Northwest Branch Stream Valley Park
Managed by Montgomery Parks
51 acres2.3 mi of trail
Copperhead Run TrailNorthwest Branch TrailDevere Loop TrailChute 2+1
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yetWebsite ↗
A+Outdoors
Outdoors in Hillandale
12% of Hillandale’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. 3.7 miles of mapped trail cross Hillandale, 2.0 per square mile of land. 12% of Hillandale’s land is conserved, about 146 acres.
Ahead of 95% of U.S. towns · #16 of 261 in Maryland. What drives it
Conserved land
12%
146 acres · of 1.9 sq mi of land
Trails
3.7 mi
2.0 per sq mi of land
Park land
87 ac
17 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
99%+
of residents within ½ mile
Lakes & rivers
1
What kind of outdoors town is Hillandale?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Hillandale have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Hillandale is ahead of 95% of U.S. towns, #16 of 261 in Maryland. All four inputs are above most U.S. towns; the share of residents near a park ranks highest, park acres per resident lowest.
A+
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Hillandale’s overall grade.
Conserved land12% of the land · typical MD town 9% · U.S. 4%A−Trails2.0 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (4 mi) · MD 0.5 · U.S. 0.4APark land17 acres of park per 1,000 residents (87 acres) · MD 9 · U.S. 13BParks 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 95%
LessMore
Maryland towns of 2,500+ (261)Ahead of 94%
Maryland towns conserve more land than most (a typical one, 9%; the U.S., 4%), so Hillandale’s 12% is ahead of 66% of Maryland towns, while its trails per square mile lead 90% 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 Northwest Branch Stream Valley Park, with 2.3 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Hillandale Local Park
Park
23 acres1.1 mi of trail
Hillandale Loop TrailGreenacres Trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lotWebsite ↗
Paint Branch Stream Valley Park
Nature preserve
4 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Who protects it
146 conserved acres
12% of Hillandale’s land. Who manages Hillandale’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Other or Unknown Local Government78 ac
Private owners5 ac
County5 ac
Not recorded111 ac
State Other or Unknown · 111 acLocal Park · 79 acConservation Easement · 10 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 6 acres are conservation easements, usually private land. Public access isn’t recorded for 7 of 13 parcels. The walks above are places people visit.
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Northwest Branch Park State Other or Unknown | Not recorded | 102 | Unknown |
| Powdermill Community Park State Other or Unknown | Not recorded | 42 | Unknown |
| Hillandale Park Local Park | Other or Unknown Local Government | 23 | Open |
| Knollwood Park State Other or Unknown | Not recorded | 13 | Unknown |
| Paint Branch Stream Valley Park State Other or Unknown | Not recorded | 6 | Unknown |
| Hillandale Swin & Tennis Association Local Park | Private owners | 5 | Open |
Things to do
3 places to go in Hillandale
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Playgrounds in Hillandale
3 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Trails & water
7 named trails and 1 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Open to bikes · 3.0 miHorses · 2.4 miUnpaved · 3.0 mi
Copperhead Run Trail0.9 mi
Northwest Branch Trail0.6 mi
Devere Loop Trail0.5 mi
Hillandale Loop Trail0.4 mi
Greenacres Trail0.2 mi
Chute 20.1 mi
Chute 30.1 mi
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
Biking & sports
0.0 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
Northwest Branch TrailBike route
2.5 miCopperhead Run TrailBike route
0.9 miRachel Carson Greenway TrailBike route
0.6 miCourts & fields
11Tennis
6Basketball
4Pickleball
3Baseball
1Soccer
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
When to get out
The best walking months in Hillandale: 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 | 9.4 |
| High (°F) | 43 | 46 | 54 | 66 | 75 | 83 | 87 | 85 | 79 | 68 | 56 | 47 |
| Rain (in) | 3.0 | 2.6 | 3.8 | 3.4 | 4.3 | 4.4 | 4.5 | 4.0 | 4.4 | 3.9 | 3.1 | 3.7 |
February is the driest month (2.6 in) and July the warmest (highs of 87 °F). 4.5 inches fall in July, the wettest month. Summer highs reach 87 °F, too hot for the outline. The climate in Hillandale →
Next door
Hillandale and its neighbors
Tap a town to see its outdoors.
Silver Spring11 miBeltsville4.2 miHillandale3.7 miBurnt Mills2.9 miWhite Oak2.6 miFour Corners1.4 miAdelphi0.4 mi
| Town | Conserved of land | Trail mi per sq mi | Park acres per 1,000 | Near a park ½ mile | Outdoors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hillandale | 12% | 2.0 | 17 | 99%+ | A+ |
| Beltsville | 6% | 0.6 | 6 | 97% | B+ |
| White Oak | 13% | 0.8 | 5 | 46% | B |
| Four Corners | 14% | 1.0 | 4 | 99%+ | A− |
| Burnt Mills | 15% | 3.5 | 3 | 99%+ | A |
| Silver Spring | 15% | 1.4 | 3 | 99%+ | A− |
| Adelphi | 10% | 0.1 | 5 | 90% | B |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Hillandale
Where can I hike in Hillandale?
The longest trail networks: Northwest Branch Stream Valley Park, 2.3 miles; Hillandale Local Park, 1.1 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Hillandale is conserved land?
12% 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 Hillandale’s trails?
Northwest Branch Stream Valley Park and Hillandale Local Park don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Is there public land near Hillandale?
16,373 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Hillandale or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 87 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Hillandale have?
Ahead of 95% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #16 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 Hillandale 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 →