Monocacy National Battlefield - Best Farm
Park
204 acres1.3 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Monocacy National Battlefield · Photo: Acroterion · CC BY-SA 4.0A−Outdoors
Outdoors in Ballenger Creek
9% of Ballenger Creek’s land is conserved, and 96% of residents live within a half mile of a park
The biggest trail networks: Monocacy National Battlefield - Best Farm (1.3 mi), Ballenger Creek Park (0.8 mi). 9% of Ballenger Creek’s land is conserved, about 603 acres. 513 acres are parks and preserves, 19 per 1,000 residents.
Ahead of 79% of U.S. towns · #95 of 261 in Maryland. What drives it
Conserved land
9%
603 acres · of 10.8 sq mi of land
Trails
3.8 mi
0.4 per sq mi of land
Park land
513 ac
19 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
96%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
7.7 mi
3.8 mi lanes · 3.9 mi paths
Lakes & rivers
2
What kind of outdoors town is Ballenger Creek?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Ballenger Creek have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Ballenger Creek is ahead of 79% of U.S. towns, #95 of 261 in Maryland. All four inputs are above most U.S. towns; the share of residents near a park ranks highest, trail miles lowest.
A−
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Ballenger Creek’s overall grade.
Conserved land9% of the land · typical MD town 9% · U.S. 4%B+Trails0.4 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (4 mi) · MD 0.5 · U.S. 0.4B−Park land19 acres of park per 1,000 residents (513 acres) · MD 9 · U.S. 13BParks close to home96% of residents within a half mile of a park · MD 87% · U.S. 72%A−
All U.S. towns we grade (21,298)Ahead of 79%
LessMore
Maryland towns of 2,500+ (261)Ahead of 64%
Maryland towns conserve more land than most (a typical one, 9%; the U.S., 4%), so Ballenger Creek’s 9% is ahead of 48% of Maryland towns, while its trails per square mile lead 35% of them.
How sure. Graded on any three of the four inputs instead, the letter would range from B+ to 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 Monocacy National Battlefield - Best Farm, with 1.3 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Monocacy River Park
Park
53 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Monocacy National Battlefield - Worthington Farm
Park
6 acres
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
All 5 parks & preserves
Monocacy National Battlefield - Best Farm204 acres · 1.3 mi of trail
DirectionsBallenger Creek Park91 acres · 0.8 mi of trail
DirectionsMonocacy River Park53 acres
Monocacy National Battlefield - Worthington Farm6 acres
DirectionsKingsbrook Park3 acres
DirectionsWho protects it
603 conserved acres
9% of Ballenger Creek’s land. Who manages Ballenger Creek’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
National Park Service353 ac
County293 ac
Other or Unknown Federal Land72 ac
Other state land30 ac
State natural resources2 ac
Historic or Cultural Area · 281 acLocal Park · 161 acHistoric or Cultural Easement · 145 acForest Stewardship Easement · 68 acConservation Easement · 64 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 128 acres are conservation easements, usually private land. Public access isn’t recorded for 4 of 43 parcels. The walks above are places people visit.
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Monocacy National Battlefield Historic or Cultural Area | National Park Service | 281 | Restricted |
| Kingsbrook Park Local Park | County | 51 | Open |
| Ballenger Creek Trail Local Park | County | 45 | Open |
| Dudrow Park Local Park | County | 27 | Open |
| Robin Meadows Park Local Park | County | 26 | Open |
| MD State Highway Administration 1 State Resource Management Area | Other state land | 17 | Open |
| State of Maryland 2 State Resource Management Area | Other state land | 14 | Open |
| Ballenger Crossing Property Local Park | County | 13 | Open |
| MD Department of Natural Resources 1 State Resource Management Area | State natural resources | 2 | Open |
Things to do
25 places to go in Ballenger Creek
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Playgrounds in Ballenger Creek
23 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Dog parks in Ballenger Creek
2 dog parks without a name on the map.
Trails & water
1 named trail and 2 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Unpaved · 3.6 mi
Junction Trail0.5 mi
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
Biking & sports
7.7 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
3.8 mi
painted or protected bike lanes
3.9 mi
off-road bike paths
Courts & fields
23Tennis
8Baseball
7Basketball
5Soccer
3Football
2Pickleball
1Tracks
1Lacrosse
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
History along the way
History →5 places on the National Register, one a National Historic Landmark
The country’s official list of places worth saving (National Park Service). The map also marks 3 historic points from OpenStreetMap: plaques, memorials and old buildings.
When to get out
The best walking months in Ballenger Creek: April 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) | 41 | 45 | 54 | 66 | 75 | 83 | 87 | 85 | 79 | 67 | 55 | 45 |
| Rain (in) | 3.0 | 2.6 | 3.8 | 3.6 | 4.3 | 4.2 | 4.3 | 3.4 | 4.4 | 3.6 | 3.1 | 3.5 |
February is the driest month (2.6 in) and July the warmest (highs of 87 °F). 4.4 inches fall in September, the wettest month. Summer highs reach 87 °F, too hot for the outline. The climate in Ballenger Creek →
Next door
Ballenger Creek and its neighbors
Ballenger Creek has the second most mapped trails of the 2 towns around it. 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ballenger Creek | 9% | 0.4 | 19 | 96% | A− |
| Frederick | 7% | 0.9 | 15 | 98% | A− |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Ballenger Creek
Where can I hike in Ballenger Creek?
The longest trail networks: Monocacy National Battlefield - Best Farm, 1.3 miles; Ballenger Creek Park, 0.8 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Ballenger Creek is conserved land?
9% 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 Ballenger Creek’s trails?
Monocacy National Battlefield - Best Farm and Ballenger Creek Park don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Ballenger Creek?
7.7 miles of bike routes are on the map: 3.8 of painted or protected lanes and 3.9 of off-road paths.
Is there public land near Ballenger Creek?
13,173 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Ballenger Creek or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 546 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Ballenger Creek have?
Ahead of 79% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #95 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 Ballenger Creek 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 →