Three of the Lake Linganore Association's best-known trails begin or pass through the same spot: the underpasses beneath the Boyers Mill Road bridge. The Pinehurst Lake Trail runs under the bridge along the south shore. On the north shore, the Lake Trail and the Indian Caves Trail both start at the bridge's north underpass. The trails were built to go under the road. If you want to get from one shore to the other at that point, you go over it, on the same deck the cars use.
That's what an online petition took up this past August. It asks Frederick County for a separate pedestrian and bicycle bridge across the lake.
Two shores, one underpass on each side
The LLA trail map is the trail guide the Association has posted, and it describes each route by where it starts and where it ends. Put the bridge trails side by side and you get two separate shoreline systems that touch the same road from opposite sides.
| Trail | Shore | Where it starts | Where it goes | Length and difficulty on the LLA map |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pinehurst Lake Trail | South | Nightingale Beach | East under the Boyers Mill Road bridge, along the shore through Pinehurst village, connecting near its east end to the Lake Anita Louise Trail | 1.2 miles, easy, flat dirt and grass |
| Lake Trail | North | North underpass of the Boyers Mill Road bridge | West through Coldstream, North Shore and Aspen villages to the Brosius Dam | 2.05 miles, easy, grass to dirt to gravel, ending on the concrete Esplanade |
| Indian Caves Trail | North | North underpass of the Boyers Mill Road bridge | Along the north shoreline to the rock outcropping called the Indian Caves, then across a creek on the wooden Eagle Scout Bridge and up a steep path to Balmoral Ridge Road | 0.8 miles, easy to moderate, dirt |
The map adds a few side trips. A short trail just east of North Shore Way leads to a natural spring at the end of a small creek. The Pinehurst Lake Trail has a short connector up to West Lakeridge Road. Its parking notes are modest too: limited spots at Nightingale Beach, about 10 cars at the dam end of the Lake Trail, and limited parking at Coldstream Beach and along North Shore Way.
From the north underpass you can walk west for two miles or climb toward Balmoral Ridge. From the south side you can walk east toward Lake Anita Louise. On foot, the north underpass and the south shore trail are joined by Boyers Mill Road itself.
What the deck looks like to someone walking it
William Brauns started the petition. He told the Frederick News-Post that the idea came to him after walking across the existing bridge with his daughters. As he described it to the paper, a car came around a bend on the bridge at more than 50 mph and swerved into the other lane when the driver saw them. He also told the paper the curb is missing chunks of concrete and has tire scuffs where vehicles have hit it, and that people had told him they no longer use the bridge after near misses of their own.
For comparison, county construction meeting minutes from April 2017 noted that the posted speed limit on Boyers Mill Road would stay at 35 mph once that construction was finished.
The petition asks for a separate bicycle and pedestrian bridge so walkers and riders can stay off the Boyers Mill Road bridge. It had 91 verified signatures when the News-Post reported on it in mid-August.
Why the county is talking about a barrier first
Jason Stitt, director of Frederick County's Division of Public Works, gave the News-Post some background. The current bridge opened to traffic in 2014, and at the time a barrier separating pedestrians from traffic was not considered feasible. He said the county is now looking into adding one. He also said the cost can't be known without a design to look at, and any project would have to go through the fiscal 2028 budget process.
He was careful about the bigger idea. A separate pedestrian bridge is not impossible but would be very expensive, Stitt said. It would also leave open questions about where and how it would join the existing trail network. As he put it to the paper:
"To try to fit more stuff in that area, there are existing constraints there."
That concern links back to the map. Both shoreline trails already end at the bridge's underpasses. A second bridge would need landings that connect to those trails on both shores.
The petition also points to growth. Brauns told the News-Post that the Linganore area is set to add hundreds of homes in the coming years. The paper checked the county's residential development pipeline: as of July, the Eaglehead/Linganore planned unit development area had 1,283 planned residential units still to be built. "Let's be honest, the traffic here is going to get worse before it gets better," Brauns told the paper.
Walking each shore on its own terms
Until anything changes at the bridge, the trail map works best one shore at a time. Here's how the LLA map lays out the main options:
- North shore, flat and long. Start at the north underpass and follow the Lake Trail west through Coldstream, North Shore and Aspen to the Brosius Dam. It's rated easy, and the surface shifts from grass to gravel before ending on the concrete Esplanade. The Peddicord Path, a 0.1-mile spur off Old Stonehouse Lane, joins it where the Esplanade begins.
- North shore, short and steep. Take the Indian Caves Trail from the same underpass to the rock outcropping, cross the Eagle Scout Bridge, and climb toward Balmoral Ridge Road. It's under a mile, but the last stretch goes up cliffs.
- South shore, flat. Start at Nightingale Beach and follow the Pinehurst Lake Trail east under the bridge to where it meets the Lake Anita Louise Trail. On the map, that trail has a paved, stroller-accessible section and a boardwalk along the lake.
- South shore, a workout. The Nightingale Lake Trail also starts at Nightingale Beach but heads downstream toward the dam. It's 2.75 miles of hilly, rocky dirt and rated difficult.
For strollers, the map marks a few paved routes away from the bridge entirely. The Meadows Trail starts at McFadden Park and winds through the Meadows neighborhood. The Woodridge Trail has a paved section that starts at the Woodridge Tot Lot and runs beside Woodridge Road down to the Brosius Dam.
A few house rules apply wherever you walk. The Association's posted Rules & Regulations allow walking, biking and Association-registered golf carts on common-property trails. They set trail hours at 5 a.m. to 10 p.m. daily and require dogs to stay leashed and under control. The same document requires a membership or resident ID card on common areas and sets limits on guests. The LLA's amenities page describes the amenities as private and for Members and their guests. This is general information, not legal advice, so check the Association's current rules for your own household before you head out.
The trails themselves are partly a volunteer effort. The map credits the LLA Trailblazers, a committee that works with Association staff to restore, preserve and improve the community's trails. It lists the group's monthly work sessions on the second Saturday at 9 a.m., meeting in the Coldstream Pool parking lot.
The next big group outing on paved paths is the LLA Turkey Trot on Saturday, November 21, from 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. at the Eaglehead Preserve Social Hall. The LLA events calendar lists a fun run on paved paths, yard games, a bonfire, food vendors and a raffle. It's open to members and their guests.
If you'd like to talk about what the Boyers Mill Road bridge, the trails around it and the Eaglehead build-out could mean for your corner of Lake Linganore, The Allwein Team is glad to help. We live and work in Frederick County, and we follow these local conversations closely. Book your free consultation.
