Watkins Regional Park
Nature preserve
640 acres5.2 mi of trail
Upland Trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lotWebsite ↗
Photo: SlipperyDude · CC BY-SA 3.0A−Outdoors
Outdoors in Kettering
24% of Kettering’s land is conserved: 848 acres
8.1 miles of mapped trail cross Kettering, 1.5 per square mile of land. The biggest trail networks: Watkins Regional Park (5.2 mi). 78% of residents live within a half mile of a park.
Ahead of 82% of U.S. towns · #78 of 261 in Maryland. What drives it
Conserved land
24%
848 acres · of 5.5 sq mi of land
Trails
8.1 mi
1.5 per sq mi of land
Park land
114 ac
8.2 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
78%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
2.9 mi
2.9 mi paths
Lakes & rivers
1
What kind of outdoors town is Kettering?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Kettering have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Kettering is ahead of 82% of U.S. towns, #78 of 261 in Maryland. Conserved land holds the grade up; park acres per resident pull it down.
A−
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Kettering’s overall grade.
Conserved land24% of the land · typical MD town 9% · U.S. 4%ATrails1.5 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (8 mi) · MD 0.5 · U.S. 0.4APark land8.2 acres of park per 1,000 residents (114 acres) · MD 9 · U.S. 13C+Parks close to home78% 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 82%
LessMore
Maryland towns of 2,500+ (261)Ahead of 70%
Maryland towns conserve more land than most (a typical one, 9%; the U.S., 4%), so Kettering’s 24% is ahead of 92% of Maryland towns, while its trails per square mile lead 83% 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 Watkins Regional Park, with 5.2 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Who protects it
848 conserved acres
24% of Kettering’s land. Who manages Kettering’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
County730 ac
Regional agency57 ac
Other or Unknown Local Government21 ac
Not recorded614 ac
State Other or Unknown · 614 acForest Stewardship Easement · 595 acConservation Easement · 136 acLocal Park · 77 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 156 acres are conservation easements, usually private land. Public access isn’t recorded for 24 of 96 parcels. The walks above are places people visit.
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Robert M. Watkins Regional Park State Other or Unknown | Not recorded | 608 | Unknown |
| Black Branch Stream Valley Park Local Park | Regional agency | 57 | Open |
| Kettering Neighborhood Park Local Park | Other or Unknown Local Government | 10 | Open |
| Kettering #2 Neighborhood Park State Other or Unknown | Not recorded | 6 | Unknown |
| Joyceton Dr. Neighborhood Park Local Park | Other or Unknown Local Government | 5 | Open |
| Realtors Park At Campus Woods Local Park | Other or Unknown Local Government | 4 | Open |
Things to do
12 places to go in Kettering
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Playgrounds in Kettering
6 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Picnic areas in Kettering
Picnic Area 10In Watkins Regional Park
DirectionsPicnic Area 11In Watkins Regional Park
DirectionsPicnic Area 12In Watkins Regional Park
DirectionsPicnic Area 13In Watkins Regional Park
DirectionsPicnic Area 14In Watkins Regional Park
DirectionsCampgrounds in Kettering
Watkins Regional ParkHours: Mar 01-Nov 15 open; Nov 16-Feb 29 closed · Fee · In Watkins Regional Park · Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission
DirectionsTrails & water
1 named trail and 1 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Open to bikes · 3.4 miUnpaved · 3.7 mi
Upland Trail0.5 mi
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
Biking & sports
2.9 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
2.9 mi
off-road bike paths
Courts & fields
10Tennis
5Baseball
3Basketball
1Soccer
1Football
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
When to get out
The best walking months in Kettering: 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 | 55 | 67 | 76 | 84 | 88 | 86 | 80 | 69 | 57 | 48 |
| Rain (in) | 3.0 | 2.6 | 4.0 | 3.4 | 4.0 | 4.3 | 4.6 | 4.2 | 4.5 | 3.9 | 3.2 | 3.7 |
February is the driest month (2.6 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 Kettering →
Next door
Kettering and its neighbors
Kettering has the second most mapped trails of the 7 towns around it. Tap a town to see its outdoors.
Bowie9.0 miKettering8.1 miMitchellville3.9 miBrock Hall2.5 miLargo0.7 miWoodmore0.4 miLake Arbor0.4 mi
| Town | Conserved of land | Trail mi per sq mi | Park acres per 1,000 | Near a park ½ mile | Outdoors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kettering | 24% | 1.5 | 8 | 78% | A− |
| Brock Hall | 12% | 0.3 | 11 | 64% | B |
| Largo | 5% | 0.2 | 9 | 99%+ | B+ |
| Woodmore | 22% | 0.1 | 55 | 68% | B+ |
| Lake Arbor | 7% | 0.1 | 4 | 85% | B− |
| Bowie | 13% | 0.4 | 20 | 96% | A− |
| Mitchellville | 26% | 0.8 | 3 | 82% | B+ |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Kettering
Where can I hike in Kettering?
The longest trail networks: Watkins Regional Park, 5.2 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Kettering is conserved land?
24% 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 Kettering’s trails?
Watkins Regional Park doesn’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Kettering?
2.9 miles of bike routes are on the map: 2.9 of off-road paths.
Is there public land near Kettering?
15,488 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Kettering or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 114 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Kettering have?
Ahead of 82% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #78 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 Kettering 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 →