John Carroll Park
Managed by Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission
28 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Ridgley Methodist Episcopal Church · Photo: Pubdog · Public domainA−Outdoors
Outdoors in Summerfield
11% of Summerfield’s land is conserved, and virtually every resident lives within a half mile of a park
Virtually every resident lives within a half mile of a park. 11% of Summerfield’s land is conserved, about 265 acres. 209 acres are parks and preserves, 14 per 1,000 residents.
Ahead of 83% of U.S. towns · #75 of 261 in Maryland. What drives it
Conserved land
11%
265 acres · of 3.6 sq mi of land
Trails
1.3 mi
0.4 per sq mi of land
Park land
209 ac
14 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
99%+
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
3.0 mi
0.6 mi lanes · 0.2 mi paths
What kind of outdoors town is Summerfield?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Summerfield have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Summerfield is ahead of 83% of U.S. towns, #75 of 261 in Maryland. All four inputs are above most U.S. towns; the share of residents near a park ranks highest, trail miles lowest.
A−
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Summerfield’s overall grade.
Conserved land11% of the land · typical MD town 9% · U.S. 4%A−Trails0.4 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (1 mi) · MD 0.5 · U.S. 0.4BPark land14 acres of park per 1,000 residents (209 acres) · MD 9 · U.S. 13BParks close to homeVirtually all residents within a half mile of a park · MD 87% · U.S. 72%A+
All U.S. towns we grade (21,298)Ahead of 83%
LessMore
Maryland towns of 2,500+ (261)Ahead of 72%
Maryland towns conserve more land than most (a typical one, 9%; the U.S., 4%), so Summerfield’s 11% is ahead of 61% of Maryland towns, while its trails per square mile lead 35% 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.
Seat Pleasant Park
Park
4 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Hill Road Park
Park
3 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Who protects it
265 conserved acres
11% of Summerfield’s land. Who manages Summerfield’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Regional agency162 ac
County142 ac
Other or Unknown Local Government20 ac
Not recorded24 ac
Local Park · 170 acForest Stewardship Easement · 78 acConservation Easement · 77 acState Other or Unknown · 24 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 71 acres are conservation easements, usually private land. Public access isn’t recorded for 18 of 41 parcels. The walks above are places people visit.
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Prince George'S Sports And Learning Complex Local Park | Regional agency | 80 | Open |
| Nalley Road Park Local Park | Regional agency | 37 | Open |
| Summerfield Park Local Park | Regional agency | 35 | Open |
| John Carroll Neighborhood Park State Other or Unknown | Not recorded | 15 | Unknown |
| Willow Hills Park Local Park | Regional agency | 10 | Open |
| Highland Gardens Neighborhood Park State Other or Unknown | Not recorded | 9 | Unknown |
| H. P. Johnson Park Local Park | Other or Unknown Local Government | 8 | Open |
Things to do
4 places to go in Summerfield
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Playgrounds in Summerfield
4 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Biking & sports
3.0 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
0.6 mi
painted or protected bike lanes
0.2 mi
off-road bike paths
2.1 mi
shoulders & shared lanes
Courts & fields
10Tennis
7Basketball
3Baseball
2Pickleball
2Football
1Soccer
1Multi-sport
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).
Ridgley Methodist Episcopal ChurchBuilding · listed 2005
About itWhen to get out
The best walking months in Summerfield: 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) | 44 | 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 | 4.6 | 4.1 | 4.4 | 3.9 | 3.2 | 3.8 |
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 Summerfield →
Next door
Summerfield and its neighbors
Summerfield has the second most mapped trails of the 6 towns around it. Tap a town to see its outdoors.
Landover2.1 miSummerfield1.3 miSeat Pleasant1.1 miLake Arbor0.4 miPeppermill Village0.0 miCedar Heights0.0 mi
| Town | Conserved of land | Trail mi per sq mi | Park acres per 1,000 | Near a park ½ mile | Outdoors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Summerfield | 11% | 0.4 | 14 | 99%+ | A− |
| Seat Pleasant | 6% | 1.4 | 9 | 99%+ | A |
| Landover | 12% | 0.5 | 7 | 99%+ | A− |
| Peppermill Village | 6% | under 0.1 | 4 | 99%+ | B− |
| Lake Arbor | 7% | 0.1 | 4 | 85% | B− |
| Cedar Heights | 11% | under 0.1 | 1 | 99%+ | B− |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Summerfield
How much of Summerfield 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 Summerfield’s trails?
John Carroll Park and Seat Pleasant Park don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Summerfield?
3.0 miles of bike routes are on the map: 0.6 of painted or protected lanes, 0.2 of off-road paths and 2.1 of shoulders and shared lanes.
Is there public land near Summerfield?
17,663 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Summerfield or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 209 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Summerfield have?
Ahead of 83% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #75 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 Summerfield 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 →