Herring Creek Nature Park
Park
25 acres0.8 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
B−Outdoors
Outdoors in West Ocean City
7% of West Ocean City’s land is conserved: 186 acres
The biggest trail networks: Herring Creek Nature Park (0.8 mi). 75% of residents live within a half mile of a park. 0.8 miles of mapped trail cross West Ocean City, 0.2 per square mile of land.
Ahead of 54% of U.S. towns · #185 of 261 in Maryland. What drives it
Conserved land
7%
186 acres · of 4.2 sq mi of land
Trails
0.8 mi
0.2 per sq mi of land
Park land
48 ac
9.2 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
75%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
1.5 mi
1.5 mi paths
Lakes & rivers
1
1 beach · 1 boat launch
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does West Ocean City have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, West Ocean City is ahead of 54% of U.S. towns, #185 of 261 in Maryland. Conserved land holds the grade up; trail miles pull it down.
B−
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of West Ocean City’s overall grade.
Conserved land7% of the land · typical MD town 9% · U.S. 4%B+Trails0.2 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (1 mi) · MD 0.5 · U.S. 0.4C+Park land9.2 acres of park per 1,000 residents (48 acres) · MD 9 · U.S. 13C+Parks close to home75% 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 54%
LessMore
Maryland towns of 2,500+ (261)Ahead of 29%
Maryland towns conserve more land than most (a typical one, 9%; the U.S., 4%), so West Ocean City’s 7% is ahead of 39% of Maryland towns, while its trails per square mile lead 20% of them.
Water is 41% of West Ocean City’s area (3 of 7 square miles), so every share here is of land; over land and water together, the conserved share would read 4%.
How sure. Graded on any three of the four inputs instead, the letter would range from C+ 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 Herring Creek Nature Park, with 0.8 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Sinepuxent Bay Wildlife Management Area
Managed by Wildlife and Heritage Service
3 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yetWebsite ↗
Homer Gudelsky Park
Park
1 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Who protects it
186 conserved acres
7% of West Ocean City’s land. Water is left out: West Ocean City has 4.2 square miles of land and 2.9 of water, so the share counts land only. Who manages West Ocean City’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
State conservation117 ac
State natural resources117 ac
Other or Unknown Local Government44 ac
County6 ac
National Park Service1 ac
Not recorded20 ac
Conservation Easement · 118 acUnknown Easement · 117 acLocal Park · 44 acPrivate Other or Unknown · 17 acForest Stewardship Easement · 5 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 121 acres are conservation easements, usually private land. Public access isn’t recorded for 9 of 16 parcels. The walks above are places people visit.
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Herring Creek Nature Park Local Park | Other or Unknown Local Government | 43 | Open |
| Remainder Parcel Private Other or Unknown | Not recorded | 19 | Unknown |
| Sinepuxent Bay Wma State Conservation Area | Not recorded | 1 | Unknown |
| Assateague Island National Seashore National Lakeshore or Seashore | National Park Service | 1 | Open |
Things to do
11 places to go in West Ocean City
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Beaches in West Ocean City
1 beach without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Playgrounds in West Ocean City
7 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Boat launches in West Ocean City
1 boat launch without a name on the map.
Scenic views in West Ocean City
2 scenic views without a name on the map.
Trails & water
1 lakes & rivers
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
Biking & sports
1.5 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
1.5 mi
off-road bike paths
Courts & fields
2Tennis
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
When to get out
The best walking months in West Ocean City: 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) | 9.8 | 10.7 | 11.8 | 13.1 | 14.2 | 14.8 | 14.6 | 13.6 | 12.4 | 11.1 | 10.0 | 9.5 |
| High (°F) | 46 | 47 | 53 | 63 | 72 | 81 | 86 | 85 | 79 | 69 | 58 | 50 |
| Rain (in) | 3.5 | 3.1 | 4.2 | 3.4 | 3.5 | 3.6 | 4.5 | 4.6 | 4.2 | 4.2 | 3.2 | 3.9 |
February is the driest month (3.1 in) and July the warmest (highs of 86 °F). 4.6 inches fall in August, the wettest month. The climate in West Ocean City →
Next door
West Ocean City and its neighbors
West Ocean City has the second most mapped trails of the 2 towns around it. 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 Ocean City | 7% | 0.2 | 9 | 75% | B− |
| Ocean Pines | 4% | 0.6 | 12 | 79% | B |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in West Ocean City
Where can I hike in West Ocean City?
The longest trail networks: Herring Creek Nature Park, 0.8 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of West Ocean City is conserved land?
7% 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 Ocean City’s trails?
Herring Creek Nature Park and Sinepuxent Bay Wildlife Management Area don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in West Ocean City?
1.5 miles of bike routes are on the map: 1.5 of off-road paths.
Is there public land near West Ocean City?
11,628 acres of parks and open public land lie inside West Ocean City or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 48 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does West Ocean City have?
Ahead of 54% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #185 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 Ocean City 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 →