Ward Farm Recreation and Nature Park
Managed by Calvert County Parks and Recreation
185 acres4.3 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lotWebsite ↗
AOutdoors
Outdoors in Dunkirk
20% of Dunkirk’s land is conserved: 837 acres
261 acres are parks and preserves, 120 per 1,000 residents. 5.8 miles of mapped trail cross Dunkirk, 0.9 per square mile of land. The biggest trail networks: Ward Farm Recreation and Nature Park (4.3 mi), Dunkirk District Park (0.8 mi).
Ahead of 92% of U.S. towns. What drives it
Conserved land
20%
837 acres · of 6.6 sq mi of land
Trails
5.8 mi
0.9 per sq mi of land
Park land
261 ac
120 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
74%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
5.1 mi
1.1 mi lanes · 0.6 mi paths
Lakes & rivers
4
What kind of outdoors town is Dunkirk?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Dunkirk have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Dunkirk is ahead of 92% of U.S. towns. All four inputs are above most U.S. towns; conserved land ranks highest, the share of residents near a park lowest.
A
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Dunkirk’s overall grade.
Conserved land20% of the land · typical MD town 9% · U.S. 4%ATrails0.9 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (6 mi) · MD 0.5 · U.S. 0.4A−Park land120 acres of park per 1,000 residents (261 acres) · MD 9 · U.S. 13AParks close to home74% 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 92%
LessMore
Maryland towns conserve more land than most (a typical one, 9%; the U.S., 4%), so Dunkirk’s 20% is ahead of 87% of Maryland towns, while its trails per square mile lead 69% of them.
Water is 10% of Dunkirk’s area (1 of 7 square miles), so every share here is of land; over land and water together, the conserved share would read 18%.
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 Ward Farm Recreation and Nature Park, with 4.3 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Hall Creek Natural Resource Management Area
Managed by Maryland Park Service
379 acres0.4 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yetWebsite ↗
Merkle Natural Resources Management Area and Visitor Center
Managed by Maryland Park Service
95 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yetWebsite ↗
Who protects it
837 conserved acres
20% of Dunkirk’s land. Water is left out: Dunkirk has 6.6 square miles of land and 0.7 of water, so the share counts land only. Who manages Dunkirk’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Other state land574 ac
Private owners325 ac
County145 ac
State natural resources112 ac
Other or Unknown Local Government33 ac
Not recorded128 ac
Agricultural Easement · 569 acConservation Easement · 449 acState Park · 128 acState Conservation Area · 112 acForest Stewardship Easement · 59 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 709 acres are conservation easements, usually private land. Public access isn’t recorded for 28 of 69 parcels. The walks above are places people visit.
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Merkle Nrma State Park | Not recorded | 113 | Unknown |
| Merkle Natural Resource Management Area State Conservation Area | State natural resources | 112 | Restricted |
| Hall Creek NRMA (DNR) State Park | Not recorded | 14 | Unknown |
Things to do
6 places to go in Dunkirk
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Playgrounds in Dunkirk
4 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Waterfalls in Dunkirk
1 waterfall without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Disc golf in Dunkirk
Ward Farm Park Disc Golf CourseIn Ward Farm Recreation and Nature Park
DirectionsTrails & water
4 lakes & rivers
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
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.
1.1 mi
painted or protected bike lanes
0.6 mi
off-road bike paths
3.4 mi
shoulders & shared lanes
Courts & fields
7Soccer
7Baseball
1Basketball
1Skate park
1Tennis
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
When to get out
The best walking months in Dunkirk: 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) | 45 | 48 | 56 | 68 | 76 | 84 | 88 | 86 | 80 | 69 | 58 | 49 |
| Rain (in) | 3.1 | 2.7 | 4.1 | 3.3 | 3.9 | 4.3 | 4.5 | 4.3 | 4.6 | 3.9 | 3.2 | 3.7 |
February is the driest month (2.7 in) and July the warmest (highs of 88 °F). 4.6 inches fall in September, the wettest month. Summer highs reach 88 °F, too hot for the outline. The climate in Dunkirk →
Next door
Dunkirk and its neighbors
Tap a town to see its outdoors.
Questions about parks and trails in Dunkirk
Where can I hike in Dunkirk?
The longest trail networks: Ward Farm Recreation and Nature Park, 4.3 miles; Dunkirk District Park, 0.8 miles; Hall Creek Natural Resource Management Area, 0.4 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Dunkirk is conserved land?
20% 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 Dunkirk’s trails?
Ward Farm Recreation and Nature Park and Dunkirk District Park don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Dunkirk?
5.1 miles of bike routes are on the map: 1.1 of painted or protected lanes, 0.6 of off-road paths and 3.4 of shoulders and shared lanes.
Is there public land near Dunkirk?
13,105 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Dunkirk or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 261 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Dunkirk have?
Ahead of 92% 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 Dunkirk 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 →