T. Howard Duckett Watershed
Managed by Washington Suburban Sanitary Commission
284 acres3 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto Browns Bridge & Rocky Gorge Trail parking area
Photo: Andrew Bossi · CC BY-SA 2.5AOutdoors
Outdoors in Ashton-Sandy Spring
24% of Ashton-Sandy Spring’s land is conserved: 1,566 acres
567 acres are parks and preserves, 101 per 1,000 residents. The biggest trail networks: T. Howard Duckett Watershed (3 mi), Northwest Branch Stream Valley Park (1.4 mi). 7.5 miles of mapped trail cross Ashton-Sandy Spring, 0.7 per square mile of land.
Ahead of 92% of U.S. towns · #35 of 261 in Maryland. What drives it
Conserved land
24%
1,566 acres · of 10.3 sq mi of land
Trails
7.5 mi
0.7 per sq mi of land
Park land
567 ac
101 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
77%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
0.5 mi
0.5 mi paths
Lakes & rivers
3
2 boat launches
What kind of outdoors town is Ashton-Sandy Spring?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Ashton-Sandy Spring have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Ashton-Sandy Spring is ahead of 92% of U.S. towns, #35 of 261 in Maryland. All four inputs are above most U.S. towns; conserved land ranks highest, the share of residents near a park lowest.
A
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Ashton-Sandy Spring’s overall grade.
Conserved land24% of the land · typical MD town 9% · U.S. 4%ATrails0.7 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (8 mi) · MD 0.5 · U.S. 0.4B+Park land101 acres of park per 1,000 residents (567 acres) · MD 9 · U.S. 13AParks close to home77% of residents within a half mile of a park · MD 87% · U.S. 72%B
All U.S. towns we grade (21,298)Ahead of 92%
LessMore
Maryland towns of 2,500+ (261)Ahead of 87%
Maryland towns conserve more land than most (a typical one, 9%; the U.S., 4%), so Ashton-Sandy Spring’s 24% is ahead of 92% of Maryland towns, while its trails per square mile lead 62% of them.
How sure. Graded on any three of the four inputs instead, the letter would still be A. Trails and many small parks come from OpenStreetMap, mapped by volunteers, so coverage varies from town to town; the half mile is a straight line from each census block, so a river or highway in the way isn’t counted against it.
PAD-US, OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors), Census 2025 Gazetteer and 2020 blocks; details in Sources below. How TownRatings grades the outdoors →
The map
Conserved land, trails & bike routes
Tap a number to zoom to a park. Tap a layer to hide it.
Easements protect land from building but are usually private.© OpenStreetMap contributors · USGS PAD-US
Places to walk
Pick a walk
The longest trail network is T. Howard Duckett Watershed, with 3 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Northwest Branch Stream Valley Park
Managed by Montgomery Parks
186 acres1.4 mi of trail
Underground Railroad Experience Trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yetWebsite ↗
Woodlawn Manor Cultural Park
Managed by Montgomery Parks
79 acres0.4 mi of trail
Underground Railroad Experience Trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yetWebsite ↗
Patuxent River Watershed Conservation Park
Nature preserve
108 acres0.2 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yetWebsite ↗
All 7 parks & preserves
T. Howard Duckett Watershed284 acres · 3 mi of trail · Washington Suburban Sanitary Commission
DirectionsNorthwest Branch Stream Valley Park186 acres · 1.4 mi of trail · Montgomery Parks
Woodlawn Manor Cultural Park79 acres · 0.4 mi of trail · Montgomery Parks
Patuxent River Watershed Conservation Park108 acres · 0.2 mi of trail
Patuxent River State Park82 acres
Hawlings River Stream Valley54 acres · Montgomery Parks
Ednor Local Park25 acres
Who protects it
1,566 conserved acres
24% of Ashton-Sandy Spring’s land. Who manages Ashton-Sandy Spring’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
County964 ac
Other or Unknown Local Government584 ac
Other state land221 ac
State natural resources111 ac
State conservation111 ac
Not recorded720 ac
Conservation Easement · 1,280 acState Other or Unknown · 318 acLocal Conservation Area · 270 acLocal Park · 256 acLocal Other or Unknown · 170 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 813 acres are conservation easements, usually private land. Public access isn’t recorded for 138 of 277 parcels. The walks above are places people visit.
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Patuxent River Wastershed Conservation Park State Other or Unknown | Not recorded | 357 | Unknown |
| T. Howard Duckett Watershed Local Conservation Area | County | 269 | Open |
| County Land Local Other or Unknown | Not recorded | 115 | Unknown |
| Woodlawn Cultural Park Local Park | Not recorded | 110 | Unknown |
| Patuxent River Sp State Park | Not recorded | 81 | Unknown |
| Montgomery County Local Park | County | 80 | Open |
| MD National Capital Parks and Planning Local Other or Unknown | Not recorded | 31 | Unknown |
| Ednor Park Local Park | Other or Unknown Local Government | 25 | Open |
| Washington Suburban Sanitary Commission Local Other or Unknown | Not recorded | 23 | Unknown |
| Open Space Local Other or Unknown | Not recorded | 2 | Unknown |
3 smaller protected places aren’t shown.
Things to do
5 places to go in Ashton-Sandy Spring
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Playgrounds in Ashton-Sandy Spring
2 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Boat launches in Ashton-Sandy Spring
2 boat launches without a name on the map.
Picnic areas in Ashton-Sandy Spring
1 picnic area without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Trails & water
1 named trail and 3 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Horses · 1.3 miUnpaved · 2.9 mi
Underground Railroad Experience Trail1.2 mi
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
Biking & sports
0.5 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
0.5 mi
off-road bike paths
Courts & fields
15Tennis
3Baseball
2Equestrian
2Soccer
2Softball
2Basketball
1Football
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
History along the way
History →2 places on the National Register
The country’s official list of places worth saving (National Park Service).
When to get out
The best walking months in Ashton-Sandy Spring: April to June and August
NOAA’s 1991–2020 normals for the town and the daylight at its latitude. Outlined months have long days, highs of 59 to 86 °F and little rain for the place.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Daylight (h) | 9.7 | 10.7 | 11.8 | 13.2 | 14.3 | 14.9 | 14.7 | 13.7 | 12.4 | 11.1 | 10.0 | 9.4 |
| High (°F) | 42 | 45 | 54 | 65 | 74 | 82 | 87 | 84 | 78 | 67 | 56 | 46 |
| Rain (in) | 3.1 | 2.7 | 3.9 | 3.6 | 4.4 | 4.4 | 4.5 | 4.1 | 4.4 | 4.0 | 3.3 | 3.8 |
February is the driest month (2.7 in) and July the warmest (highs of 87 °F). 4.5 inches fall in July, the wettest month. Summer highs reach 87 °F, too hot for the outline. The climate in Ashton-Sandy Spring →
Next door
Ashton-Sandy Spring and its neighbors
Tap a town to see its outdoors.
| Town | Conserved of land | Trail mi per sq mi | Park acres per 1,000 | Near a park ½ mile | Outdoors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ashton-Sandy Spring | 24% | 0.7 | 101 | 77% | A |
| Olney | 19% | 1.1 | 21 | 95% | A |
| Spencerville | 7% | 0.3 | 23 | 80% | B+ |
| Burtonsville | 31% | 1.9 | 118 | 99% | A+ |
| Cloverly | 28% | 2.6 | 36 | 90% | A+ |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Ashton-Sandy Spring
Where can I hike in Ashton-Sandy Spring?
The longest trail networks: T. Howard Duckett Watershed, 3 miles; Northwest Branch Stream Valley Park, 1.4 miles; Woodlawn Manor Cultural Park, 0.4 miles; Patuxent River Watershed Conservation Park, 0.2 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Ashton-Sandy Spring is conserved land?
24% of its land, against a typical 9% for a Maryland town and 4% nationally (PAD-US). Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors: easements are usually private land.
Are dogs allowed on Ashton-Sandy Spring’s trails?
T. Howard Duckett Watershed and Northwest Branch Stream Valley Park don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Ashton-Sandy Spring?
0.5 miles of bike routes are on the map: 0.5 of off-road paths.
Is there public land near Ashton-Sandy Spring?
22,759 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Ashton-Sandy Spring or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 567 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Ashton-Sandy Spring have?
Ahead of 92% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #35 of 261 in Maryland. The grade combines the share of land that is conserved, miles of mapped trail per square mile of land, park acres per 1,000 residents and the share of residents within a half mile of a park. It’s a character grade, so it isn’t part of the overall grade. How it works.
Trail talk
Conditions, parking and favorite walks from Ashton-Sandy Spring neighbors.
Share a tip
Sources
Where this page comes from
Conserved and public land: USGS Protected Areas Database of the United States (PAD-US), service updated July 2026. Parks, trails, playgrounds, beaches and other places: OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL), map data as of 2026-10-28. Land and water area: Census 2025 Gazetteer. Residents near a park: 2020 Census blocks. National Register: National Park Service. How TownRatings grades the outdoors →