Northwest Branch Stream Valley Park
Managed by Montgomery Parks
153 acres3.9 mi of trail
Northwest Branch TrailRachel Carson Greenway TrailUnder the Road NW Branch
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lotWebsite ↗
Photo: G. Edward Johnson · CC BY 4.0AOutdoors
Outdoors in Colesville
Colesville has 8.4 miles of mapped trails, 1.6 for every square mile of land
16% of Colesville’s land is conserved, about 531 acres. 93% of residents live within a half mile of a park. The biggest trail networks: Northwest Branch Stream Valley Park (3.9 mi), Upper Paint Branch Stream Valley Park (1.4 mi), Paint Branch Stream Valley Park (0.9 mi).
Ahead of 86% of U.S. towns · #54 of 261 in Maryland. What drives it
Conserved land
16%
531 acres · of 5.1 sq mi of land
Trails
8.4 mi
1.6 per sq mi of land
Park land
124 ac
8.5 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
93%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
4.3 mi
1.2 mi lanes · 3.1 mi paths
Lakes & rivers
2
What kind of outdoors town is Colesville?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Colesville have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Colesville is ahead of 86% of U.S. towns, #54 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 Colesville’s overall grade.
Conserved land16% of the land · typical MD town 9% · U.S. 4%ATrails1.6 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (8 mi) · MD 0.5 · U.S. 0.4APark land8.5 acres of park per 1,000 residents (124 acres) · MD 9 · U.S. 13C+Parks close to home93% 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 86%
LessMore
Maryland towns of 2,500+ (261)Ahead of 80%
Maryland towns conserve more land than most (a typical one, 9%; the U.S., 4%), so Colesville’s 16% is ahead of 78% of Maryland towns, while its trails per square mile lead 85% of them.
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
The longest trail network is Northwest Branch Stream Valley Park, with 3.9 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Upper Paint Branch Stream Valley Park
Managed by Montgomery Parks
122 acres1.4 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lotWebsite ↗
Paint Branch Stream Valley Park
Managed by Montgomery Parks
85 acres0.9 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lotWebsite ↗
All 13 parks & preserves
Northwest Branch Stream Valley Park153 acres · 3.9 mi of trail · Montgomery Parks
DirectionsUpper Paint Branch Stream Valley Park122 acres · 1.4 mi of trail · Montgomery Parks
DirectionsPaint Branch Stream Valley Park85 acres · 0.9 mi of trail · Montgomery Parks
DirectionsSherwood Forest Neighborhood Conservation Area7 acres · 0.2 mi of trail · Montgomery Parks
Valley Mill Special Park25 acres · 0.1 mi of trail
DirectionsMeadowood Local Park17 acres · 0.1 mi of trail
DirectionsPaint Branch Neighborhood Park4 acres · 0.1 mi of trail
Cannon Road Local Park26 acres
Pilgrim Hills Local Park14 acres
DirectionsTamarack Neighborhood Park7 acres
Colesville Local Park6 acres
DirectionsSherwood Forest Manor Neighborhood Park6 acres
DirectionsColesville Manor Neighborhood Park4 acres
DirectionsWho protects it
531 conserved acres
16% of Colesville’s land. Who manages Colesville’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Regional agency68 ac
Other or Unknown Local Government57 ac
County14 ac
Other state land2 ac
Not recorded463 ac
State Other or Unknown · 463 acLocal Park · 80 acConservation Easement · 28 acLocal Other or Unknown · 24 acLocal Conservation Area · 7 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 18 acres are conservation easements, usually private land. Public access isn’t recorded for 11 of 29 parcels. The walks above are places people visit.
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Paint Branch Park State Other or Unknown | Not recorded | 210 | Unknown |
| Northwest Branch Park State Other or Unknown | Not recorded | 175 | Unknown |
| Upper Paint Branch Park State Other or Unknown | Not recorded | 78 | Unknown |
| Cannon Road Park Local Park | Other or Unknown Local Government | 27 | Open |
| Valley Mill Sp Local Other or Unknown | Regional agency | 24 | Open |
| Meadowood Park Local Park | Other or Unknown Local Government | 16 | Open |
| Pilgrim Hill Lp Local Park | Regional agency | 14 | Open |
| Sherwood Forest Nca Local Conservation Area | Regional agency | 7 | Open |
| Tamarack Np Local Park | Regional agency | 7 | Open |
| Colesville Lp Local Park | Regional agency | 6 | Open |
2 smaller protected places aren’t shown.
Things to do
11 places to go in Colesville
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Playgrounds in Colesville
Meadowood Park PlaygroundIn Meadowood Local Park
DirectionsPlus 10 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Trails & water
4 named trails and 2 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Open to bikes · 3.4 miHorses · 2.4 miUnpaved · 6.2 mi
Northwest Branch Trail1.6 mi
Rachel Carson Greenway Trail0.9 mi
Under the Road NW Branch0.3 mi
Rachel Carson Greenway Trail Connector0.1 mi
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
Biking & sports
4.3 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
1.2 mi
painted or protected bike lanes
3.1 mi
off-road bike paths
Northwest Branch TrailBike route
1.6 miCourts & fields
8Basketball
7Baseball
6Tennis
2Pickleball
1Beach volleyball
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).
MilimarBuilding · listed 1973
About itWhen to get out
The best walking months in Colesville: 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) | 3.0 | 2.7 | 3.8 | 3.5 | 4.3 | 4.3 | 4.6 | 3.9 | 4.4 | 3.9 | 3.1 | 3.7 |
February is the driest month (2.7 in) and July the warmest (highs of 87 °F). 4.6 inches fall in July, the wettest month. Summer highs reach 87 °F, too hot for the outline. The climate in Colesville →
Next door
Colesville and its neighbors
Tap a town to see its outdoors.
Cloverly26 miWheaton12 miFairland8.7 miColesville8.4 miKemp Mill6.7 miWhite Oak2.6 miGlenmont1.1 miLayhill0.3 mi
| Town | Conserved of land | Trail mi per sq mi | Park acres per 1,000 | Near a park ½ mile | Outdoors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Colesville | 16% | 1.6 | 9 | 93% | A |
| Fairland | 18% | 1.8 | 10 | 99%+ | A |
| Glenmont | 14% | 0.4 | 5 | 99%+ | A− |
| Cloverly | 28% | 2.6 | 36 | 90% | A+ |
| Kemp Mill | 18% | 2.7 | 3 | 96% | A− |
| White Oak | 13% | 0.8 | 5 | 46% | B |
| Layhill | 24% | 0.2 | 18 | 98% | A− |
| Wheaton | 22% | 1.7 | 13 | 99% | A |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Colesville
Where can I hike in Colesville?
The longest trail networks: Northwest Branch Stream Valley Park, 3.9 miles; Upper Paint Branch Stream Valley Park, 1.4 miles; Paint Branch Stream Valley Park, 0.9 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Colesville is conserved land?
16% 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 Colesville’s trails?
Northwest Branch Stream Valley Park and Upper 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 Colesville?
4.3 miles of bike routes are on the map: 1.2 of painted or protected lanes and 3.1 of off-road paths. Named routes: Northwest Branch Trail.
Is there public land near Colesville?
20,240 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Colesville or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 124 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Colesville have?
Ahead of 86% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #54 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 Colesville 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 →