Walker Mill Regional Park
Nature preserve
112 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Photo: Ser Amantio di Nicolao · CC BY-SA 3.0BOutdoors
Outdoors in Forestville
10% of Forestville’s land is conserved, and 97% of residents live within a half mile of a park
10% of Forestville’s land is conserved, about 240 acres. 45 acres are parks and preserves, 4.3 per 1,000 residents. 0.8 miles of mapped trail cross Forestville, 0.2 per square mile of land.
Ahead of 60% of U.S. towns · #170 of 261 in Maryland. What drives it
Conserved land
10%
240 acres · of 3.9 sq mi of land
Trails
0.8 mi
0.2 per sq mi of land
Park land
45 ac
4.3 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
97%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
1.3 mi
0.3 mi lanes · 1.0 mi paths
What kind of outdoors town is Forestville?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Forestville have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Forestville is ahead of 60% of U.S. towns, #170 of 261 in Maryland. The share of residents near a park holds the grade up; park acres per resident pull it down.
B
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Forestville’s overall grade.
Conserved land10% of the land · typical MD town 9% · U.S. 4%A−Trails0.2 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (1 mi) · MD 0.5 · U.S. 0.4C+Park land4.3 acres of park per 1,000 residents (45 acres) · MD 9 · U.S. 13CParks close to home97% 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 60%
LessMore
Maryland towns of 2,500+ (261)Ahead of 35%
Maryland towns conserve more land than most (a typical one, 9%; the U.S., 4%), so Forestville’s 10% is ahead of 52% of Maryland towns, while its trails per square mile lead 22% of them.
NoteFew parks or trails are mapped in Forestville. OpenStreetMap is mapped by volunteers and coverage varies from town to town, so a town with unmapped parks scores low on them.
How sure. Graded on any three of the four inputs instead, the letter would range from B− 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
Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Who protects it
240 conserved acres
10% of Forestville’s land. Who manages Forestville’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
County124 ac
National Park Service66 ac
Regional agency27 ac
Other or Unknown Local Government7 ac
Other state land3 ac
Not recorded121 ac
State Other or Unknown · 118 acForest Stewardship Easement · 102 acSpecial Designation Area · 66 acConservation Easement · 32 acLocal Park · 27 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 29 acres are conservation easements, usually private land. Public access isn’t recorded for 14 of 30 parcels. The walks above are places people visit.
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Walker Mill Regional Park State Other or Unknown | Not recorded | 118 | Unknown |
| National Capital Parks Special Designation Area | National Park Service | 66 | Restricted |
| Ritchie Run Park Local Park | Regional agency | 17 | Open |
| Hartman-Berkshire Park Local Park | Regional agency | 4 | Open |
| Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission Property Property Local Other or Unknown | Not recorded | 4 | Unknown |
| Forestville-Ritchie Park Local Park | Regional agency | 3 | Open |
| North Forestville Community Center Local Park | Regional agency | 2 | Open |
| North Forestville Park Local Park | Regional agency | 1 | Open |
Things to do
4 places to go in Forestville
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Playgrounds in Forestville
4 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Biking & sports
1.3 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
0.3 mi
painted or protected bike lanes
1.0 mi
off-road bike paths
Courts & fields
6Tennis
3Baseball
1Football
1Basketball
1Multi-sport
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
When to get out
The best walking months in Forestville: 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 | 14.6 | 13.7 | 12.4 | 11.1 | 10.0 | 9.5 |
| High (°F) | 44 | 47 | 55 | 67 | 75 | 84 | 88 | 86 | 79 | 68 | 57 | 48 |
| Rain (in) | 3.0 | 2.7 | 3.9 | 3.4 | 4.1 | 4.4 | 4.6 | 4.1 | 4.5 | 3.9 | 3.2 | 3.8 |
February is the driest month (2.7 in) and July the warmest (highs of 88 °F). 4.6 inches fall in July, the wettest month. Summer highs reach 88 °F, too hot for the outline. The climate in Forestville →
Next door
Forestville and its neighbors
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Forestville | 10% | 0.2 | 4 | 97% | B |
| Walker Mill | 13% | 0.9 | 4 | 81% | B+ |
| Suitland | 22% | 0.5 | 8 | 99%+ | A |
| Westphalia | 12% | 0.3 | 2 | 56% | B− |
| Camp Springs | 10% | 0.1 | 6 | 89% | B |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Forestville
How much of Forestville is conserved land?
10% 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 Forestville’s trails?
Walker Mill Regional Park doesn’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Forestville?
1.3 miles of bike routes are on the map: 0.3 of painted or protected lanes and 1.0 of off-road paths.
Is there public land near Forestville?
17,360 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Forestville or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 45 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Forestville have?
Ahead of 60% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #170 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 Forestville 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 →