T. Howard Duckett Watershed
Managed by Washington Suburban Sanitary Commission
325 acres1.2 mi of trail
Multi Purpose Trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
A−Outdoors
Outdoors in West Laurel
20% of West Laurel’s land is conserved: 280 acres
The biggest trail networks: T. Howard Duckett Watershed (1.2 mi). 87% of residents live within a half mile of a park. 1.3 miles of mapped trail cross West Laurel, 0.6 per square mile of land.
Ahead of 79% of U.S. towns · #97 of 261 in Maryland. What drives it
Conserved land
20%
280 acres · of 2.3 sq mi of land
Trails
1.3 mi
0.6 per sq mi of land
Park land
46 ac
10 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
87%
of residents within ½ mile
Lakes & rivers
1
2 boat launches
What kind of outdoors town is West Laurel?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does West Laurel have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, West Laurel is ahead of 79% of U.S. towns, #97 of 261 in Maryland. Conserved land holds the grade up; park acres per resident pull it down.
A−
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of West Laurel’s overall grade.
Conserved land20% of the land · typical MD town 9% · U.S. 4%ATrails0.6 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (1 mi) · MD 0.5 · U.S. 0.4B+Park land10 acres of park per 1,000 residents (46 acres) · MD 9 · U.S. 13B−Parks close to home87% 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 79%
LessMore
Maryland towns of 2,500+ (261)Ahead of 63%
Maryland towns conserve more land than most (a typical one, 9%; the U.S., 4%), so West Laurel’s 20% is ahead of 87% of Maryland towns, while its trails per square mile lead 53% 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 T. Howard Duckett Watershed, with 1.2 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
West Laurel #2 Neighborhood Park
Managed by MNCPPC
23 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
T. Howard Duckett Community Center
Managed by Prince George's County Department of Parks and Recreation
19 acres
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Who protects it
280 conserved acres
20% of West Laurel’s land. Who manages West Laurel’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Other or Unknown Local Government22 ac
County12 ac
Not recorded253 ac
Local Other or Unknown · 249 acLocal Park · 25 acForest Stewardship Easement · 6 acConservation Easement · 4 acLocal Conservation Area · 3 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 6 acres are conservation easements, usually private land. Public access isn’t recorded for 8 of 12 parcels. The walks above are places people visit.
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| T. Howard Duckett Watershed Local Conservation Area | County | 252 | Open |
| West Laurel 2 Neighborhood Park Local Park | Other or Unknown Local Government | 21 | Open |
| Patuxent River Wastershed Conservation Park Local Park | Not recorded | 4 | Unknown |
Things to do
6 places to go in West Laurel
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Public pools in West Laurel
West Laurel Swim Club
DirectionsPlaygrounds in West Laurel
2 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Boat launches in West Laurel
Supplee LaneIn T. Howard Duckett Watershed
DirectionsPlus 1 boat launch without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Picnic areas in West Laurel
1 picnic area without a name on the map.
Trails & water
1 named trail and 1 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Horses · 1.2 miUnpaved · 1.2 mi
Multi Purpose Trail1.2 mi
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
Biking & sports
0.0 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
Courts & fields
3Tennis
3Baseball
2Basketball
2Soccer
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
When to get out
The best walking months in West Laurel: 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) | 43 | 46 | 54 | 66 | 75 | 83 | 87 | 85 | 79 | 68 | 56 | 47 |
| Rain (in) | 3.1 | 2.7 | 3.9 | 3.5 | 4.3 | 4.3 | 4.5 | 4.1 | 4.4 | 4.0 | 3.2 | 3.8 |
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 West Laurel →
Next door
West Laurel 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| West Laurel | 20% | 0.6 | 10 | 87% | A− |
| Scaggsville | 30% | 2.2 | 23 | 87% | A |
| Burtonsville | 31% | 1.9 | 118 | 99% | A+ |
| Konterra | 6% | 1.3 | 48 | 90% | A |
| Laurel | 4% | 1.2 | 5 | 96% | B+ |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in West Laurel
Where can I hike in West Laurel?
The longest trail networks: T. Howard Duckett Watershed, 1.2 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of West Laurel 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 West Laurel’s trails?
T. Howard Duckett Watershed and West Laurel #2 Neighborhood Park don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Is there public land near West Laurel?
15,975 acres of parks and open public land lie inside West Laurel or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 46 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does West Laurel have?
Ahead of 79% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #97 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 West Laurel 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 →