Sunnyside Neigborhood Park
Park
9 acres0.6 mi of trail
The Patrick Joseph Kelly trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Ammendale Normal Institute · Photo: Jack Boucher · Public domainB+Outdoors
Outdoors in Beltsville
6% of Beltsville’s land is conserved, and 97% of residents live within a half mile of a park
The biggest trail networks: Sunnyside Neigborhood Park (0.6 mi). 4.2 miles of mapped trail cross Beltsville, 0.6 per square mile of land. 6% of Beltsville’s land is conserved, about 276 acres.
Ahead of 69% of U.S. towns · #131 of 261 in Maryland. What drives it
Conserved land
6%
276 acres · of 7.2 sq mi of land
Trails
4.2 mi
0.6 per sq mi of land
Park land
123 ac
6.4 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
97%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
8.4 mi
4.5 mi lanes · 4.0 mi paths
Lakes & rivers
4
What kind of outdoors town is Beltsville?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Beltsville have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Beltsville is ahead of 69% of U.S. towns, #131 of 261 in Maryland. The share of residents near a park holds the grade up; park acres per resident pull it down.
B+
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Beltsville’s overall grade.
Conserved land6% of the land · typical MD town 9% · U.S. 4%B+Trails0.6 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (4 mi) · MD 0.5 · U.S. 0.4B+Park land6.4 acres of park per 1,000 residents (123 acres) · MD 9 · U.S. 13C+Parks close to home97% 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 69%
LessMore
Maryland towns of 2,500+ (261)Ahead of 50%
Maryland towns conserve more land than most (a typical one, 9%; the U.S., 4%), so Beltsville’s 6% is ahead of 32% of Maryland towns, while its trails per square mile lead 54% 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 Sunnyside Neigborhood Park, with 0.6 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Little Paint Branch Stream Valley Park
Managed by Prince George's County Department of Parks and Recreation
121 acres
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lotWebsite ↗
Beltsville Community Center
Managed by Prince George's County Department of Parks and Recreation
18 acres0.1 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
All 8 parks & preserves
Sunnyside Neigborhood Park9 acres · 0.6 mi of trail
DirectionsChestnut Hill Park8 acres · 0.2 mi of trail
DirectionsBeltsville Community Center18 acres · 0.1 mi of trail · Prince George's County Department of Parks and Recreation
DirectionsBeltsville North Neighborhood Park3 acres · 0.1 mi of trail
Little Paint Branch Stream Valley Park121 acres · Prince George's County Department of Parks and Recreation
DirectionsBeltsville West Park7 acres · Prince George's County Department of Parks and Recreation
DirectionsCherryvale Park6 acres
Powder Mill Community Park4 acres
DirectionsWho protects it
276 conserved acres
6% of Beltsville’s land. Who manages Beltsville’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Regional agency52 ac
Other or Unknown Local Government49 ac
County36 ac
State natural resources11 ac
Not recorded164 ac
State Other or Unknown · 164 acLocal Park · 100 acForest Stewardship Easement · 24 acConservation Easement · 22 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 29 acres are conservation easements, usually private land. Public access isn’t recorded for 12 of 35 parcels. The walks above are places people visit.
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Little Paint Branch Park State Other or Unknown | Not recorded | 139 | Unknown |
| Riderwood Park Local Park | Regional agency | 27 | Open |
| Powdermill Community Park State Other or Unknown | Not recorded | 25 | Unknown |
| Beltsville Park Local Park | Other or Unknown Local Government | 23 | Open |
| Beltsville Community Center Local Park | Regional agency | 18 | Open |
| Chestnut Hill Neighborhood Park Local Park | Other or Unknown Local Government | 12 | Open |
| Cherryvale Park Local Park | Regional agency | 8 | Open |
| Sunnyside Park Local Park | Other or Unknown Local Government | 7 | Open |
| Hollywood Park Local Park | Other or Unknown Local Government | 7 | Open |
Things to do
22 places to go in Beltsville
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Playgrounds in Beltsville
Plus 14 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Dog parks in Beltsville
1 dog park without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Fishing spots in Beltsville
1 fishing spot without a name on the map.
Picnic areas in Beltsville
2 picnic areas without a name on the map.
Campgrounds in Beltsville
Cherry Hill Park
DirectionsTrails & water
2 named trails and 4 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Unpaved · 1.9 mi
USDA fitness trail0.2 mi
The Patrick Joseph Kelly trail0.2 mi
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
Biking & sports
8.4 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
4.5 mi
painted or protected bike lanes
4.0 mi
off-road bike paths
Courts & fields
8Tennis
7Baseball
5Basketball
2Football
1Soccer
1Skate park
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
History along the way
History →1 place on the National Register
The country’s official list of places worth saving (National Park Service).
Ammendale Normal InstituteBuilding · listed 1975
About itWhen to get out
The best walking months in Beltsville: 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 | 14.6 | 13.7 | 12.4 | 11.1 | 10.0 | 9.4 |
| High (°F) | 43 | 47 | 55 | 67 | 75 | 84 | 88 | 86 | 79 | 68 | 57 | 47 |
| Rain (in) | 3.0 | 2.6 | 3.8 | 3.4 | 4.2 | 4.3 | 4.5 | 4.0 | 4.4 | 3.9 | 3.1 | 3.7 |
February is the driest month (2.6 in) and July the warmest (highs of 88 °F). 4.5 inches fall in July, the wettest month. Summer highs reach 88 °F, too hot for the outline. The climate in Beltsville →
Next door
Beltsville 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Beltsville | 6% | 0.6 | 6 | 97% | B+ |
| Hillandale | 12% | 2.0 | 17 | 99%+ | A+ |
| Konterra | 6% | 1.3 | 48 | 90% | A |
| Calverton | 11% | 0.8 | 7 | 99% | A− |
| College Park | 12% | 0.8 | 6 | 99% | A− |
| White Oak | 13% | 0.8 | 5 | 46% | B |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Beltsville
Where can I hike in Beltsville?
The longest trail networks: Sunnyside Neigborhood Park, 0.6 miles; Beltsville Community Center, 0.1 miles; Chestnut Hill Park, 0.2 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Beltsville is conserved land?
6% 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 Beltsville’s trails?
Sunnyside Neigborhood Park and Little Paint Branch Stream Valley Park don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Beltsville?
8.4 miles of bike routes are on the map: 4.5 of painted or protected lanes and 4.0 of off-road paths.
Is there public land near Beltsville?
18,026 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Beltsville or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 123 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Beltsville have?
Ahead of 69% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #131 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 Beltsville 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 →