Stony Run, A Peaceful Path

Sunday was a beautiful one for a walk with autumn colors still all about and what a great place to meander - Stony Run - as a group followed Alexander Mitchell from the National Railway Historical Society and AJ O’Brien of the Friends of Stony Run along the rail bed paralleling that urban stream from around 29th to 39th Street.

The path along Stony Run in North Central Baltimore is easy to access by parking along the west side of Wyman Park and it is truly an oasis in the city where one can enjoy the beauty and peace of nature for a little while without needing to drive very far.  

Sunday’s walk featured a talk by a railroad buff about the days when rail was the way to go, after the age of river boats but before the automobile came along. The history of the Ma and Pa was quaint but not pretty as rail companies completed fiercely for right of ways, freight and passengers, while crisscrossing valleys and hills with tracks and trestles.

The Friends of Stony Run was launched in September, 2011 by a group of volunteers from Tuscany-Canterbury, Charles Village and Remington with the aim of creating a walking path along the former right of way of the Ma and Pa Railroad that used to run from Baltimore to York, PA. The path along the Stony Run stream, from Cold Spring Lane to the point where the stream joins the Jones Falls nearby the Stieff Silver Building, is the present main focus.  Volunteers are encouraged to join the group and take part in activities sponsored by the Friends of Stony Run and can find out more at  www.stonyrun.org or by email srsparks@verizon.net or ajobrien1937@verizon.net