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Serpentine grassland is not what most people expect a few minutes off the Baltimore Beltway, yet Owings Mills hides one of the largest surviving examples in the eastern United States. The unincorporated Baltimore County community grew up around the grist mills Samuel Owings built on the Gwynns Falls in the 1700s, and it kept a country-estate feel until the Metro subway and Interstate 795 arrived in the 1980s.
Today it mixes office parks and new town centers with older landmarks. St. Thomas' Church, a colonial brick parish from 1743, still stands in the Garrison Forest area, and the old Owings Mills Mall site has been rebuilt as the open-air Mill Station. The Metro Centre development around the subway terminus holds the county library branch and a community college campus.
Most visitors come for the outdoors: rare wildflowers and old chrome mines at Soldiers Delight, live animals and woodland trails at Irvine Nature Center, and PGA Tour golf when the BMW Championship visits Caves Valley. Downtown Baltimore is a straight subway ride away.
About 1,900 acres of serpentine grassland and pine savanna managed by Maryland DNR, home to rare plants such as fringed gentian and serpentine aster plus traces of 1800s chrome mining. Marked trails start near the visitor center on Deer Park Road. Rocky footing, little shade: bring water in summer.
A nonprofit nature center on Garrison Forest Road with woodland, meadow and wetland trails, an exhibit hall with live reptiles, birds of prey and native animals, and seasonal programs from owl walks to maple sugaring. The trails are open daily; check the website for event tickets and hall hours.
An Episcopal church completed in 1743 for the Garrison Forest settlers, one of the oldest houses of worship in Baltimore County. The plain Flemish-bond brick building sits among old trees and a large churchyard with graves from the colonial era onward. Visitors are welcome outside service times; be respectful in the cemetery.
The surviving mill building raised by Samuel Owings in the late 1700s, one of the three mills on the Gwynns Falls that gave Owings Mills its name. It stands near Reisterstown Road and is now used for businesses, so you see it from outside. Pair it with a drive along the Gwynns Falls valley.
A walkable mixed-use district built around the northwestern terminus of the Baltimore Metro SubwayLink, with apartments, restaurants, and a shared building for the Owings Mills library branch and a Community College of Baltimore County campus. Park here and ride the subway into downtown Baltimore.
An open-air retail center built where the enclosed Owings Mills Mall stood from 1986 until its demolition in the 2010s. Big-box stores, a warehouse club and casual restaurants line the lots off Owings Mills Boulevard and Interstate 795. Handy for supplies before a day at Soldiers Delight.
A private club in the rolling Greenspring Valley countryside that has hosted the PGA Tour's BMW Championship, including in 2021 and 2025. The course is members-only most of the year, so the way in for visitors is a tournament ticket. Expect shuttle parking and plenty of walking on hilly ground.
A small state wildlife area off Gwynnbrook Avenue with ponds, fields and woods managed for wildlife, popular with local birders looking for waterfowl, herons and songbirds during migration. Facilities are minimal, so come with binoculars, sturdy shoes and bug spray in warm months.
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