FOGFLP upcoming events

Park Run - Free 5k Run and Walk (17 Oct 2026)

Sat, 17 Oct 2026 13:00:00 GMT

This free 5K run occurs every Saturday morning at 9:00 AM. All ages are welcome. While many serious runners join us, Parkrun is not a race-- it is a fun run or walk for good health or to track your times. There is an optional social afterwards.

Kids and strollers are welcome. Dogs too! (one dog per runner). Participants tend to span all age groups and levels of fitness.

Our group of dedicated runners let almost nothing stop them, so we're out if it's sunny and beautiful, or if it's snowy and cold. Rarely, weather conditions or global pandemics do force us to re-route or cancel. Check out our Facebook page for last minute updates.

If you'd like to keep track of your time, and have it mailed to you after the race, register here

Geology Walk (17 Oct 2026)

Sat, 17 Oct 2026 14:15:00 GMT

Geology Walk: Reading the Landscape

A guided tour in Gwynns Falls/Leakin Park

Join geologist Kathleen Marasco for a walk through Gwynns Falls/Leakin Park and learn to look at the landscape through a geologist’s eyes.

Where most people see an old springhouse or a small creek, a geologist sees evidence of Baltimore's past billion years.

Take a closer look

Learn to see evidence of the forces that built mountains as tall as the Alps, and the forces that wore them down to nibs.

Where did the mountains go?

Why is Baltimore located where it is?

We'll explore these questions and more as we traverse space and time in the rocks of Gwynns Falls Leakin Park.

No geology experience is needed. Kathleen welcomes everyone from curious beginners to people who already know their schist from their gneiss. There will be something to discover at every level.

What to bring

Bring water, wear sturdy shoes (sneakers are fine), and dress for the weather. If you have a hand lens, like a loupe or a magnifying glass, bring it along for a closer look at rocks and minerals. Kathleen will also have some available to share.

Registration is required.

Go with the Flow – October (18 Oct 2026)

Sun, 18 Oct 2026 15:00:00 GMT

What's Living in the Stream? Come Find Out.

NOTE: This is a Natural History Society of Maryland event taking place in Gwynns Falls-Leakin Park

Every summer the Natural History Society of Maryland holds summer events in the park exploring the Macroinvertebrates in Dead Run.

Discover the underwater world of macroinvertebrates. See them up close and learn how they indicate stream health and what roles they play in stream ecology. NHSM volunteers will show participants how to catch and identify macroinvertebrates. Suitable for ages 6 and up.

All equipment will be provided. Dress for the weather and prepare to get wet and muddy.

Macroinvertebrates are organisms that are large (macro) enough to be seen with the naked eye and lack a backbone (invertebrate). They inhabit all types of running waters, from fast-flowing mountain streams to slow-moving muddy rivers. Examples of aquatic macroinvertebrates include insects (in their adult, larval, or nymph forms), mollusks, crustaceans, and worms (Viklund, 2011).

Location – Gwynns Falls/Leakin Park, Baltimore (exact meeting location will be provided upon registration)

Free, but please RSVP for planning purposes. Donations are accepted and much appreciated.

Registration is Required

Park Run - Free 5k Run and Walk (24 Oct 2026)

Sat, 24 Oct 2026 13:00:00 GMT

Kids and strollers are welcome. Dogs too! (one dog per runner). Participants tend to span all age groups and levels of fitness.

If you'd like to keep track of your time, and have it mailed to you after the race, register here

13th Annual Mushroom City Arts Festival (24 Oct 2026)

Sat, 24 Oct 2026 16:00:00 GMT

Celebrate fungi!

And learn about one of the most important groups of organisms on the planet

This is not our event, but it's a "fungtastic" way to spend a fall Saturday in the park.

Come out for a full afternoon of

Hikes and forays
Workshops and talks
Art making activities for kids
Fire circle with music
Art and food vendors

Did you know: Fungi, together with bacteria, are responsible for most of the recycling which returns dead material to the soil in a form in which it can be reused. Without fungi, these recycling activities would be seriously reduced. We would effectively be lost under piles many metres thick, of dead plant and animal remains.

Tickets are required

You can purchase tickets in advance via this link

Tickets are $12m but no one wil be turned away for lack of funds. You can donate your time in exchange for entrance.

Volunteers Needed

Volunteer shifts are scheduled in 2-3 hour increments between 9am-9pm

Duties include:

General event prep
Put out signage
Direct parking
Support craft tables
Trash and recycling pickup
Event breakdown

Interested in volunteering?

Call Briley at 443-827-0871

Nature Connections: Nature Art Workshop (25 Oct 2026)

Sun, 25 Oct 2026 17:00:00 GMT

Get Inspired by the park and make some art

NOTE: This is a Carrie Murray Nature Center (CMNC) event taking place in Gwynns Falls-Leakin Park

Celebrate the beauty of autumn by creating nature-inspired artwork using leaves, bark textures, natural pigments, and other seasonal materials. Participants will spend time exploring the forest for inspiration before returning to create their own unique work of art while enjoying warm cider or herbal tea. No artistic experience is necessary, just curiosity and a willingness to create.

Registration is required

There is a $2.00 fee.

If you have trouble registering please call CMNC at (410) 396-0808. They can help!

Park Run - Free 5k Run and Walk (31 Oct 2026)

Sat, 31 Oct 2026 13:00:00 GMT

Kids and strollers are welcome. Dogs too! (one dog per runner). Participants tend to span all age groups and levels of fitness.

If you'd like to keep track of your time, and have it mailed to you after the race, register here

Meet the Bats of Leakin Park (1 Nov 2026)

Sun, 01 Nov 2026 22:00:00 GMT

Meet the Bats of Leakin Park

Join bat researcher Dr. Ela-Sita Carpenter for an evening walk to learn about the bats of Gwynns Falls/Leakin Park.

The evening after Halloween, we’ll head into the park at dusk with someone who knows its bats particularly well.

A red bat foraging above Winan's Meadow on a warm December afternoon. (photo: Dr. Carpenter)

For Dr. Ela-Sita Carpenter, Gwynns Falls/Leakin Park is both personal and professional. She grew up spending time in the park. Her father was Baltimore City’s first naturalist, and both of her parents volunteered with Friends of Gwynns Falls Leakin Park.

Carpenter went on to become an urban wildlife biologist and earned her PhD studying bat activity in Baltimore. And Gwynns Falls/Leakin Park stood out. Most sites she surveyed had three to five bat species; here, she recorded six or seven. On her first evening surveying the park, she detected six species in just 30 minutes.

Dr. Carpenter testing out her passive bat detectors in Leakin Park.

On this evening walk, Carpenter will share what she has learned about the bats of Baltimore and Gwynns Falls/Leakin Park: which species live here, how they navigate and hunt after dark, where they roost, and why this large urban forest provides important habitat for them.

The park’s large trees provide places for bats to roost, while its abundant insects provide food. Its size and relatively undisturbed habitat also help support a diversity of bat species—including the tricolored bat and little brown bat, which face serious threats from white-nose syndrome.

Please dress for the weather and bring a flashlight or headlamp

Register here

All-Access Nature Education: On The Move: Nature's Great Migration (6 Nov 2026)

Fri, 06 Nov 2026 15:00:00 GMT

Who's Been Here?

Animals are always on the move—searching for food, finding shelter, following the seasons, or making their way to new places. And even when we don’t see them, they often leave clues behind.

Join Carrie Murray Nature Center for On the Move: Nature’s Great Migration, an All-Access Nature Education program exploring how animals move through the world around us—and how we can learn to notice the signs of their journeys.

NOTE: This is a Carrie Murray Nature Center (CMNC) event taking place in Gwynns Falls-Leakin Park

Registration is required

If you have trouble registering please call CMNC at (410) 396-0808. They can help!

Park Run - Free 5k Run and Walk (7 Nov 2026)

Sat, 07 Nov 2026 14:00:00 GMT

Kids and strollers are welcome. Dogs too! (one dog per runner). Participants tend to span all age groups and levels of fitness.

If you'd like to keep track of your time, and have it mailed to you after the race, register here

Help Us Clean Up Dead Run (7 Nov 2026)

Sat, 07 Nov 2026 15:00:00 GMT

LET’S DO IT AGAIN

Join FOGFLP and the Chesapeake Water Environment Association for a hands-on cleanup of Dead Run and the surrounding parkland.

Last year, volunteers hauled out bags of trash, tires, discarded furniture and more. On November 7, we’re heading back.

Dead Run starts as a small rivulet in the Woodlawn area. Its curious name is an old one—the stream appears as “Dead Run” in 18th-century records, although exactly how it got the name isn’t certain.

Whatever the origin of its name this little stream has always been significant.

Dead Run on a glorious fall day

Its flowing water once helped power a grist mill at Franklintown. Today, Dead Run flows through Gwynns Falls/Leakin Park and into the Gwynns Falls—part of a watershed that ultimately reaches the Chesapeake Bay.

And today it faces the challenges of an urban stream.

Rain runs off streets, parking lots and other hard surfaces, carrying sediment and debris into storm drains and waterways. Litter and illegally dumped material can end up along Dead Run and in the surrounding parkland, too.

Last year’s cleanup haul

Last year, volunteers hauled all of this—and more—out of Dead Run and the surrounding parkland.

On Saturday, November 7, we’re going back.

COME LEND A HAND

FOGFLP will provide trash bags and trash grabbers. We'll have a limited number of gloves for folks who don't have gloves. Chesapeake WEA will provide coffee, tea, water and breakfast snacks—and a gift-card giveaway.

Wear sturdy shoes and clothes that can get dirty. If you have waders, bring them. Depending on conditions, some cleanup may take place in or near the stream.

WHERE TO MEET

We’ll assess Dead Run and the surrounding parkland before the event to determine where our help is most needed. The meetup location will be sent to registered volunteers before the cleanup.

COME WITH US

JOIN THE DEAD RUN CLEANUP

Second Sunday in the Park November 8, 2026 (8 Nov 2026)

Sun, 08 Nov 2026 16:00:00 GMT

Second Sunday November 8, 2026

NOTE: We continuously update information about each Second Sunday as details get firmed up. To stay up to date, you can join our email newsletter. And you can follow us on Facebook or Instagram

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November marks the final Second Sunday for 2026. So be sure to get out and make it a good one.

If you don't know Second Sundays, then you're in for a treat.

The star of the show is always The Chesapeake & Allegheny Live Steamers and their miniature steam trains! They've been offering free rides on Second Sundays since 1983.

Most Sundays also include:

Chesapeake Bay Outward Bound School's climbing wall.
Carrie Murray Nature Center Naturalists with kid-friendly activities
Acoustic music in the Tiny Chapel
Other special pop-up features

Second Sunday tips

The Carrie Murray Nature Center has special hours on Second Sundays - from 8:30 AM - 4:30 PM. So you can stop by and visit after the trains stop running.
At peak time, around noon, the parking lot at 1920 Eagle Drive (by the tennis courts) can fill up. It's easy to park at Sloman Drive and walk past the train tracks.
If the weather is bad or uncertain check The Chesapeake & Allegheny Live Steamers Facebook page for event status.

Park Run - Free 5k Run and Walk (14 Nov 2026)

Sat, 14 Nov 2026 14:00:00 GMT

Kids and strollers are welcome. Dogs too! (one dog per runner). Participants tend to span all age groups and levels of fitness.

If you'd like to keep track of your time, and have it mailed to you after the race, register here

Park Run - Free 5k Run and Walk (21 Nov 2026)

Sat, 21 Nov 2026 14:00:00 GMT

Kids and strollers are welcome. Dogs too! (one dog per runner). Participants tend to span all age groups and levels of fitness.

If you'd like to keep track of your time, and have it mailed to you after the race, register here

Black Friday Hike 2026 (27 Nov 2026)

Fri, 27 Nov 2026 15:00:00 GMT

SKIP THE STORES. HIT THE TRAILS

Trade shopping bags for hiking boots and join us for our annual Black Friday Hike through Gwynns Falls/Leakin Park.

Put down the credit card and head for the woods.

Our annual Black Friday Hike is a chance to get outside, get your steps in, and enjoy the late-fall beauty of Gwynns Falls/Leakin Park. Just minutes from Baltimore’s busy streets, this 1,000-acre urban woodland offers winding trails, wooded hillsides, rocky stream valleys, and a chance to leave the city’s hustle and bustle behind.

We’ll explore the park’s forest and trails, enjoy some fresh air, and maybe work off a little of that Thanksgiving feast.

Bring your family, visiting relatives, and friends—or come meet some new ones. Whether you’re a regular park visitor or discovering this extraordinary urban woodland for the first time, we’d love to have you along.

What to Wear and Bring

Wear sturdy, comfortable walking shoes.
Dress in layers for the weather.
Bring a reusable water bottle.

Meeting Location

Gwynns Falls/Leakin Park, Baltimore

We’re asking registrants about their hiking preferences to help us plan a route that suits the group. (We might even provide two hike options.) We’ll select the meeting location based on those responses and email registered participants the exact meeting point, parking information, and other details during the week before the hike.

Registration required.

Park Run - Free 5k Run and Walk (28 Nov 2026)

Sat, 28 Nov 2026 14:00:00 GMT

Kids and strollers are welcome. Dogs too! (one dog per runner). Participants tend to span all age groups and levels of fitness.

If you'd like to keep track of your time, and have it mailed to you after the race, register here

Park Run - Free 5k Run and Walk (5 Dec 2026)

Sat, 05 Dec 2026 14:00:00 GMT

Kids and strollers are welcome. Dogs too! (one dog per runner). Participants tend to span all age groups and levels of fitness.

If you'd like to keep track of your time, and have it mailed to you after the race, register here

Park Run - Free 5k Run and Walk (12 Dec 2026)

Sat, 12 Dec 2026 14:00:00 GMT

Kids and strollers are welcome. Dogs too! (one dog per runner). Participants tend to span all age groups and levels of fitness.

If you'd like to keep track of your time, and have it mailed to you after the race, register here

Park Run - Free 5k Run and Walk (19 Dec 2026)

Sat, 19 Dec 2026 14:00:00 GMT

Kids and strollers are welcome. Dogs too! (one dog per runner). Participants tend to span all age groups and levels of fitness.

If you'd like to keep track of your time, and have it mailed to you after the race, register here

Park Run - Free 5k Run and Walk (26 Dec 2026)

Sat, 26 Dec 2026 14:00:00 GMT

Kids and strollers are welcome. Dogs too! (one dog per runner). Participants tend to span all age groups and levels of fitness.

If you'd like to keep track of your time, and have it mailed to you after the race, register here

First Day Hike 2027: Start the Year in the Park (1 Jan 2027)

Fri, 01 Jan 2027 16:00:00 GMT

START THE YEAR ON THE RIGHT FOOT!

Start the new year with us in Gwynns Falls/Leakin Park!

Friday, January 1, 2027 | 11 AM

Our annual First Day Hike is one of FOGFLP’s most popular events, bringing people together to welcome the new year in Baltimore’s extraordinary 1,000-acre urban woodland.

Get your steps in, enjoy the fresh air, reconnect with nature, and start 2027 with a little adventure. Bring your family, friends, and visiting relatives—or come on your own and meet some new people along the way.

Head into the forest, where winding trails, wooded hillsides, and rocky stream valleys offer a refreshing change of scenery. With the leaves off the trees, winter opens up views of the landscape you might miss during the warmer months.

Help us plan your hike

We want to make this year’s First Day Hike enjoyable for as many people as possible.

When you register, we’ll ask whether you’d prefer a vigorous hike, a leisurely walk, or either option..

Your responses will help us plan the route and determine what hiking options we offer.

Where to meet

We’ll select the meeting location after reviewing registrants’ hiking preferences. The exact meeting point, parking information, and other details will be emailed to registered participants during the week before the hike.

What to wear and bring

Wear sturdy, comfortable walking shoes.
Dress in layers for the weather.
Bring a reusable water bottle.

Registration required