Martin Sutton Memorial Park
Park
20 acres0.6 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Photo: Adam Moss · CC BY-SA 2.0BOutdoors
Outdoors in Ridgely
Ridgely has 23 acres of parks, 13 for every 1,000 residents
92% of residents live within a half mile of a park. The biggest trail networks: Martin Sutton Memorial Park (0.6 mi). 2% of Ridgely’s land is conserved, about 18 acres.
Ahead of 59% of U.S. towns. What drives it
Conserved land
2%
18 acres · of 1.9 sq mi of land
Trails
0.8 mi
0.4 per sq mi of land
Park land
23 ac
13 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
92%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
0.4 mi
0.4 mi paths
What kind of outdoors town is Ridgely?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Ridgely have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Ridgely is ahead of 59% of U.S. towns. The share of residents near a park holds the grade up; conserved land pulls it down.
B
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Ridgely’s overall grade.
Conserved land2% of the land · typical MD town 9% · U.S. 4%C+Trails0.4 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (1 mi) · MD 0.5 · U.S. 0.4BPark land13 acres of park per 1,000 residents (23 acres) · MD 9 · U.S. 13B−Parks close to home92% 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 59%
LessMore
Maryland towns conserve more land than most (a typical one, 9%; the U.S., 4%), so Ridgely’s 2% is ahead of 5% 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 Martin Sutton Memorial Park, with 0.6 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Who protects it
18 conserved acres
2% of Ridgely’s land. Who manages Ridgely’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Not recorded17 ac
Local Park · 17 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. Public access isn’t recorded for 1 of 1 parcels. The walks above are places people visit.
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Town Park Local Park | Not recorded | 17 | Unknown |
Things to do
3 places to go in Ridgely
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Playgrounds in Ridgely
3 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Biking & sports
0.4 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
0.4 mi
off-road bike paths
Courts & fields
5Baseball
2Basketball
1Soccer
1Skate park
1Tennis
1Football
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
History along the way
History →1 place on the National Register
The country’s official list of places worth saving (National Park Service).
Oak LawnBuilding · listed 1975
About itWhen to get out
The best walking months in Ridgely: 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 | 89 | 86 | 80 | 69 | 58 | 49 |
| Rain (in) | 3.2 | 2.8 | 4.1 | 3.5 | 3.7 | 4.1 | 4.2 | 4.5 | 4.1 | 3.8 | 3.2 | 3.8 |
February is the driest month (2.8 in) and July the warmest (highs of 89 °F). 4.5 inches fall in August, the wettest month. Summer highs reach 89 °F, too hot for the outline. The climate in Ridgely →
Questions about parks and trails in Ridgely
Where can I hike in Ridgely?
The longest trail networks: Martin Sutton Memorial Park, 0.6 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Ridgely is conserved land?
2% 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 Ridgely’s trails?
Martin Sutton Memorial Park and Historic Railroad Memorial Park don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Ridgely?
0.4 miles of bike routes are on the map: 0.4 of off-road paths.
Is there public land near Ridgely?
4,684 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Ridgely or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 23 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Ridgely have?
Ahead of 59% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade. 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 Ridgely 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 →