1
Seneca Creek State Park
Managed by Maryland Park Service
1,813 acres17.3 mi of trail
Seneca Ridge TrailSeneca Greenway TrailLong Draught SouthSmokey Glen TrailSeneca Greenway Shared use
Dog rules not recorded
Outdoors · Darnestown
Darnestown, MD parks, trails & bike paths
About 12% of Darnestown is conserved land, roughly 1,364 acres. There are about 37 miles of mapped trails, and the biggest networks are in Seneca Creek State Park (17.3 mi) and Blockhouse Point Conservation Park (8 mi).
Conserved land, trails, parks and bike routes in Darnestown, measured from OpenStreetMap and USGS data.
At a glance
Darnestown outdoors
Conserved land
12%
1,364 of 11,016 acres
Trails
37 mi
2.2 mi per sq mi · 14 on conserved land
Parks & preserves
11
193 conserved acres per 1,000 residents
Bike routes
8.5 mi
7.2 mi lanes · 0.3 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
Blockhouse Point Conservation Park
Managed by Montgomery Parks
553 acres8 mi of trail
Muddy Branch Greenway TrailBlockhouse TrailUpland Woods TrailCanyon TrailSpringhouse Trail
Dogs allowedMapped in OpenStreetMap
3
Dierrsen Wildlife Management Area
Managed by Wildlife and Heritage Service
54 acres0.4 mi of trail
Chesapeake and Ohio Canal Towpath
Dog rules not recorded
4
Muddy Branch Stream Valley Park
Managed by Montgomery Parks
238 acres0.1 mi of trail
Muddy Branch Greenway Trail
Dogs allowedMapped in OpenStreetMap
All 11 parks & preserves
Showing 1–10 of 11 parks & preserves
Seneca Creek State Park1,813 acres · 17.3 mi of trail · Maryland Park Service
Blockhouse Point Conservation Park553 acres · 8 mi of trail · Montgomery Parks
Dierrsen Wildlife Management Area54 acres · 0.4 mi of trail · Wildlife and Heritage Service
Callithea Farm Special Park91 acres · 0.2 mi of trail · Montgomery Parks
Muddy Branch Stream Valley Park238 acres · 0.1 mi of trail · Montgomery Parks
Seneca Landing Special Park14 acres · Montgomery Parks
Orchard Neighborhood Park12 acres · Montgomery Parks
Darnestown Local Park - Cliff Bland Recreation Area10 acres
Islands of the Potomac Wildlife Management Area3 acres · Wildlife and Heritage Service
Berryville Road Neighborhood Conservation Area3 acres
Things to do
Beaches, playgrounds, falls & more
Pick a kind of place for the list, directions, or pins on the map above.
Boat launches in Darnestown
Rock Beach, water entry
Unnamed boat launch
Trails
Named trails
Open to bikes 27.3 miHorses 13.3 miUnpaved 27.9 mi
Showing 1–10 of 25 trails
- Seneca Ridge Trail6.3 mi
- Seneca Greenway Trail5.3 mi
- Muddy Branch Greenway Trail2.7 mi
- Chesapeake and Ohio Canal Towpath2.1 mi
- Powerline Trail1.2 mi
- Long Draught South1.1 mi
- Smokey Glen Trail1.0 mi
- Blockhouse Trail0.9 mi
- Calithea Trail0.9 mi
- Seneca Greenway Shared use0.7 mi
Water
Lakes & rivers
New ReservoirreservoirPall MallChesapeake and Ohio CanalGreat Seneca CreekInlet LockLock 23: Violettes LockLock 24: Rileys LockSeneca Creek
Tap a name for directions.
Who protects the land
1,364 conserved acres
Who manages it, from PAD-US. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Conserved doesn't always mean open to visitors. 359 acres are conservation easements, which are usually private land. Public access isn't recorded for 83 of 168 parcels. The places listed above are parks and preserves people visit.
Biking & sports
Bike routes, courts & fields
- Painted or protected bike lanes7.2 mi
- Off-road bike paths0.3 mi
- Shoulders & shared lanes1.0 mi
- MoCo Epic (bike route)13.8 mi
- MoCoEpic South (bike route)7.5 mi
- 50 (Maryland) (bike route)2.8 mi
- 9/11 National Memorial Trail (Maryland) (bike route)2.8 mi
- Chesapeake and Ohio Canal Towpath (Maryland) (bike route)2.8 mi
Courts & fields
- Tennis29
- Basketball12
- Equestrian12
- Baseball8
- Soccer5
- Volleyball2
- Beach volleyball1
Counts include school and college facilities, which aren't always open to the public.
Public lands
The biggest protected places in Darnestown
From USGS PAD-US: who manages each one and whether visitors are welcome.
Conservation Easement 714 acLocal Park 531 acHistoric or Cultural Area 213 acState Other or Unknown 195 acLocal Other or Unknown 100 ac
Showing 1–10 of 15 places
| Place | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Blockhouse Pt. ParkLocal Park | Not recorded | 623 | Access unknown |
| Chesapeake and Ohio Canal National Historical ParkHistoric or Cultural Area | National Park Service | 213 | Restricted |
| Callithea Farm SpLocal Other or Unknown | Regional agency | 90 | Open |
| Seneca Creek State ParkState Park | State natural resources | 44 | Open |
| Quince Orchard Valley ParkLocal Park | Other or Unknown Local Government | 39 | Open |
| Upper Potamac Properties ParkLocal Park | Not recorded | 23 | Open |
| Patowmack IslandLocal Park | Not recorded | 13 | Open |
| Orchard ParkLocal Park | Other or Unknown Local Government | 10 | Open |
| Darnestown ParkLocal Park | Other or Unknown Local Government | 10 | Open |
| MO CO Historic PreservationLocal Other or Unknown | Not recorded | 9 | Access unknown |
History
Historic places to visit
Darnestown Confederate VisitIn Darnestown Local Park - Cliff Bland Recreation Area · Plaque
Ithaca FarmManor
The Cliff Bland Recreation AreaIn Darnestown Local Park - Cliff Bland Recreation Area · Plaque
Darnestown United Presbyterian CemeteryCemetery
Nearby
Darnestown and its neighbors
Towns whose outdoors data has been built so far.
| Town | Conserved | Trails | Parks & preserves |
|---|---|---|---|
| Darnestown | 12.4% | 37.4 mi | 11 |
| Travilah | 16.5% | 12.9 mi | 11 |
| Germantown | 22% | 20.8 mi | 29 |
| Great Falls | 14.2% | 46.7 mi | 13 |
| North Potomac | 5.9% | 14.8 mi | 7 |
| Lowes Island | 14.7% | 8.8 mi | 0 |
| Gaithersburg | 9.3% | 10.7 mi | 28 |
Trail talk
Conditions & tips from neighbors
No recent posts about Darnestown'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.