Lanham Forest Park
Managed by Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission
64 acres
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
A−Outdoors
Outdoors in Lanham
11% of Lanham’s land is conserved, and 98% of residents live within a half mile of a park
11% of Lanham’s land is conserved, about 259 acres. 2.4 miles of mapped trail cross Lanham, 0.7 per square mile of land. 117 acres are parks and preserves, 10 per 1,000 residents.
Ahead of 82% of U.S. towns · #82 of 261 in Maryland. What drives it
Conserved land
11%
259 acres · of 3.5 sq mi of land
Trails
2.4 mi
0.7 per sq mi of land
Park land
117 ac
10 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
98%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
2.9 mi
2.9 mi paths
What kind of outdoors town is Lanham?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Lanham have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Lanham is ahead of 82% of U.S. towns, #82 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 Lanham’s overall grade.
Conserved land11% of the land · typical MD town 9% · U.S. 4%A−Trails0.7 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (2 mi) · MD 0.5 · U.S. 0.4B+Park land10 acres of park per 1,000 residents (117 acres) · MD 9 · U.S. 13B−Parks close to home98% of residents within a half mile of a park · MD 87% · U.S. 72%A−
All U.S. towns we grade (21,298)Ahead of 82%
LessMore
Maryland towns of 2,500+ (261)Ahead of 69%
Maryland towns conserve more land than most (a typical one, 9%; the U.S., 4%), so Lanham’s 11% is ahead of 62% of Maryland towns, while its trails per square mile lead 59% 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
Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Bald Hill Stream Valley Park
Managed by Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission
7 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Folly Branch Stream Valley Park
Managed by Prince George's County Department of Parks and Recreation
4 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Who protects it
259 conserved acres
11% of Lanham’s land. Who manages Lanham’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Other or Unknown Local Government115 ac
County13 ac
Regional agency7 ac
Not recorded133 ac
State Other or Unknown · 133 acLocal Park · 113 acConservation Easement · 21 acForest Stewardship Easement · 1 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 12 acres are conservation easements, usually private land. Public access isn’t recorded for 6 of 14 parcels. The walks above are places people visit.
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Folly Branch Stream Valley Park State Other or Unknown | Not recorded | 126 | Unknown |
| Lanham Forest Park Local Park | Other or Unknown Local Government | 67 | Open |
| Whitfield Chapel Park Local Park | Other or Unknown Local Government | 29 | Open |
| Thomas Seabrook Park Local Park | Other or Unknown Local Government | 10 | Open |
| Bald Hill Stream Valley Park State Other or Unknown | Not recorded | 7 | Unknown |
| Tabbs Park Local Park | Regional agency | 7 | Open |
Things to do
2 places to go in Lanham
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Playgrounds in Lanham
2 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Trails & water
1 named trail
Named trails
Folley Branch Creek Trail0.5 mi
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
1Basketball
1Tennis
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
When to get out
The best walking months in Lanham: 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 | 47 | 55 | 67 | 75 | 84 | 88 | 86 | 79 | 68 | 57 | 48 |
| Rain (in) | 3.0 | 2.6 | 3.9 | 3.4 | 4.2 | 4.4 | 4.5 | 4.1 | 4.4 | 4.0 | 3.1 | 3.8 |
February is the driest month (2.6 in) and July the warmest (highs of 88 °F). 4.5 inches fall in July, the wettest month. Summer highs reach 88 °F, too hot for the outline. The climate in Lanham →
Next door
Lanham 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lanham | 11% | 0.7 | 10 | 98% | A− |
| Glenn Dale | 5% | 0.1 | 10 | 88% | B− |
| Mitchellville | 26% | 0.8 | 3 | 82% | B+ |
| Seabrook | 4% | 0.9 | 3 | 89% | B |
| Springdale | 10% | 0.2 | 2 | 99% | B |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Lanham
How much of Lanham is conserved land?
11% 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 Lanham’s trails?
Lanham Forest Park 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 Lanham?
2.9 miles of bike routes are on the map: 2.9 of off-road paths.
Is there public land near Lanham?
15,159 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Lanham or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 117 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Lanham have?
Ahead of 82% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #82 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 Lanham 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 →