Ma & Pa Trail to Connect Bel Air, Fallston and Forest Hill

BEL AIR, MD - Those who walk the Ma & Pa Trail have for years had to experience it as two separate segments — a 3.3-mile piece in Bel Air and a 1.7-mile leg in Forest Hill.

Citizens have been asking for a change — an online petition to connect the trails received more than 600 signatures — and Harford County officials announced recently they have the property to make it happen.

Now, with the $100,000 purchase of land that belonged to the family of the late Sen. Bob Hooper, the trail will be complete, officials announced Thursday.

"Today, and especially after Tuesday’s election, I’m happy to bring a unifying message," County Executive Barry Glassman said in a statement. "The Ma & Pa Trail will finally be connected."

Glassman, an avid runner, said that the easement on 13,500 square feet of private property in Bel Air is fittingly near the historic Maryland and Pennsylvania Railroad, for which the trail was named.

The Ma & Pa Trail is expected to be almost 8 miles long when finished, according to the Bel Air Downtown Alliance, running from Annie's Playground in Fallston to Jarrettsville Road in Forest Hill.

Bel Air plans to enhance the trail within the town limits and acquired an easement to do so, officials reported.

Engineering on the 2-mile connector piece for the Ma & Pa Trail will begin soon with a groundbreaking in two years, according to Glassman, who plans to recommend construction funding in the next two budget cycles.

The trail will be complete by 2019, with construction starting in spring 2018, the alliance said.

Photo courtesy of the Town of Bel Air.