the northeast corner. Disc golf is very popular and the course has diverse landscapes from wide open fields to baskets set in the woods. The course is well maintained and hosts disc golf events as well. For those interested in a detailed review of the course, you can look to this website.

4. Athletic Fields

Druid Hill park has lots of athletic fields for baseball, softball and soccer. Many of the fields have lighting and most are well maintained. To reserve a field for use requires a permit from the Department of Recreation and Parks. See this website for additional information on the permitting process.

5. Basketball Courts

Druid Hill Park has two very nice basketball courts near the Recreation and Parks Department headquarters. The court surface is well maintained and the court has lighting.

6. Playground

In the middle of the park is a large and well maintained playground.

7. Connection with Jones Falls Trail

The Jones Falls Trail is a nine mile trail with a portion of that trail snaking through Druid Hill Park. My favorite part of the trail at Druid Hill Park runs behind the Maryland Zoo in a paved but forested pathway. To pick up the path behind the Maryland Zoo, go to Red Road and Mountain Pass and head to the north. A trail map of the entire Jones Falls Trail can be found here.

Non-Recreational Amenities

1. Rawlings Conservatory and Botanical Gardens

The Rawlings Conservatory and Botanical Gardens was established more than 130 years ago and contains several greenhouses linked together in one large building.  Each of the greenhouses in the conservatory contain plants grouped together from different climates.  Currently, the conservatory has an orchid house, desert house, Mediterranean house and tropical house.  There is also a space for rent for events or meetings.  Outside the conservatory are outdoor gardens that have more local flowers and plants. 

While the conservatory is free to visitors, it operates as a non-profit and does accept donations.  The Rawlings Conservatory is definitely worth the visit.  Check their website for additional information. 

2. Druid Lake

Druid Lake is actually a reservoir that supplies drinking water to Baltimore City.  The lake is currently undergoing massive renovation where underwater storage tanks will be used to house some of the water to improve water quality.  According to an article in Baltimore Magazine, the renovation project will reduce the size of the lake and add fourteen acres of land to the park. 

Prior to the construction, Druid Lake contained a wide asphalt pathway around the lake that was popular with joggers.  It also had various stations where different exercises could be performed on stationary equipment.  It is unclear precisely how the extra fourteen acres of land will be utilized once construction is complete.   

3. Maryland Zoo 

The Maryland Zoo is contained within 175 acres of Druid Hill Park and, according to their website, is the third oldest zoo in the country.  The zoo is very popular during the spring, summer and fall and has limited hours in winter.  No matter when you visit, the zoo has a lot to offer.  Ticket pricing and a listing of attractions and events can be found on their website. 

4. Druid Hill Farms

Residents of Baltimore can rent a small garden plot at Druid Hill Park through the City Farms program. Lots are typically 10ft by 15ft and tools and water are provided on site. The cost to rent a plot is minimal, but the contract requires that you keep your garden plot in good condition or it will be forfeited.

5. Safety City

Safety City is a very strange program run by the Department of Transportation. The above picture is a portion of Safety City that replicates a typical Baltimore City roadway. The program aims to teach children traffic rules and pedestrian safety. As many times as I have visited Druid Hill Park, I’ve never seen this facility actually used. Then again, this is probably used mostly when school is in session.

6. Pool Number Two

My favorite place in Druid Hill Park is the area where Pool Number Two once existed. Signage at the site explains that during the era of racial segregation, there was only one pool in all of Baltimore City where Black residents could swim – Pool Number Two. Today, the pool is filled in but the ladders, life guard stand and edge of the pool remain along with signage explaining the segregation that existed at Druid Hill Park. Pool Number Two is in a serene setting and remains as a stark reminder that Black citizens received unequal and unfair treatment in Baltimore’s park system.

7. Pavilions

Druid Hill Park has eleven different pavilions of different sizes that can rented for events. To see whether a certain pavilion will fit your needs, use this webpage for a listing of the amenities offered for each pavilion and the fees.

FRIENDS OF DRUID HILL PARK / PARKS & PEOPLE

Druid Hill Park definitely has a friends group, but I had difficult finding any contact information as it appears their website is not functioning. The best I could find was their Facebook page which did not have a lot of information. In the future, we will attempt to provide some more information about the work and contact information for the Friends of Druid Hill Park.

Another park related organization called Parks & People Foundation operates inside Druid Hill Park. Parks & People is a great organization that has dedicated itself to building greener communities and great parks, inspiring young people to care for green space in their community and advocating for parks and green space in Baltimore. For more information, check out their website hyperlinked above.

–

–