1
Rock Creek Stream Valley Park
Managed by Montgomery Parks
134 acres2.7 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Outdoors · Silver Spring
Silver Spring, MD parks, trails & bike paths
About 15% of Silver Spring is conserved land, roughly 751 acres. There are about 11 miles of mapped trails, and the biggest networks are in Rock Creek Stream Valley Park (2.7 mi), Northwest Branch Stream Valley Park (2 mi), and Sligo Creek Stream Valley Park (1.1 mi).
Conserved land, trails, parks and bike routes in Silver Spring, measured from OpenStreetMap and USGS data.
At a glance
Silver Spring outdoors
Conserved land
15%
751 of 5,038 acres
Trails
11 mi
1.4 mi per sq mi · 8 on conserved land
Parks & preserves
32
9 conserved acres per 1,000 residents
Bike routes
19.5 mi
0.9 mi lanes · 13.6 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
Northwest Branch Stream Valley Park
Managed by Montgomery Parks
175 acres2 mi of trail
Franklin Knolls River TrailNorthwest Branch TrailClifton Park River Trail
Dog rules not recorded
3
Sligo Creek Stream Valley Park
Managed by Montgomery Parks
125 acres1.1 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
4
Long Branch Stream Valley Park
Managed by Montgomery Parks
32 acres0.9 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
5
Broadacres Local Park
Managed by Montgomery Parks
13 acres0.4 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
All 32 parks & preserves
Showing 1–10 of 32 parks & preserves
Rock Creek Stream Valley Park134 acres · 2.7 mi of trail · Montgomery Parks
Northwest Branch Stream Valley Park175 acres · 2 mi of trail · Montgomery Parks
Sligo Creek Stream Valley Park125 acres · 1.1 mi of trail · Montgomery Parks
Long Branch Stream Valley Park32 acres · 0.9 mi of trail · Montgomery Parks
Broadacres Local Park13 acres · 0.4 mi of trail · Montgomery Parks
Bullis Park3 acres · 0.2 mi of trail
Seek Lane Neighborhood Park2 acres · 0.2 mi of trail · Montgomery Parks
Long Branch-Arliss Neighborhood Park6 acres · 0.1 mi of trail · Montgomery Parks
Sligo-Bennington Neighborhood Park6 acres · 0.1 mi of trail · Montgomery Parks
Sligo Avenue Neighborhood Park4 acres · 0.1 mi of trail
Things to do
Beaches, playgrounds, falls & more
Pick a kind of place for the list, directions, or pins on the map above.
Dog parks in Silver Spring
Ellsworth Urban Dog ParkIn Ellsworth Urban Park
Falkland Chase Dog Park
The Point at Silver Spring Dog Park
Unnamed dog park
Unnamed dog park
Unnamed dog park
Unnamed dog park
Unnamed dog park in Sonny's Green
Unnamed dog park
Trails
Named trails
Open to bikes 1.2 miHorses 0.6 miUnpaved 7.8 mi
- Franklin Knolls River Trail0.9 mi
- Clifton Park River Trail0.6 mi
- Northwest Branch Trail0.6 mi
Water
Lakes & rivers
Tap a name for directions.
Who protects the land
751 conserved acres
Who manages it, from PAD-US. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Conserved doesn't always mean open to visitors. 35 acres are conservation easements, which are usually private land. Public access isn't recorded for 17 of 47 parcels. The places listed above are parks and preserves people visit.
Biking & sports
Bike routes, courts & fields
- Painted or protected bike lanes0.9 mi
- Off-road bike paths13.6 mi
- Shoulders & shared lanes4.9 mi
- Northwest Branch Trail (bike route)0.6 mi
- Rachel Carson Greenway Trail (bike route)0.6 mi
Courts & fields
- Tennis34
- Basketball32
- Baseball15
- Soccer13
- Golf9
- Equestrian4
- Multi-sport2
Counts include school and college facilities, which aren't always open to the public.
Public lands
The biggest protected places in Silver Spring
From USGS PAD-US: who manages each one and whether visitors are welcome.
State Other or Unknown 600 acLocal Park 416 acHistoric or Cultural Easement 29 acPrivate Other or Unknown 11 acSpecial Designation Area 9 ac
Showing 1–10 of 15 places
| Place | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Northwest Branch ParkState Other or Unknown | Not recorded | 405 | Access unknown |
| Sligo Creek ParkState Other or Unknown | Not recorded | 211 | Access unknown |
| Rock Creek Stream Valley ParkLocal Park | Other or Unknown Local Government | 174 | Open |
| Rock Creek ParkState Other or Unknown | Not recorded | 78 | Access unknown |
| Long Branch ParkPrivate Other or Unknown | Not recorded | 56 | Access unknown |
| NolteLocal Park | Other or Unknown Local Government | 16 | Open |
| Jesup-Blair LpLocal Park | Regional agency | 14 | Open |
| Broadacres LpLocal Park | Regional agency | 13 | Open |
| Rays Meadow LpLocal Park | Regional agency | 11 | Open |
| Indian Srpings Terrace ParkLocal Park | Other or Unknown Local Government | 11 | Open |
History
Historic places to visit
Blair HouseIn Jesup Blair Park · House
National Park SeminaryDistrict
Silver Spring Baltimore & Ohio Railroad StationBuilding · 1945
Grace Episcopal CemeteryCemetery
Nearby
Silver Spring and its neighbors
Towns whose outdoors data has been built so far.
| Town | Conserved | Trails | Parks & preserves |
|---|---|---|---|
| Silver Spring | 14.9% | 10.7 mi | 32 |
| Chevy Chase | 14.2% | 4.2 mi | 8 |
| Takoma Park | 7% | 1.1 mi | 16 |
| Four Corners | 13.5% | 1.4 mi | 6 |
| Washington | 17.4% | 117.6 mi | 237 |
| South Kensington | 19.5% | 1.9 mi | 1 |
| Langley Park | 6.3% | 0.1 mi | 2 |
Trail talk
Conditions & tips from neighbors
No recent posts about Silver Spring'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.