T. Howard Duckett Watershed
Managed by Washington Suburban Sanitary Commission
877 acres7.7 mi of trail
Multi Purpose Trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
A+Outdoors
Outdoors in Burtonsville
31% of Burtonsville’s land is conserved: 1,544 acres
15 miles of mapped trail cross Burtonsville, 1.9 per square mile of land. 1,201 acres are parks and preserves, 118 per 1,000 residents. 99% of residents live within a half mile of a park.
Among the top 1% of U.S. towns · #3 of 261 in Maryland. What drives it
Conserved land
31%
1,544 acres · of 7.8 sq mi of land
Trails
15 mi
1.9 per sq mi of land
Park land
1,201 ac
118 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
99%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
2.2 mi
0.8 mi lanes · 1.4 mi paths
Lakes & rivers
2
What kind of outdoors town is Burtonsville?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Burtonsville have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Burtonsville is among the top 1% of U.S. towns, #3 of 261 in Maryland. All four inputs put Burtonsville near the top nationally; conserved land ranks highest.
A+
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Burtonsville’s overall grade.
Conserved land31% of the land · typical MD town 9% · U.S. 4%ATrails1.9 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (15 mi) · MD 0.5 · U.S. 0.4APark land118 acres of park per 1,000 residents (1,201 acres) · MD 9 · U.S. 13AParks 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)Among the top 1%
LessMore
Maryland towns of 2,500+ (261)#3 of 261
Maryland towns conserve more land than most (a typical one, 9%; the U.S., 4%), so Burtonsville’s 31% is ahead of 97% of Maryland towns, while its trails per square mile lead 88% 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 7.7 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Fairland Recreational Park
Managed by Montgomery Parks
210 acres4.7 mi of trail
Holly LoopSilverwood TrailPine Trail LoopViper Trail+1
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lotWebsite ↗
Upper Paint Branch Stream Valley Park
Managed by Montgomery Parks
104 acres1.7 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yetWebsite ↗
Patuxent River Watershed Conservation Park
Nature preserve
219 acres0.2 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lotWebsite ↗
All 9 parks & preserves
T. Howard Duckett Watershed877 acres · 7.7 mi of trail · Washington Suburban Sanitary Commission
Fairland Recreational Park210 acres · 4.7 mi of trail · Montgomery Parks
DirectionsUpper Paint Branch Stream Valley Park104 acres · 1.7 mi of trail · Montgomery Parks
Patuxent River Watershed Conservation Park219 acres · 0.2 mi of trail
DirectionsMcKnew Conservation Park74 acres
DirectionsBurtonsville Local Park32 acres
DirectionsColumbia Park25 acres · Montgomery Parks
McKnew Local Park23 acres
DirectionsSantini Road Local Park16 acres
Who protects it
1,544 conserved acres
31% of Burtonsville’s land. Who manages Burtonsville’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
County1,006 ac
Other or Unknown Local Government227 ac
State natural resources15 ac
State conservation15 ac
Other state land1 ac
Not recorded1,256 ac
State Other or Unknown · 858 acLocal Conservation Area · 708 acConservation Easement · 452 acLocal Park · 432 acLocal Other or Unknown · 61 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 231 acres are conservation easements, usually private land. Public access isn’t recorded for 67 of 143 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 | 900 | Unknown |
| T. Howard Duckett Watershed Local Conservation Area | County | 708 | Open |
| Fairland Recreational Park State Other or Unknown | Not recorded | 186 | Unknown |
| Columbai Park State Other or Unknown | Not recorded | 93 | Unknown |
| Upper Paint Branch Park State Other or Unknown | Not recorded | 84 | Unknown |
| Open Space Local Other or Unknown | Not recorded | 44 | Unknown |
| Mcknew Park Local Park | Other or Unknown Local Government | 23 | Open |
| Patuxent River Watershed Conservation Area Local Other or Unknown | Not recorded | 13 | Unknown |
| County Land Local Other or Unknown | Not recorded | 5 | Unknown |
| Montgomery County Local Park | County | 5 | Open |
Things to do
6 places to go in Burtonsville
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Playgrounds in Burtonsville
Tot Lot
DirectionsTot Lot
DirectionsPlus 4 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Trails & water
7 named trails and 2 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Open to bikes · 4.8 miHorses · 3.1 miUnpaved · 5.0 mi
Holly Loop0.9 mi
Silverwood Trail0.7 mi
Pine Trail Loop0.4 mi
Viper Trail0.3 mi
Crowsfoot Trail0.2 mi
Multi Purpose Trail0.2 mi
Holly Trail0.1 mi
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
Biking & sports
2.2 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
0.8 mi
painted or protected bike lanes
1.4 mi
off-road bike paths
Courts & fields
7Baseball
6Basketball
6Tennis
2Equestrian
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
When to get out
The best walking months in Burtonsville: 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 | 46 | 54 | 66 | 74 | 82 | 87 | 85 | 78 | 67 | 56 | 46 |
| Rain (in) | 3.1 | 2.7 | 3.9 | 3.5 | 4.3 | 4.4 | 4.5 | 4.1 | 4.4 | 4.0 | 3.2 | 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 Burtonsville →
Next door
Burtonsville and its neighbors
Burtonsville has the second most mapped trails of the 8 towns around it. Tap a town to see its outdoors.
Cloverly26 miBurtonsville15 miScaggsville11 miFairland8.7 miKonterra8.1 miAshton-Sandy Spring7.5 miWest Laurel1.3 miSpencerville0.4 mi
| Town | Conserved of land | Trail mi per sq mi | Park acres per 1,000 | Near a park ½ mile | Outdoors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Burtonsville | 31% | 1.9 | 118 | 99% | A+ |
| Fairland | 18% | 1.8 | 10 | 99%+ | A |
| Ashton-Sandy Spring | 24% | 0.7 | 101 | 77% | A |
| Cloverly | 28% | 2.6 | 36 | 90% | A+ |
| Scaggsville | 30% | 2.2 | 23 | 87% | A |
| West Laurel | 20% | 0.6 | 10 | 87% | A− |
| Spencerville | 7% | 0.3 | 23 | 80% | B+ |
| Konterra | 6% | 1.3 | 48 | 90% | A |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Burtonsville
Where can I hike in Burtonsville?
The longest trail networks: T. Howard Duckett Watershed, 7.7 miles; Fairland Recreational Park, 4.7 miles; Upper Paint Branch Stream Valley Park, 1.7 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 Burtonsville is conserved land?
31% 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 Burtonsville’s trails?
T. Howard Duckett Watershed and Fairland Recreational Park don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Burtonsville?
2.2 miles of bike routes are on the map: 0.8 of painted or protected lanes and 1.4 of off-road paths.
Is there public land near Burtonsville?
21,670 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Burtonsville or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 1,201 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Burtonsville have?
Among the top 1% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #3 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 Burtonsville 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 →