The Sea Wall Trail at Fort McHenry National Monument and Historic Shrine

Length: 1-mile loop
Time: 30 minutes
Difficulty: Easy

The Sea Wall Trail is a wide gravel path the follows the sea wall around the tip of the peninsula on which Fort McHenry is situated. It is open to both hikers and bikers, though being only a mile long it’s not worth biking on its own. You can start the trip from the back of the Visitor Center or from the fort if you are already there.

At the back of the Visitor Center is a small plaza, and to the left are two paths, sort of like a two-lane highway with a median between them. The one on the right is the Sea Wall Trail. The one on the left leads to a boat dock for the Baltimore Water Taxi. You can buy a daily pass and ride the boat around the harbor. It stops at a number of locations, sort of like the hop-on, hop-off tour buses. The only catch is that you cannot buy a ticket at Fort McHenry, so you must start your journey from another location. For more information, see the Baltimore Water Taxi web page.

Back of the Fort McHenry Visitor Center

If you are at the fort, walk out the main entrance and follow the brick path around to the right until coming to the intersection with an asphalt path that leads towards the Patapsco River. At the river, take a right and proceed around the peninsula in a clockwise manner. A left will take you quickly back to the Visitor Center, so there is no point in that.

There’s not much to the hike until you get around to the west side of the fort where the trail splits at a picnic area. The left fork leads out of the park to Constellation Plaza. Based on a satellite map, the trail does not appear to connect to any city trails, but it does come out near the Fort McHenry bus stop. To continue on the Sea Wall Trail and get back to the Visitor Center, stay to the right. You will pass the picnic area, a gunpowder magazine, a memorial grove of trees, and a statue of Orpheus, a poet and musician from Greek mythology.

Keep right at the fork near the picnic area when walking the Sea Wall Trail at Fort McHenry National Monument and Historic Shrine

The gunpowder magazine was built in 1864. The one inside Fort McHenry was not large enough to hold the powder needed for the larger guns of the Civil War-era, plus there were a lot more guns at the fort by the 1860s. By the end of the Civil War, the development of rifled artillery had made brick structures obsolete because the new shells could easily penetrate masonry walls. Thus, it wasn’t long after being built that the powder magazine was of no real use. During World War I, the Army converted it into an indoor rifle range.

1864 gunpowder magazine at Fort McHenry National Monument and Historic Shrine

In the same field as the powder magazine and the picnic tables is a grove of trees dedicated to different officers who fought in the Battle of Fort McHenry.

Tree dedicated to Captain Charles Pennington in 1932 on the grounds of Fort McHenry National Monument and Historic Shrine

A statue of Orpheus by sculptor Charles Niehaus was dedicated on June 14, 1922. Being a mythological poet and musician, Orpheus ties into the Francis Scott Key connection to the fort. The statue originally sat in the middle of the entrance road to Fort McHenry and had a circular driveway around it. It was moved to its present location in 1962.

Orpheus statue on the grounds of Fort McHenry National Monument and Historic Shrine

Not long after passing the statue, the trail ends at Constellation Plaza. Take a right to get back to the Visitor Center. The parking lot is within eyesight.

Intersection of the Sea Wall Trail and Constellation Plaza at Fort McHenry National Monument and Historic Shrine

Just as you get to the parking lot is a statue of George Armistead off to your right. Armistead was the commander of Fort McHenry at the time of the British bombardment on September 13-14, 1814.

Armistead statue at Fort McHenry National Monument and Historic Shrine

The Sea Wall Trail is popular with both tourists and local residents, and you will find many people walking or jogging along the river on a nice day. It’s well worth your 30 minutes of time, for you can see a couple of additional historical sites and get wider views of the fort.

View of Fort McHenry from the Sea Wall Trail

Back to the Top