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Cabin John AqueductCabin John Aqueduct · Photo: Moreau1 · Public domain
A+Outdoors
Outdoors in Cabin John

43% of Cabin John’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. 4.8 miles of mapped trail cross Cabin John, 4.0 per square mile of land. 43% of Cabin John’s land is conserved, about 327 acres.

Ahead of 98% of U.S. towns. What drives it

Conserved land
43%
327 acres · of 1.2 sq mi of land
Trails
4.8 mi
4.0 per sq mi of land
Park land
39 ac
18 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
99%+
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
5.1 mi
1.0 mi lanes · 4.0 mi paths
Lakes & rivers
6

What kind of outdoors town is Cabin John?

Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.

Land that stays wild43% of the land is conserved; a typical Maryland town, 9%.A trail town4.0 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land, among the top 1% of U.S. towns.Parks close to homeVirtually every resident lives within a half mile of a park.
Outdoors grade

How much outdoors does Cabin John have?

On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Cabin John is ahead of 98% of U.S. towns. All four inputs are above most U.S. towns; trail miles rank highest, park acres per resident lowest.

A+
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Cabin John’s overall grade.
Conserved land43% of the land · typical MD town 9% · U.S. 4%A+Trails4.0 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (5 mi) · MD 0.5 · U.S. 0.4A+Park land18 acres of park per 1,000 residents (39 acres) · MD 9 · U.S. 13BParks 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 98%
LessMore

Maryland towns conserve more land than most (a typical one, 9%; the U.S., 4%), so Cabin John’s 43% is ahead of 99% of Maryland towns, while its trails per square mile lead 99% of them.

Water is 26% of Cabin John’s area (0 of 2 square miles), so every share here is of land; over land and water together, the conserved share would read 32%.

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.

1234
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 Cabin John Stream Valley Park, with 2 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.

Cabin John Stream Valley Park

Managed by Montgomery Parks
106 acres2 mi of trail
Cabin John Trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lotWebsite ↗

Chesapeake and Ohio Canal National Historical Park

Managed by National Park Service
20 acres
Dogs usually limited
Directionsto the parking lotWebsite ↗

Seven Locks Local Park

Managed by Montgomery Parks
11 acres0.1 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lotWebsite ↗

Carderock Springs Neighborhood Conservation Area

Managed by Montgomery Parks
7 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yetWebsite ↗
All 8 parks & preserves
Cabin John Stream Valley Park106 acres · 2 mi of trail · Montgomery Parks
Directions
Cedar Island Conservation Park3 acres · 0.2 mi of trail · Montgomery Parks
Directions
Seven Locks Local Park11 acres · 0.1 mi of trail · Montgomery Parks
Directions
Cabin John Local Park6 acres · 0.1 mi of trail · Montgomery Parks
Directions
Chesapeake and Ohio Canal National Historical Park20 acres · National Park Service
Directions
Carderock Springs Neighborhood Conservation Area7 acres · Montgomery Parks
Clara Barton Center for Children4 acres
Directions
Islands of the Potomac Wildlife Management Area2 acres · Wildlife and Heritage Service
Who protects it

327 conserved acres

43% of Cabin John’s land. Water is left out: Cabin John has 1.2 square miles of land and 0.4 of water, so the share counts land only. Who manages Cabin John’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.

National Park Service205 ac
Other or Unknown Local Government10 ac
County3 ac
Not recorded127 ac
Special Designation Area · 158 acState Other or Unknown · 107 acHistoric or Cultural Area · 39 acLocal Other or Unknown · 14 acNational Park · 8 ac
Good to know

Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 3 acres are conservation easements, usually private land. Public access isn’t recorded for 7 of 13 parcels. The walks above are places people visit.

The biggest protected parcels
Parcel (PAD-US)Managed byAcresPublic access
George Washington Memorial Parkway
Special Designation Area
National Park Service166Restricted
Cabin John Creek Park
State Other or Unknown
Not recorded97Unknown
Chesapeake and Ohio Canal National Historical Park
Historic or Cultural Area
National Park Service39Restricted
Caderock Recreation Area
Local Other or Unknown
Not recorded14Unknown
Seven LocKs Park
State Other or Unknown
Not recorded10Unknown
Carderock Springs Park
Local Park
Other or Unknown Local Government8Open
Minnie's Island
Private Conservation
Not recorded4Unknown
Islands Of The Potomac Wma
State Conservation Area
Not recorded2Unknown
Things to do

4 places to go in Cabin John

Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.

Playgrounds in Cabin John

4 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.

Trails & water

3 named trails and 6 lakes & rivers

Named trails
Open to bikes · 1.7 miUnpaved · 3.7 mi
Cabin John Trail1.4 mi
Union Arch Trail0.1 mi
Trail To Lock 80.1 mi
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
Chesapeake and Ohio CanalLock 10Lock 11Lock 12Lock 8Lock 9
Biking & sports

5.1 miles of bike routes

Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.

1.0 mi
painted or protected bike lanes
4.0 mi
off-road bike paths
Cabin John TrailBike route
1.4 mi
Courts & fields
6Tennis
2Basketball
2Soccer
1Pickleball
1Baseball

Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.

History along the way

1 place on the National Register

The country’s official list of places worth saving (National Park Service).

History →
Cabin John AqueductStructure · listed 1973
About it
When to get out

The best walking months in Cabin John: 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.

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Daylight (h)9.710.711.813.214.314.914.613.712.411.110.09.4
High (°F)434655667583888679685647
Rain (in)3.02.73.73.44.34.24.53.74.33.83.13.6

February is the driest month (2.7 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 Cabin John →

Next door

Cabin John and its neighbors

Tap a town to see its outdoors.

Potomac53 miMcLean43 miBrookmont7.1 miBethesda6.4 miCabin John4.8 miGlen Echo0.3 mi
TownConserved
of land		Trail mi
per sq mi		Park acres
per 1,000		Near a park
½ mile		Outdoors
Cabin John43%4.01899%+A+
Potomac21%2.12692%A+
Glen Echo— not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town
Brookmont42%5.4799%+A
Bethesda6%0.5399%B

The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.

Questions about parks and trails in Cabin John

Where can I hike in Cabin John?

The longest trail networks: Cabin John Stream Valley Park, 2 miles; Seven Locks Local Park, 0.1 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.

How much of Cabin John is conserved land?

43% 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 Cabin John’s trails?

Cabin John Stream Valley Park and Chesapeake and Ohio Canal National Historical Park don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.

Where can I bike in Cabin John?

5.1 miles of bike routes are on the map: 1.0 of painted or protected lanes and 4.0 of off-road paths. Named routes: Cabin John Trail.

Is there public land near Cabin John?

19,101 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Cabin John or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 39 of them inside the town line.

How much outdoors does Cabin John have?

Ahead of 98% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade. 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 Cabin John neighbors.

Town Square →
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 →