Western Branch Stream Valley Park I
Managed by Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission
221 acres
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Photo: SlipperyDude · CC BY-SA 3.0B−Outdoors
Outdoors in Lake Arbor
7% of Lake Arbor’s land is conserved: 172 acres
85% of residents live within a half mile of a park. 56 acres are parks and preserves, 3.9 per 1,000 residents. 0.4 miles of mapped trail cross Lake Arbor, 0.1 per square mile of land.
Ahead of 46% of U.S. towns · #209 of 261 in Maryland. What drives it
Conserved land
7%
172 acres · of 4.0 sq mi of land
Trails
0.4 mi
0.1 per sq mi of land
Park land
56 ac
3.9 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
85%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
4.1 mi
0.4 mi lanes · 3.6 mi paths
Lakes & rivers
2
What kind of outdoors town is Lake Arbor?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Lake Arbor have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Lake Arbor is ahead of 46% of U.S. towns, #209 of 261 in Maryland. The share of residents near a park holds the grade up; park acres per resident pull it down.
B−
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Lake Arbor’s overall grade.
Conserved land7% of the land · typical MD town 9% · U.S. 4%B+Trails0.1 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (0 mi) · MD 0.5 · U.S. 0.4CPark land3.9 acres of park per 1,000 residents (56 acres) · MD 9 · U.S. 13CParks close to home85% 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 46%
LessMore
Maryland towns of 2,500+ (261)Ahead of 20%
Maryland towns conserve more land than most (a typical one, 9%; the U.S., 4%), so Lake Arbor’s 7% is ahead of 38% of Maryland towns, while its trails per square mile lead 11% of them.
How sure. Graded on any three of the four inputs instead, the letter would range from C 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
Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Bald Hill Stream Valley Park
Managed by Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission
12 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
All 5 parks & preserves
Arbor Park8 acres · 0.1 mi of trail
DirectionsWestern Branch Stream Valley Park I221 acres · Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission
DirectionsBald Hill Stream Valley Park12 acres · Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission
Largo-Lottsford Park8 acres
DirectionsM-NCPPC2 acres
Who protects it
172 conserved acres
7% of Lake Arbor’s land. Who manages Lake Arbor’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
County57 ac
Regional agency31 ac
Other or Unknown Local Government23 ac
State natural resources2 ac
Not recorded93 ac
State Other or Unknown · 80 acLocal Park · 52 acForest Stewardship Easement · 37 acConservation Easement · 23 acLocal Other or Unknown · 12 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 27 acres are conservation easements, usually private land. Public access isn’t recorded for 18 of 32 parcels. The walks above are places people visit.
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Western Branch Stream Valley Park State Other or Unknown | Not recorded | 80 | Unknown |
| Lake Arbor Community Center Local Park | Regional agency | 29 | Open |
| Lord Fairfax Historic Site Local Park | Other or Unknown Local Government | 13 | Open |
| Enterprise Gofl Course Local Other or Unknown | Not recorded | 12 | Unknown |
| Arbor Neighborhood Park Local Park | Other or Unknown Local Government | 8 | Open |
| Largo Town Center Park Local Park | Regional agency | 2 | Open |
Things to do
5 places to go in Lake Arbor
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Playgrounds in Lake Arbor
5 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Trails & water
2 lakes & rivers
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
Biking & sports
4.1 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
3.6 mi
off-road bike paths
Courts & fields
7Tennis
3Baseball
3Basketball
1Soccer
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
When to get out
The best walking months in Lake Arbor: 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 | 9.4 |
| High (°F) | 44 | 47 | 55 | 67 | 76 | 84 | 88 | 86 | 80 | 69 | 57 | 48 |
| Rain (in) | 3.0 | 2.6 | 3.9 | 3.4 | 4.1 | 4.3 | 4.6 | 4.1 | 4.4 | 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 Lake Arbor →
Next door
Lake Arbor and its neighbors
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lake Arbor | 7% | 0.1 | 4 | 85% | B− |
| Mitchellville | 26% | 0.8 | 3 | 82% | B+ |
| Springdale | 10% | 0.2 | 2 | 99% | B |
| Summerfield | 11% | 0.4 | 14 | 99%+ | A− |
| Largo | 5% | 0.2 | 9 | 99%+ | B+ |
| Kettering | 24% | 1.5 | 8 | 78% | A− |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Lake Arbor
Where can I hike in Lake Arbor?
The longest trail networks: Arbor Park, 0.1 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Lake Arbor is conserved land?
7% 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 Lake Arbor’s trails?
Western Branch Stream Valley Park I and Bald Hill Stream Valley Park don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Lake Arbor?
4.1 miles of bike routes are on the map: 0.4 of painted or protected lanes and 3.6 of off-road paths.
Is there public land near Lake Arbor?
15,967 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Lake Arbor or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 56 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Lake Arbor have?
Ahead of 46% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #209 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 Lake Arbor 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 →