The Baltimore Blueway - A network of water trails and public access points on the Maryland waterfront allows kayakers and paddleboarders a gorgeous way to experience the city.

It’s an enormous year for Charm City. For outdoor enthusiasts, a network of waterways called the Baltimore Blueway — open to kayaks, canoes, paddle boards and rowboats — will connect visitors throughout the waterfront to cultural, historic and natural sites.

Recently, city officials unveiled their ambition to promote the Baltimore Blueway with upgraded opportunities to paddle the very waters and improved launch sites for paddle boards and kayaks, canoes and other small non-motorized watercraft.

Thursday morning Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott paddled a kayak through the Inner Harbor alongside other paddlers for the unveiling of the Baltimore Blueway plan. In one of the Bay’s most urban areas, the city is launching a network of eight water trails and 20 access points for non-motorized craft. These trails will connect cultural, historic and natural sites throughout Baltimore’s Inner Harbor and Middle Branch, promoting a new way to discover Baltimore. A blueway is a designated route or series of routes that is primarily designed for kayaks, canoes, rowboats and stand-up paddleboards.

Baltimore will soon have an official network of water trails to take in the city’s sights by canoe, kayak or stand-up paddleboard, stretching from the World War II submarine in the Inner Harbor to the wildlife along the Patapsco River’s Middle Branch.

Dubbed the Baltimore Blueway, the plan for an eight-trail network is a collaboration between the Waterfront Partnership, the city government and local nonprofits.