1
Oak Ridge Conservation Park
Nature preserve
180 acres2.3 mi of trail
Oak Ridge Loop TrailOak Drive TrailBethesda Church TrailOak Ridge ConnectorCommunity Center Trail
Dogs on leashMapped in OpenStreetMap
Outdoors · Damascus
Damascus, MD parks, trails & bike paths
About 23% of Damascus is conserved land, roughly 2,040 acres. There are about 4.7 miles of mapped trails, and the biggest networks are in Oak Ridge Conservation Park (2.3 mi) and Damascus Recreational Park (1 mi).
Conserved land, trails, parks and bike routes in Damascus, measured from OpenStreetMap and USGS data.
At a glance
Damascus outdoors
Conserved land
23%
2,040 of 9,081 acres
Trails
4.7 mi
0.3 mi per sq mi · 3 on conserved land
Parks & preserves
9
116 conserved acres per 1,000 residents
Bike routes
7.3 mi
2.2 mi lanes · 5.1 mi off-road paths
Conserved land is a share of the whole town area. Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
Map
Conserved land, trails & bike routes
Tap a number or a place below to zoom in© OpenStreetMap contributors · USGS PAD-US
Places to walk
Parks & preserves with trails
Ranked by mapped trail miles. Directions go to the nearest marked trailhead or public parking.
2
Damascus Recreational Park
Managed by Montgomery Parks
280 acres1 mi of trail
Lower Magruder Trail
Dog rules not recorded
3
Magruder Branch Stream Valley Park
Managed by Montgomery Parks
301 acres0.3 mi of trail
Bamboo Pass
Dog rules not recorded
4
Great Seneca Stream Valley Park
Managed by Montgomery Parks
638 acres0.1 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Website
All 9 parks & preserves
Oak Ridge Conservation Park180 acres · 2.3 mi of trail
Damascus Recreational Park280 acres · 1 mi of trail · Montgomery Parks
Magruder Branch Stream Valley Park301 acres · 0.3 mi of trail · Montgomery Parks
Great Seneca Stream Valley Park638 acres · 0.1 mi of trail · Montgomery Parks
Moyer Road Local Park26 acres · 0.1 mi of trail · Montgomery Parks
Bennett Creek Conservation Park168 acres
Woodfield Local Park34 acres · Montgomery Parks
Wildcat Branch Stream Valley Park30 acres · Montgomery Parks
Seneca Springs Local Park20 acres · Montgomery Parks
Things to do
Beaches, playgrounds, falls & more
Pick a kind of place for the list, directions, or pins on the map above.
Playgrounds in Damascus
Valley Park Ct Playground
Unnamed playground in Damascus Recreational Park
Unnamed playground
Unnamed playground
Unnamed playground
Unnamed playground
Unnamed playground in Moyer Road Local Park
Unnamed playground
Unnamed playground
Trails
Named trails
Open to bikes 3.5 miHorses 2.1 miUnpaved 3.6 mi
- Oak Ridge Loop Trail0.9 mi
- Lower Magruder Trail0.8 mi
- Oak Drive Trail0.5 mi
- Bethesda Church Trail0.5 mi
- Oak Ridge Connector0.3 mi
- Community Center Trail0.2 mi
- Bamboo Pass0.1 mi
Water
Lakes & rivers
Tap a name for directions.
Who protects the land
2,040 conserved acres
Who manages it, from PAD-US. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Conserved doesn't always mean open to visitors. 1,021 acres are conservation easements, which are usually private land. Public access isn't recorded for 120 of 247 parcels. The places listed above are parks and preserves people visit.
Biking & sports
Bike routes, courts & fields
- Painted or protected bike lanes2.2 mi
- Off-road bike paths5.1 mi
- Shoulders & shared lanes0.0 mi
- MoCo Epic (bike route)0.8 mi
Courts & fields
- Basketball9
- Tennis7
- Baseball6
- Pickleball4
- Soccer2
- Skate park1
- Football1
Counts include school and college facilities, which aren't always open to the public.
Public lands
The biggest protected places in Damascus
From USGS PAD-US: who manages each one and whether visitors are welcome.
Conservation Easement 1,381 acLocal Park 487 acState Other or Unknown 433 acLocal Other or Unknown 352 acAgricultural Easement 74 ac
Showing 1–10 of 15 places
| Place | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| County LandLocal Other or Unknown | Not recorded | 405 | Access unknown |
| Great Seneca Stream Valley ParkState Other or Unknown | Not recorded | 232 | Access unknown |
| Montgomery CountyLocal Park | County | 190 | Open |
| Magruder Branch Stream Valley ParkState Other or Unknown | Not recorded | 147 | Access unknown |
| Oak Ridge Conservation ParkLocal Park | Not recorded | 45 | Access unknown |
| MD National Capital Parks and PlanningLocal Other or Unknown | Not recorded | 45 | Access unknown |
| Woodfield LpLocal Park | Regional agency | 34 | Open |
| Great Seneca Stream ValleyLocal Other or Unknown | Not recorded | 32 | Access unknown |
| Wildcat Branch SvuLocal Conservation Area | Regional agency | 30 | Open |
| Moyer Road LpLocal Park | Regional agency | 26 | Open |
History
Historic places to visit
Damascus United Methodist Church CemeteryCemetery
Nearby
Damascus and its neighbors
Towns whose outdoors data has been built so far.
| Town | Conserved | Trails | Parks & preserves |
|---|---|---|---|
| Damascus | 22.5% | 4.7 mi | 9 |
| Clarksburg | 27.5% | 10.5 mi | 19 |
Trail talk
Conditions & tips from neighbors
No recent posts about Damascus's trails yet. Muddy, icy, a bridge out, where to park: a quick post helps the next person.
Sources: trails, parks, preserves, courts and bike lanes © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL), map data as of 2026-09-28. Conserved land: USGS Gap Analysis Project, Protected Areas Database of the United States (PAD-US). Measured against the Census town boundary.
How we measure
"Trails" are OpenStreetMap paths, bridleways, public tracks and unpaved footways, plus footways inside a park or preserve or on a named trail route. Sidewalks are left out. Areas are counted on a 20-meter grid, so overlapping parcels count once. "Conserved" includes conservation easements, which protect land from development but are usually private property. Trailheads are the nearest marked trailhead, public parking lot or information board within about 150 meters of a preserve. Dog rules come from OpenStreetMap when someone has tagged them; otherwise we show what's typical for the land manager, or say the rules aren't recorded.