Sharp Road Community Park
Park
20 acres0.9 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Photo: AMK1211 · CC BY-SA 2.0B−Outdoors
Outdoors in Denton
Denton has 62 acres of parks, 13 for every 1,000 residents
The biggest trail networks: Sharp Road Community Park (0.9 mi). 2% of Denton’s land is conserved, about 68 acres. 2.1 miles of mapped trail cross Denton, 0.4 per square mile of land.
Ahead of 48% of U.S. towns · #200 of 261 in Maryland. What drives it
Conserved land
2%
68 acres · of 5.3 sq mi of land
Trails
2.1 mi
0.4 per sq mi of land
Park land
62 ac
13 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
61%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
1.2 mi
0.4 mi lanes · 0.8 mi paths
Lakes & rivers
1
1 boat launch
What kind of outdoors town is Denton?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Denton have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Denton is ahead of 48% of U.S. towns, #200 of 261 in Maryland. Trail miles hold the grade up; conserved land pulls it down.
B−
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Denton’s overall grade.
Conserved land2% of the land · typical MD town 9% · U.S. 4%C+Trails0.4 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (2 mi) · MD 0.5 · U.S. 0.4BPark land13 acres of park per 1,000 residents (62 acres) · MD 9 · U.S. 13B−Parks close to home61% of residents within a half mile of a park · MD 87% · U.S. 72%B−
All U.S. towns we grade (21,298)Ahead of 48%
LessMore
Maryland towns of 2,500+ (261)Ahead of 23%
Maryland towns conserve more land than most (a typical one, 9%; the U.S., 4%), so Denton’s 2% is ahead of 7% of Maryland towns, while its trails per square mile lead 40% of them.
How sure. Graded on any three of the four inputs instead, the letter would range from C+ to B−. 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 Sharp Road Community Park, with 0.9 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Daniel Crouse Memorial Park
Park
10 acres0.1 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
All 6 parks & preserves
Sharp Road Community Park20 acres · 0.9 mi of trail
DirectionsWheeler Park9 acres · 0.2 mi of trail
DirectionsLockerman Middle School Park8 acres · 0.2 mi of trail
DirectionsDaniel Crouse Memorial Park10 acres · 0.1 mi of trail
DirectionsDenton Elementary School Park9 acres
Directions4th Street Park1 acres
DirectionsWho protects it
68 conserved acres
2% of Denton’s land. Who manages Denton’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Town or city38 ac
County17 ac
Private owners9 ac
Other state land2 ac
Not recorded17 ac
Local Park · 48 acConservation Easement · 17 acForest Stewardship Easement · 16 acHistoric or Cultural Easement · 2 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 20 acres are conservation easements, usually private land. Public access isn’t recorded for 3 of 10 parcels. The walks above are places people visit.
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sharp Park Local Park | Town or city | 21 | Open |
| Town Park Local Park | Not recorded | 17 | Unknown |
| Lions Park Local Park | Private owners | 9 | Open |
| 4Th St Park Local Park | Town or city | 1 | Open |
Things to do
12 places to go in Denton
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Playgrounds in Denton
Riverview Garden PlaygroundIn Coursey Park
DirectionsPlus 9 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Boat launches in Denton
1 boat launch without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Campgrounds in Denton
Denton Camp
DirectionsTrails & water
1 lakes & rivers
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
Biking & sports
1.2 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
0.4 mi
painted or protected bike lanes
0.8 mi
off-road bike paths
Courts & fields
6Basketball
5Baseball
4Tennis
2Volleyball
1Soccer
1Multi-sport
1Softball
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
History along the way
History →3 places on the National Register
The country’s official list of places worth saving (National Park Service). The map also marks 1 historic points from OpenStreetMap: plaques, memorials and old buildings.
When to get out
The best walking months in Denton: April to June
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 | 9.5 |
| High (°F) | 44 | 48 | 56 | 67 | 76 | 84 | 89 | 86 | 80 | 69 | 58 | 49 |
| Rain (in) | 3.4 | 2.9 | 4.0 | 3.5 | 3.7 | 4.1 | 4.2 | 4.8 | 4.1 | 3.8 | 3.3 | 3.8 |
February is the driest month (2.9 in) and July the warmest (highs of 89 °F). 4.8 inches fall in August, the wettest month. Summer highs reach 89 °F, too hot for the outline. The climate in Denton →
Questions about parks and trails in Denton
Where can I hike in Denton?
The longest trail networks: Sharp Road Community Park, 0.9 miles; Daniel Crouse Memorial Park, 0.1 miles; Wheeler Park, 0.2 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Denton is conserved land?
2% 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 Denton’s trails?
Sharp Road Community Park and Daniel Crouse Memorial Park don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Denton?
1.2 miles of bike routes are on the map: 0.4 of painted or protected lanes and 0.8 of off-road paths.
Is there public land near Denton?
4,760 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Denton or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 62 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Denton have?
Ahead of 48% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #200 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 Denton 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 →