Chesapeake and Ohio Canal National Historical Park
Managed by National Park Service
59 acres1.5 mi of trail
Chesapeake and Ohio Canal Trail
Dogs usually limited
Directionsto the parking lotWebsite ↗
Photo: Aude · CC BY-SA 2.5AOutdoors
Outdoors in Hancock
Hancock has 201 acres of parks, 124 for every 1,000 residents
13% of Hancock’s land is conserved, about 251 acres. 2.6 miles of mapped trail cross Hancock, 0.9 per square mile of land. The biggest trail networks: Chesapeake and Ohio Canal National Historical Park (1.5 mi).
Ahead of 93% of U.S. towns. What drives it
Conserved land
13%
251 acres · of 3.0 sq mi of land
Trails
2.6 mi
0.9 per sq mi of land
Park land
201 ac
124 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
86%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
1.6 mi
1.6 mi paths
Lakes & rivers
1
1 boat launch
What kind of outdoors town is Hancock?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Hancock have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Hancock is ahead of 93% of U.S. towns. All four inputs are above most U.S. towns; park acres per resident rank highest, the share of residents near a park lowest.
A
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Hancock’s overall grade.
Conserved land13% of the land · typical MD town 9% · U.S. 4%A−Trails0.9 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (3 mi) · MD 0.5 · U.S. 0.4A−Park land124 acres of park per 1,000 residents (201 acres) · MD 9 · U.S. 13AParks close to home86% 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 93%
LessMore
Maryland towns conserve more land than most (a typical one, 9%; the U.S., 4%), so Hancock’s 13% is ahead of 70% of Maryland towns, while its trails per square mile lead 69% of them.
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 Chesapeake and Ohio Canal National Historical Park, with 1.5 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Western Maryland Rail Trail
Managed by Maryland Park Service
15 acres0.1 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lotWebsite ↗
All 7 parks & preserves
Chesapeake and Ohio Canal National Historical Park59 acres · 1.5 mi of trail · National Park Service
DirectionsWestern Maryland Rail Trail15 acres · 0.1 mi of trail · Maryland Park Service
DirectionsKirk Woods Park150 acres
DirectionsWidmyer Memorial Park14 acres
DirectionsWidmyer Park11 acres
DirectionsGerber Field5 acres
DirectionsJoseph Hancock Jr. Primitive Park2 acres
DirectionsWho protects it
251 conserved acres
13% of Hancock’s land. Who manages Hancock’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
County135 ac
National Park Service62 ac
State natural resources4 ac
State conservation2 ac
Not recorded187 ac
Local Park · 159 acForest Stewardship Easement · 78 acHistoric or Cultural Area · 62 acConservation Easement · 58 acPrivate Other or Unknown · 23 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 2 acres are conservation easements, usually private land. Public access isn’t recorded for 10 of 13 parcels. The walks above are places people visit.
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kirk Woods Park (Hancock) Local Park | Not recorded | 170 | Unknown |
| Chesapeake and Ohio Canal National Historical Park Historic or Cultural Area | National Park Service | 62 | Restricted |
| Western Maryland Rail Trail State Park | Not recorded | 7 | Unknown |
| Widmyer Park (Hancock) Local Park | Not recorded | 6 | Unknown |
| Hancock Little League Park Local Park | Not recorded | 5 | Unknown |
| Fort Tonoloway Sp State Park | Not recorded | 1 | Unknown |
Things to do
5 places to go in Hancock
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Playgrounds in Hancock
4 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Boat launches in Hancock
1 boat launch without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Trails & water
1 named trail and 1 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Open to bikes · 1.5 miHorses · 1.5 miUnpaved · 1.5 mi
Chesapeake and Ohio Canal Trail1.5 mi
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
Biking & sports
1.6 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
1.6 mi
off-road bike paths
50 (Maryland)Bike route
1.5 mi9/11 National Memorial Trail (Maryland)Bike route
1.5 miChesapeake and Ohio Canal Towpath (Maryland)Bike route
1.5 miCourts & fields
9Baseball
3Tennis
1Football
1Beach volleyball
1Basketball
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
When to get out
The best walking months in Hancock: April 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) | 9.6 | 10.6 | 11.8 | 13.2 | 14.3 | 15.0 | 14.7 | 13.7 | 12.4 | 11.1 | 9.9 | 9.4 |
| High (°F) | 41 | 45 | 53 | 66 | 75 | 83 | 87 | 86 | 79 | 67 | 55 | 45 |
| Rain (in) | 2.6 | 2.1 | 3.2 | 3.6 | 4.3 | 3.8 | 3.9 | 3.2 | 3.7 | 3.1 | 2.9 | 3.0 |
February is the driest month (2.1 in) and July the warmest (highs of 87 °F). 4.3 inches fall in May, the wettest month. Summer highs reach 87 °F, too hot for the outline. The climate in Hancock →
Questions about parks and trails in Hancock
Where can I hike in Hancock?
The longest trail networks: Chesapeake and Ohio Canal National Historical Park, 1.5 miles; Western Maryland Rail Trail, 0.1 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Hancock is conserved land?
13% 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 Hancock’s trails?
Chesapeake and Ohio Canal National Historical Park and Kirk Woods Park don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Hancock?
1.6 miles of bike routes are on the map: 1.6 of off-road paths. Named routes: 50 (Maryland), 9/11 National Memorial Trail (Maryland) and Chesapeake and Ohio Canal Towpath (Maryland).
Is there public land near Hancock?
23,814 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Hancock or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 203 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Hancock have?
Ahead of 93% 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 Hancock 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 →