Little Falls Stream Valley Park
Managed by Montgomery Parks
146 acres1.2 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lotWebsite ↗
Photo: westroopnerd · CC BY-SA 4.0BOutdoors
Outdoors in Bethesda
6% of Bethesda’s land is conserved, and 99% of residents live within a half mile of a park
The biggest trail networks: Little Falls Stream Valley Park (1.2 mi), McCrillis Gardens Special Park (0.8 mi). 197 acres are parks and preserves, 2.8 per 1,000 residents. 6% of Bethesda’s land is conserved, about 507 acres.
Ahead of 64% of U.S. towns · #158 of 261 in Maryland. What drives it
Conserved land
6%
507 acres · of 13.3 sq mi of land
Trails
6.4 mi
0.5 per sq mi of land
Park land
197 ac
2.8 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
99%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
32 mi
5.3 mi lanes · 16 mi paths
Lakes & rivers
5
1 beach
What kind of outdoors town is Bethesda?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Bethesda have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Bethesda is ahead of 64% of U.S. towns, #158 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 Bethesda’s overall grade.
Conserved land6% of the land · typical MD town 9% · U.S. 4%B+Trails0.5 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (6 mi) · MD 0.5 · U.S. 0.4BPark land2.8 acres of park per 1,000 residents (197 acres) · MD 9 · U.S. 13C−Parks close to home99% 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 64%
LessMore
Maryland towns of 2,500+ (261)Ahead of 40%
Maryland towns conserve more land than most (a typical one, 9%; the U.S., 4%), so Bethesda’s 6% is ahead of 32% of Maryland towns, while its trails per square mile lead 46% 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 Little Falls Stream Valley Park, with 1.2 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
McCrillis Gardens Special Park
Park
5 acres0.8 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yetWebsite ↗
Whittier Woods Local Park
Park
8 acres0.3 mi of trail
Dogs allowed
Directionsto the parking lotWebsite ↗
Wyngate Woods Neighborhood Park
Park
3 acres0.3 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yetWebsite ↗
All 32 parks & preserves
Little Falls Stream Valley Park146 acres · 1.2 mi of trail · Montgomery Parks
DirectionsMcCrillis Gardens Special Park5 acres · 0.8 mi of trail
Whittier Woods Local Park8 acres · 0.3 mi of trail
DirectionsWyngate Woods Neighborhood Park3 acres · 0.3 mi of trail
Ayrlawn Park14 acres · 0.2 mi of trail
Norwood Park17 acres · 0.1 mi of trail · Montgomery Parks
DirectionsWestmoreland Hills Local Park10 acres · 0.1 mi of trail · Montgomery Parks
DirectionsWood Acres Park8 acres · 0.1 mi of trail
DirectionsWillard Avenue Neighborhood Park6 acres · 0.1 mi of trail
DirectionsBattery Lane Urban Park2 acres · 0.1 mi of trail · Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission
DirectionsRock Creek Stream Valley Park110 acres · Montgomery Parks
DirectionsCabin John Stream Valley Park31 acres · Montgomery Parks
DirectionsBooze Creek Stream Valley Park24 acres · Montgomery Parks
Burning Tree Local Park11 acres
Maplewood-Alta Vista Local Park10 acres
DirectionsMerrimac Neighborhood Park10 acres
DirectionsElmhirst Parkway Neighborhood Conservation Area7 acres · Montgomery Parks
DirectionsFernwood Local Park6 acres
Hillmead Neighborhood Park6 acres
Concord Local Park5 acres
DirectionsBradley Hills Neighborhood Conservation Area5 acres
Locust Hill Neighborhood Park4 acres · Montgomery Parks
Bradley Local Park4 acres
DirectionsGreenwich Park3 acres
DirectionsBrookdale Neighborhood Park3 acres
Bethesda Elementary Park3 acres
DirectionsBelmont Buffer Park1 acres
DirectionsSky Horizon Observation Park1 acres
DirectionsBoundary Park Neighborhood Conservation Area1 acres
Caroline Freeland Urban Park1 acres
DirectionsGlen Mar Neighborhood Park1 acres
CRC Courtyard1 acres
DirectionsWho protects it
507 conserved acres
6% of Bethesda’s land. Who manages Bethesda’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Other or Unknown Local Government119 ac
County78 ac
Regional agency46 ac
Other state land2 ac
Town or city1 ac
Not recorded363 ac
State Other or Unknown · 348 acConservation Easement · 110 acLocal Park · 85 acLocal Recreation Area · 33 acForest Stewardship Easement · 17 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 67 acres are conservation easements, usually private land. Public access isn’t recorded for 34 of 76 parcels. The walks above are places people visit.
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Little Falls Branch Park State Other or Unknown | Not recorded | 164 | Unknown |
| Rock Creek Park State Other or Unknown | Not recorded | 122 | Unknown |
| Cabin John Creek Park State Other or Unknown | Not recorded | 60 | Unknown |
| Bethesda Swimming Pool Local Recreation Area | Regional agency | 33 | Open |
| Ayrlawn Park Local Park | Other or Unknown Local Government | 14 | Open |
| Maplewood Alta Vista Park Local Park | Other or Unknown Local Government | 10 | Open |
| Merrimack Park Local Park | Other or Unknown Local Government | 10 | Open |
| Whittier Woods Park Local Park | Other or Unknown Local Government | 7 | Open |
| Elmhirst Parkway Neighborhood Conservation Area Local Conservation Area | Regional agency | 7 | Open |
| Willard Avenue Np Local Park | Regional agency | 7 | Open |
5 smaller protected places aren’t shown.
Things to do
76 places to go in Bethesda
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Beaches in Bethesda
1 beach without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Public pools in Bethesda
Merrimack pool
DirectionsPlaygrounds in Bethesda
Bethesda United Methodist Church Playground
DirectionsCour de récré
DirectionsMaternelle Playground
Directions71 playgrounds are on OpenStreetMap in all; the list shows named ones from the first 30.
Picnic areas in Bethesda
3 picnic areas without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Trails & water
1 named trail and 5 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Open to bikes · 1.5 miUnpaved · 4.7 mi
Bannockburn Stream Valley Trail0.2 mi
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
Biking & sports
32 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
5.3 mi
painted or protected bike lanes
16 mi
off-road bike paths
11 mi
shoulders & shared lanes
Courts & fields
135Tennis
51Basketball
26Baseball
23Soccer
6Softball
4Pickleball
3Field hockey
3Multi-sport
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
History along the way
History →9 places on the National Register
The country’s official list of places worth saving (National Park Service). The map also marks 8 historic points from OpenStreetMap: plaques, memorials and old buildings.
MiltonBuilding · listed 1975
About itBethesda Naval Hospital TowerBuilding · listed 1977
About itBethesda MeetinghouseBuilding · listed 1977
About itBethesda TheatreBuilding · listed 1999
About itWiley-Ringland HouseBuilding · listed 2000
About itMorelandBuilding · listed 2005
About itSeymour Krieger HouseBuilding · listed 2008
About itRiver Road Unitarian ChurchBuilding · listed 2025
About itWhen to get out
The best walking months in Bethesda: 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 | 46 | 54 | 66 | 75 | 83 | 87 | 85 | 79 | 68 | 56 | 47 |
| Rain (in) | 3.0 | 2.7 | 3.8 | 3.4 | 4.3 | 4.3 | 4.5 | 3.8 | 4.3 | 3.9 | 3.1 | 3.7 |
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 Bethesda →
Next door
Bethesda and its neighbors
Tap a town to see its outdoors.
Potomac53 miBrookmont7.1 miBethesda6.4 miChevy Chase4.2 miNorth Bethesda2.5 miSouth Kensington1.9 miSomerset0.8 miChevy Chase0.0 mi
| Town | Conserved of land | Trail mi per sq mi | Park acres per 1,000 | Near a park ½ mile | Outdoors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bethesda | 6% | 0.5 | 3 | 99% | B |
| South Kensington | 20% | 0.9 | 3 | 85% | B+ |
| Brookmont | 42% | 5.4 | 7 | 99%+ | A |
| Chevy Chase | 14% | 1.7 | 16 | 99%+ | A+ |
| North Bethesda | 7% | 0.3 | 3 | 97% | B |
| Potomac | 21% | 2.1 | 26 | 92% | A+ |
| Somerset | 16% | 2.9 | 6 | 99%+ | A |
| Chevy Chase | 3% | under 0.1 | 3 | 99%+ | C+ |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Bethesda
Where can I hike in Bethesda?
The longest trail networks: Little Falls Stream Valley Park, 1.2 miles; McCrillis Gardens Special Park, 0.8 miles; Whittier Woods Local Park, 0.3 miles; Wyngate Woods Neighborhood Park, 0.3 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Bethesda 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 Bethesda’s trails?
OpenStreetMap records dogs as welcome at Whittier Woods Local Park. For the rest, check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Bethesda?
32 miles of bike routes are on the map: 5.3 of painted or protected lanes, 16 of off-road paths and 11 of shoulders and shared lanes.
Is there public land near Bethesda?
25,932 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Bethesda or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 197 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Bethesda have?
Ahead of 64% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #158 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 Bethesda 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 →