Barnaby Run Park
Nature preserve
80 acres0.3 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Photo: Roberto221 · CC BY-SA 4.0A−Outdoors
Outdoors in Hillcrest Heights
13% of Hillcrest Heights’ 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. 13% of Hillcrest Heights’ land is conserved, about 201 acres. 77 acres are parks and preserves, 4.8 per 1,000 residents.
Ahead of 76% of U.S. towns · #103 of 261 in Maryland. What drives it
Conserved land
13%
201 acres · of 2.5 sq mi of land
Trails
1.1 mi
0.4 per sq mi of land
Park land
77 ac
4.8 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
99%+
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
0.5 mi
0.4 mi lanes
Lakes & rivers
1
What kind of outdoors town is Hillcrest Heights?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Hillcrest Heights have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Hillcrest Heights is ahead of 76% of U.S. towns, #103 of 261 in Maryland. The share of residents near a park holds the grade up; park acres per resident pull it down.
A−
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Hillcrest Heights’ overall grade.
Conserved land13% of the land · typical MD town 9% · U.S. 4%A−Trails0.4 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (1 mi) · MD 0.5 · U.S. 0.4BPark land4.8 acres of park per 1,000 residents (77 acres) · MD 9 · U.S. 13CParks 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 76%
LessMore
Maryland towns of 2,500+ (261)Ahead of 61%
Maryland towns conserve more land than most (a typical one, 9%; the U.S., 4%), so Hillcrest Heights’ 13% is ahead of 68% of Maryland towns, while its trails per square mile lead 43% of them.
How sure. Graded on any three of the four inputs instead, the letter would range from B 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 Barnaby Run Park, with 0.3 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Hillcrest Park
Nature preserve
18 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Who protects it
201 conserved acres
13% of Hillcrest Heights’ land. Who manages Hillcrest Heights’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Regional agency60 ac
National Park Service52 ac
Other or Unknown Local Government17 ac
Other or Unknown Federal Land2 ac
Not recorded106 ac
State Other or Unknown · 106 acLocal Park · 77 acSpecial Designation Area · 50 acRecreation or Education Easement · 4 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 2 of 12 parcels. The walks above are places people visit.
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Oxon Hill Stream Valley Park State Other or Unknown | Not recorded | 94 | Unknown |
| National Capital Parks Special Designation Area | National Park Service | 50 | Restricted |
| West Green Valley Park Local Park | Regional agency | 27 | Open |
| North Barnaby Park Local Park | Other or Unknown Local Government | 17 | Open |
| Hillcrest Heights Community Center Local Park | Regional agency | 16 | Open |
| Hillcrest Heights Park Local Park | Regional agency | 14 | Open |
| Barnaby Run Stream Valley Park State Other or Unknown | Not recorded | 12 | Unknown |
| Oxon Run Hills Park Local Park | Regional agency | 2 | Open |
| Branch Avenue Park Local Park | Regional agency | 2 | Open |
Things to do
7 places to go in Hillcrest Heights
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Playgrounds in Hillcrest Heights
7 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Trails & water
1 lakes & rivers
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
Biking & sports
0.5 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
0.4 mi
painted or protected bike lanes
Courts & fields
3Tennis
2Baseball
1Basketball
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
When to get out
The best walking months in Hillcrest Heights: 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) | 44 | 47 | 56 | 67 | 76 | 84 | 88 | 86 | 80 | 69 | 57 | 48 |
| Rain (in) | 3.0 | 2.7 | 3.8 | 3.4 | 4.1 | 4.3 | 4.6 | 3.9 | 4.4 | 3.9 | 3.1 | 3.7 |
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 Hillcrest Heights →
Next door
Hillcrest Heights and its neighbors
Hillcrest Heights has the second most mapped trails of the 4 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hillcrest Heights | 13% | 0.4 | 5 | 99%+ | A− |
| Marlow Heights | 9% | under 0.1 | 17 | 90% | B |
| Glassmanor | 10% | 0.3 | 3 | 99%+ | B+ |
| Suitland | 22% | 0.5 | 8 | 99%+ | A |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Hillcrest Heights
Where can I hike in Hillcrest Heights?
The longest trail networks: Barnaby Run Park, 0.3 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Hillcrest Heights 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 Hillcrest Heights’ trails?
Barnaby Run Park and Hillcrest Park don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Hillcrest Heights?
0.5 miles of bike routes are on the map: 0.4 of painted or protected lanes.
Is there public land near Hillcrest Heights?
17,667 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Hillcrest Heights or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 77 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Hillcrest Heights have?
Ahead of 76% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #103 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 Hillcrest Heights 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 →