Crabbs Branch Stream Valley Park
Managed by Montgomery Parks
65 acres0.1 mi of trail
Gude Trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lotWebsite ↗
Photo: PersianDutchNetwork · CC BY-SA 4.0AOutdoors
Outdoors in Derwood
19% of Derwood’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. 19% of Derwood’s land is conserved, about 79 acres. 71 acres are parks and preserves, 36 per 1,000 residents.
Ahead of 91% of U.S. towns. What drives it
Conserved land
19%
79 acres · of 0.6 sq mi of land
Trails
0.2 mi
0.3 per sq mi of land
Park land
71 ac
36 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
99%+
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
0.1 mi
What kind of outdoors town is Derwood?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Derwood have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Derwood is ahead of 91% of U.S. towns. All four inputs are above most U.S. towns; the share of residents near a park ranks highest, trail miles lowest.
A
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Derwood’s overall grade.
Conserved land19% of the land · typical MD town 9% · U.S. 4%ATrails0.3 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (0 mi) · MD 0.5 · U.S. 0.4B−Park land36 acres of park per 1,000 residents (71 acres) · MD 9 · U.S. 13A−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 91%
LessMore
Maryland towns conserve more land than most (a typical one, 9%; the U.S., 4%), so Derwood’s 19% is ahead of 85% of Maryland towns, while its trails per square mile lead 32% 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 Crabbs Branch Stream Valley Park, with 0.1 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Derwood Station Neighborhood Park
Nature preserve
4 acres
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lotWebsite ↗
Who protects it
79 conserved acres
19% of Derwood’s land. Who manages Derwood’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Regional agency69 ac
Not recorded73 ac
State Other or Unknown · 73 acLocal Conservation Area · 65 acLocal Park · 4 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. Public access isn’t recorded for 1 of 3 parcels. The walks above are places people visit.
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rock Creek Stream Valley Park State Other or Unknown | Not recorded | 73 | Unknown |
| Crabbs Branch Svp Local Conservation Area | Regional agency | 65 | Open |
| Derwood Station Np Local Park | Regional agency | 4 | Open |
Trails & water
1 named trail
Named trails
Gude Trail0.2 mi
Biking & sports
0.1 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
0.1 mi
shoulders & shared lanes
When to get out
The best walking months in Derwood: 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 | 14.7 | 13.7 | 12.4 | 11.1 | 10.0 | 9.4 |
| High (°F) | 42 | 45 | 54 | 65 | 74 | 82 | 86 | 84 | 78 | 67 | 56 | 46 |
| Rain (in) | 3.1 | 2.7 | 3.8 | 3.5 | 4.4 | 4.3 | 4.5 | 3.8 | 4.3 | 3.8 | 3.2 | 3.7 |
February is the driest month (2.7 in) and July the warmest (highs of 86 °F). 4.5 inches fall in July, the wettest month. Summer highs reach 86 °F, too hot for the outline. The climate in Derwood →
Next door
Derwood and its neighbors
Derwood has the second most mapped trails of the 2 towns around it. 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Derwood | 19% | 0.3 | 36 | 99%+ | A |
| Redland | 32% | 2.3 | 58 | 99%+ | A+ |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Derwood
Where can I hike in Derwood?
The longest trail networks: Crabbs Branch Stream Valley Park, 0.1 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Derwood is conserved land?
19% 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 Derwood’s trails?
Crabbs Branch Stream Valley Park and Derwood Station Neighborhood Park don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Derwood?
0.1 miles of bike routes are on the map: 0.1 of shoulders and shared lanes.
Is there public land near Derwood?
18,742 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Derwood or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 71 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Derwood have?
Ahead of 91% 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 Derwood 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 →