Rock Creek Stream Valley Park
Managed by Montgomery Parks
231 acres1.2 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lotWebsite ↗
B+Outdoors
Outdoors in South Kensington
20% of South Kensington’s land is conserved: 266 acres
1.9 miles of mapped trail cross South Kensington, 0.9 per square mile of land. The biggest trail networks: Rock Creek Stream Valley Park (1.2 mi). 85% of residents live within a half mile of a park.
Ahead of 72% of U.S. towns · #118 of 261 in Maryland. What drives it
Conserved land
20%
266 acres · of 2.1 sq mi of land
Trails
1.9 mi
0.9 per sq mi of land
Park land
22 ac
2.7 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
85%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
7.5 mi
5.1 mi paths
Lakes & rivers
2
20 beaches
What kind of outdoors town is South Kensington?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does South Kensington have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, South Kensington is ahead of 72% of U.S. towns, #118 of 261 in Maryland. Conserved land holds the grade up; park acres per resident pull it down.
B+
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of South Kensington’s overall grade.
Conserved land20% of the land · typical MD town 9% · U.S. 4%ATrails0.9 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (2 mi) · MD 0.5 · U.S. 0.4A−Park land2.7 acres of park per 1,000 residents (22 acres) · MD 9 · U.S. 13C−Parks 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 72%
LessMore
Maryland towns of 2,500+ (261)Ahead of 55%
Maryland towns conserve more land than most (a typical one, 9%; the U.S., 4%), so South Kensington’s 20% is ahead of 87% of Maryland towns, while its trails per square mile lead 70% 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 Rock Creek Stream Valley Park, with 1.2 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Who protects it
266 conserved acres
20% of South Kensington’s land. Who manages South Kensington’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Other or Unknown Local Government9 ac
County8 ac
Not recorded260 ac
State Other or Unknown · 239 acLocal Park · 28 acConservation Easement · 7 acForest Stewardship Easement · 3 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 5 acres are conservation easements, usually private land. Public access isn’t recorded for 3 of 8 parcels. The walks above are places people visit.
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rock Creek Park State Other or Unknown | Not recorded | 267 | Unknown |
Things to do
26 places to go in South Kensington
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Beaches in South Kensington
20 beaches without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Playgrounds in South Kensington
6 playgrounds without a name on the map.
Trails & water
2 lakes & rivers
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
Biking & sports
7.5 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
5.1 mi
off-road bike paths
2.4 mi
shoulders & shared lanes
Courts & fields
10Basketball
4Baseball
4Tennis
3Soccer
1Beach volleyball
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
When to get out
The best walking months in South Kensington: 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 | 46 | 54 | 66 | 75 | 83 | 87 | 85 | 79 | 67 | 56 | 47 |
| Rain (in) | 3.0 | 2.7 | 3.8 | 3.4 | 4.3 | 4.3 | 4.5 | 3.8 | 4.3 | 3.9 | 3.1 | 3.7 |
February is the driest month (2.7 in) and July the warmest (highs of 87 °F). 4.5 inches fall in July, the wettest month. Summer highs reach 87 °F, too hot for the outline. The climate in South Kensington →
Next door
South Kensington and its neighbors
Tap a town to see its outdoors.
Silver Spring11 miBethesda6.4 miChevy Chase4.2 miForest Glen2.9 miNorth Bethesda2.5 miSouth Kensington1.9 miKensington0.1 miGarrett Park0.1 mi
| Town | Conserved of land | Trail mi per sq mi | Park acres per 1,000 | Near a park ½ mile | Outdoors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| South Kensington | 20% | 0.9 | 3 | 85% | B+ |
| Bethesda | 6% | 0.5 | 3 | 99% | B |
| Chevy Chase | 14% | 1.7 | 16 | 99%+ | A+ |
| North Bethesda | 7% | 0.3 | 3 | 97% | B |
| Kensington | 8% | 0.2 | 8 | 99%+ | B+ |
| Forest Glen | 14% | 2.9 | 8 | 99%+ | A |
| Silver Spring | 15% | 1.4 | 3 | 99%+ | A− |
| Garrett Park | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in South Kensington
Where can I hike in South Kensington?
The longest trail networks: Rock Creek Stream Valley Park, 1.2 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of South Kensington is conserved land?
20% 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 South Kensington’s trails?
Rock Creek Stream Valley Park doesn’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in South Kensington?
7.5 miles of bike routes are on the map: 5.1 of off-road paths and 2.4 of shoulders and shared lanes.
Is there public land near South Kensington?
19,442 acres of parks and open public land lie inside South Kensington or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 22 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does South Kensington have?
Ahead of 72% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #118 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 South Kensington 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 →