Chesapeake and Ohio Canal National Historical Park
Managed by National Park Service
28 acres
Dogs usually limited
Directionsto the parking lotWebsite ↗
Glen Echo Park Historic District · Photo: Mary Ann Daly · CC BY-SA 3.0AOutdoors
Outdoors in Brookmont
42% of Brookmont’s land is conserved, and virtually every resident lives within a half mile of a park
Virtually every resident lives within a half mile of a park. 7.1 miles of mapped trail cross Brookmont, 5.4 per square mile of land. 42% of Brookmont’s land is conserved, about 343 acres.
Ahead of 95% of U.S. towns · #18 of 261 in Maryland. What drives it
Conserved land
42%
343 acres · of 1.3 sq mi of land
Trails
7.1 mi
5.4 per sq mi of land
Park land
24 ac
6.5 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
99%+
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
6.0 mi
5.2 mi paths
Lakes & rivers
5
What kind of outdoors town is Brookmont?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Brookmont have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Brookmont is ahead of 95% of U.S. towns, #18 of 261 in Maryland. Trail miles hold the grade up; park acres per resident pull it down.
A
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Brookmont’s overall grade.
Conserved land42% of the land · typical MD town 9% · U.S. 4%A+Trails5.4 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (7 mi) · MD 0.5 · U.S. 0.4A+Park land6.5 acres of park per 1,000 residents (24 acres) · MD 9 · U.S. 13C+Parks close to homeVirtually all residents within a half mile of a park · MD 87% · U.S. 72%A+
All U.S. towns we grade (21,298)Ahead of 95%
LessMore
Maryland towns of 2,500+ (261)Ahead of 93%
Maryland towns conserve more land than most (a typical one, 9%; the U.S., 4%), so Brookmont’s 42% is ahead of 99% of Maryland towns, while its trails per square mile lead 100% of them.
Water is 34% of Brookmont’s area (1 of 2 square miles), so every share here is of land; over land and water together, the conserved share would read 27%.
How sure. Graded on any three of the four inputs instead, the letter would range from A 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
Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Capital Crescent Trail Special Park
Managed by Montgomery Parks
8 acres0.1 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lotWebsite ↗
Sangamore Local Park
Park
7 acres0.2 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lotWebsite ↗
Potomac Palisades Conservation Park
Nature preserve
6 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yetWebsite ↗
All 7 parks & preserves
Sangamore Local Park7 acres · 0.2 mi of trail
DirectionsCapital Crescent Trail Special Park8 acres · 0.1 mi of trail · Montgomery Parks
DirectionsCedar Island Conservation Park5 acres · 0.1 mi of trail · Montgomery Parks
DirectionsChesapeake and Ohio Canal National Historical Park28 acres · National Park Service
DirectionsPotomac Palisades Conservation Park6 acres
Glen Echo Heights Neighborhood Park2 acres
Brookmont Neighborhood Park2 acres
DirectionsWho protects it
343 conserved acres
42% of Brookmont’s land. Water is left out: Brookmont has 1.3 square miles of land and 0.7 of water, so the share counts land only. Who manages Brookmont’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
National Park Service336 ac
Regional agency8 ac
Other or Unknown Local Government2 ac
Not recorded8 ac
Historic or Cultural Area · 168 acSpecial Designation Area · 163 acLocal Park · 10 acLocal Other or Unknown · 8 acNational Park · 5 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 1 acre is a conservation easement, usually private land. Public access isn’t recorded for 1 of 7 parcels. The walks above are places people visit.
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| George Washington Memorial Parkway Special Designation Area | National Park Service | 168 | Restricted |
| Chesapeake and Ohio Canal National Historical Park Historic or Cultural Area | National Park Service | 168 | Restricted |
| Caderock Recreation Area Local Other or Unknown | Not recorded | 8 | Unknown |
| Sangamore Local Park Local Park | Regional agency | 7 | Open |
| Glen Echo Heights Park Local Park | Other or Unknown Local Government | 2 | Open |
| Brookmont Neighborhood Park Local Park | Regional agency | 2 | Open |
Things to do
1 places to go in Brookmont
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Playgrounds in Brookmont
1 playground without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Trails & water
3 named trails and 5 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Open to bikes · 3.4 miUnpaved · 6.9 mi
Pallasades Trolley Trail0.5 mi
Palisades Trolley Trail0.2 mi
Potomac Heritage Trail0.1 mi
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
Biking & sports
6.0 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
5.2 mi
off-road bike paths
0.8 mi
shoulders & shared lanes
Palisades Trolley TrailBike route
0.7 miCourts & fields
4Basketball
3Tennis
1Baseball
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).
Glen Echo Park Historic DistrictDistrict · listed 1984
About itWhen to get out
The best walking months in Brookmont: April, 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 | 55 | 66 | 75 | 83 | 87 | 86 | 79 | 68 | 57 | 47 |
| Rain (in) | 3.0 | 2.7 | 3.7 | 3.4 | 4.3 | 4.2 | 4.5 | 3.7 | 4.3 | 3.8 | 3.1 | 3.6 |
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 Brookmont →
Next door
Brookmont 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Brookmont | 42% | 5.4 | 7 | 99%+ | A |
| Bethesda | 6% | 0.5 | 3 | 99% | B |
| Glen Echo | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
| Cabin John | 43% | 4.0 | 18 | 99%+ | A+ |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Brookmont
Where can I hike in Brookmont?
The longest trail networks: Capital Crescent Trail Special Park, 0.1 miles; Sangamore Local Park, 0.2 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Brookmont is conserved land?
42% 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 Brookmont’s trails?
Chesapeake and Ohio Canal National Historical Park and Capital Crescent Trail Special Park don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Brookmont?
6.0 miles of bike routes are on the map: 5.2 of off-road paths and 0.8 of shoulders and shared lanes. Named routes: Palisades Trolley Trail.
Is there public land near Brookmont?
20,146 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Brookmont or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 24 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Brookmont have?
Ahead of 95% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #18 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 Brookmont 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 →