Matthew Henson State Park
Managed by Maryland Departement of Recreation, Maryland Park Service
72 acres0.1 mi of trail
Matthew Henson Trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lotWebsite ↗
A−Outdoors
Outdoors in Layhill
24% of Layhill’s land is conserved: 239 acres
98% of residents live within a half mile of a park. 97 acres are parks and preserves, 18 per 1,000 residents. 0.3 miles of mapped trail cross Layhill, 0.2 per square mile of land.
Ahead of 80% of U.S. towns · #87 of 261 in Maryland. What drives it
Conserved land
24%
239 acres · of 1.6 sq mi of land
Trails
0.3 mi
0.2 per sq mi of land
Park land
97 ac
18 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
98%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
5.5 mi
3.1 mi lanes · 2.4 mi paths
What kind of outdoors town is Layhill?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Layhill have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Layhill is ahead of 80% of U.S. towns, #87 of 261 in Maryland. Conserved land holds the grade up; trail miles pull it down.
A−
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Layhill’s overall grade.
Conserved land24% of the land · typical MD town 9% · U.S. 4%ATrails0.2 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (0 mi) · MD 0.5 · U.S. 0.4C+Park land18 acres of park per 1,000 residents (97 acres) · MD 9 · U.S. 13BParks 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 80%
LessMore
Maryland towns of 2,500+ (261)Ahead of 67%
Maryland towns conserve more land than most (a typical one, 9%; the U.S., 4%), so Layhill’s 24% is ahead of 91% of Maryland towns, while its trails per square mile lead 20% 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 Matthew Henson State Park, with 0.1 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Northwest Branch Stream Valley Park
Managed by Montgomery Parks
70 acres0.2 mi of trail
Northwest Branch Trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yetWebsite ↗
Middlevale Neighborhood Park
Managed by Montgomery Parks
15 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yetWebsite ↗
Layhill Village Local Park
Managed by Montgomery Parks
10 acres
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lotWebsite ↗
All 6 parks & preserves
Northwest Branch Stream Valley Park70 acres · 0.2 mi of trail · Montgomery Parks
Matthew Henson State Park72 acres · 0.1 mi of trail · Maryland Departement of Recreation, Maryland Park Service
DirectionsMiddlevale Neighborhood Park15 acres · Montgomery Parks
Layhill Village Local Park10 acres · Montgomery Parks
DirectionsBel Pre Neighborhood Park8 acres · Montgomery Parks
DirectionsNorthwest Branch Recreational Park3 acres · Montgomery Parks
Who protects it
239 conserved acres
24% of Layhill’s land. Who manages Layhill’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Regional agency72 ac
Other or Unknown Local Government37 ac
County25 ac
Not recorded177 ac
State Other or Unknown · 175 acState Park · 72 acConservation Easement · 29 acLocal Park · 26 acForest Stewardship Easement · 7 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 16 acres are conservation easements, usually private land. Public access isn’t recorded for 11 of 23 parcels. The walks above are places people visit.
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Northwest Branch Park State Other or Unknown | Not recorded | 117 | Unknown |
| Matthew Henson State Park Unit #4 State Park | Regional agency | 62 | Open |
| Layhill Village Park State Other or Unknown | Not recorded | 49 | Unknown |
| Bel-pre Park Local Park | Other or Unknown Local Government | 18 | Open |
| Middlevale Park Local Park | Other or Unknown Local Government | 15 | Open |
| Matthew Henson State Park Unit #3 State Park | Regional agency | 10 | Open |
| County Land Local Other or Unknown | Not recorded | 2 | Unknown |
| Montgomery County Local Park | County | 2 | Open |
Things to do
2 places to go in Layhill
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Playgrounds in Layhill
2 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Trails & water
2 named trails
Named trails
Northwest Branch Trail0.2 mi
Matthew Henson Trail0.1 mi
Biking & sports
5.5 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
3.1 mi
painted or protected bike lanes
2.4 mi
off-road bike paths
Courts & fields
8Basketball
8Tennis
2Soccer
2Baseball
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
When to get out
The best walking months in Layhill: 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 | 14.7 | 13.7 | 12.4 | 11.1 | 10.0 | 9.4 |
| High (°F) | 42 | 45 | 54 | 66 | 74 | 82 | 87 | 84 | 78 | 67 | 56 | 46 |
| Rain (in) | 3.1 | 2.7 | 3.9 | 3.5 | 4.4 | 4.4 | 4.6 | 4.0 | 4.4 | 4.0 | 3.2 | 3.7 |
February is the driest month (2.7 in) and July the warmest (highs of 87 °F). 4.6 inches fall in July, the wettest month. Summer highs reach 87 °F, too hot for the outline. The climate in Layhill →
Next door
Layhill 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Layhill | 24% | 0.2 | 18 | 98% | A− |
| Cloverly | 28% | 2.6 | 36 | 90% | A+ |
| Glenmont | 14% | 0.4 | 5 | 99%+ | A− |
| Aspen Hill | 13% | 1.3 | 11 | 89% | A− |
| Colesville | 16% | 1.6 | 9 | 93% | A |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Layhill
Where can I hike in Layhill?
The longest trail networks: Matthew Henson State Park, 0.1 miles; Northwest Branch Stream Valley Park, 0.2 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Layhill 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 Layhill’s trails?
Matthew Henson State Park and Northwest Branch Stream Valley Park don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Layhill?
5.5 miles of bike routes are on the map: 3.1 of painted or protected lanes and 2.4 of off-road paths.
Is there public land near Layhill?
17,551 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Layhill or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 97 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Layhill have?
Ahead of 80% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #87 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 Layhill 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 →