Tilghman Park
Park
62 acres0.7 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Photo: Doug Kerr from Albany, NY, United States · CC BY-SA 2.0B+Outdoors
Outdoors in La Plata
La Plata has 297 acres of parks, 28 for every 1,000 residents
The biggest trail networks: Tilghman Park (0.7 mi). 5% of La Plata’s land is conserved, about 243 acres. 3.4 miles of mapped trail cross La Plata, 0.4 per square mile of land.
Ahead of 69% of U.S. towns · #133 of 261 in Maryland. What drives it
Conserved land
5%
243 acres · of 8.0 sq mi of land
Trails
3.4 mi
0.4 per sq mi of land
Park land
297 ac
28 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
73%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
4.8 mi
1.6 mi paths
Lakes & rivers
1
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does La Plata have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, La Plata is ahead of 69% of U.S. towns, #133 of 261 in Maryland. All four inputs are above most U.S. towns; park acres per resident rank highest, the share of residents near a park lowest.
B+
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of La Plata’s overall grade.
Conserved land5% of the land · typical MD town 9% · U.S. 4%BTrails0.4 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (3 mi) · MD 0.5 · U.S. 0.4BPark land28 acres of park per 1,000 residents (297 acres) · MD 9 · U.S. 13B+Parks close to home73% 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 69%
LessMore
Maryland towns of 2,500+ (261)Ahead of 49%
Maryland towns conserve more land than most (a typical one, 9%; the U.S., 4%), so La Plata’s 5% is ahead of 24% 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 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
The longest trail network is Tilghman Park, with 0.7 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Silver Linden Park
Park
11 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Wills Memorial Park
Park
10 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
All 5 parks & preserves
Tilghman Park62 acres · 0.7 mi of trail
Clark Run Nature Park104 acres
DirectionsSilver Linden Park11 acres
Wills Memorial Park10 acres
Laurel Springs Park1 acres
Who protects it
243 conserved acres
5% of La Plata’s land. Who manages La Plata’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
County138 ac
Other or Unknown Local Government112 ac
Town or city28 ac
State natural resources4 ac
Not recorded53 ac
Local Park · 126 acForest Stewardship Easement · 100 acConservation Easement · 70 acLocal Other or Unknown · 39 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 77 acres are conservation easements, usually private land. Public access isn’t recorded for 23 of 56 parcels. The walks above are places people visit.
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Laurel Springs Regional Park Local Park | Other or Unknown Local Government | 93 | Open |
| Clarks Run Ii Local Other or Unknown | Not recorded | 21 | Unknown |
| Clark Run Nature Area Local Other or Unknown | Not recorded | 18 | Unknown |
| Lp5014 Local Park | Other or Unknown Local Government | 15 | Open |
| Willis Memorial Park Local Park | Not recorded | 8 | Unknown |
| Redwood Lake Park Local Park | Not recorded | 5 | Unknown |
| Silver Linden Park Local Park | Other or Unknown Local Government | 5 | Open |
| La Plata Mini-Park Local Park | Not recorded | 1 | Unknown |
Things to do
2 places to go in La Plata
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Playgrounds in La Plata
2 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
4.8 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
3.2 mi
shoulders & shared lanes
Courts & fields
5Baseball
4Tennis
3Soccer
2Basketball
2Football
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
History along the way
History →5 places on the National Register
The country’s official list of places worth saving (National Park Service).
When to get out
The best walking months in La Plata: 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) | 9.8 | 10.7 | 11.8 | 13.2 | 14.3 | 14.8 | 14.6 | 13.7 | 12.4 | 11.1 | 10.0 | 9.5 |
| High (°F) | 45 | 49 | 57 | 68 | 76 | 84 | 88 | 86 | 80 | 69 | 58 | 49 |
| Rain (in) | 3.0 | 2.7 | 3.8 | 3.3 | 4.0 | 4.2 | 4.4 | 4.2 | 4.5 | 3.6 | 3.1 | 3.6 |
February is the driest month (2.7 in) and July the warmest (highs of 88 °F). 4.5 inches fall in September, the wettest month. Summer highs reach 88 °F, too hot for the outline. The climate in La Plata →
Questions about parks and trails in La Plata
Where can I hike in La Plata?
The longest trail networks: Tilghman Park, 0.7 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of La Plata is conserved land?
5% 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 La Plata’s trails?
Tilghman Park and Clark Run Nature Park don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in La Plata?
4.8 miles of bike routes are on the map: 1.6 of off-road paths and 3.2 of shoulders and shared lanes.
Is there public land near La Plata?
8,692 acres of parks and open public land lie inside La Plata or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 297 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does La Plata have?
Ahead of 69% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #133 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 La Plata 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 →