Wakefield Valley Park
Managed by City of Westminster
240 acres2.7 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lotWebsite ↗
Photo: Farragutful · CC BY-SA 4.0A−Outdoors
Outdoors in Westminster
9% of Westminster’s land is conserved: 409 acres
94% of residents live within a half mile of a park. The biggest trail networks: Wakefield Valley Park (2.7 mi), Dutterer Family Park (0.5 mi). 4.7 miles of mapped trail cross Westminster, 0.7 per square mile of land.
Ahead of 84% of U.S. towns · #70 of 261 in Maryland. What drives it
Conserved land
9%
409 acres · of 6.8 sq mi of land
Trails
4.7 mi
0.7 per sq mi of land
Park land
368 ac
18 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
94%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
1.1 mi
0.2 mi lanes · 1.0 mi paths
Lakes & rivers
3
What kind of outdoors town is Westminster?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Westminster have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Westminster is ahead of 84% of U.S. towns, #70 of 261 in Maryland. All four inputs are above most U.S. towns; the share of residents near a park ranks highest, park acres per resident lowest.
A−
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Westminster’s overall grade.
Conserved land9% of the land · typical MD town 9% · U.S. 4%A−Trails0.7 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (5 mi) · MD 0.5 · U.S. 0.4B+Park land18 acres of park per 1,000 residents (368 acres) · MD 9 · U.S. 13BParks close to home94% 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 84%
LessMore
Maryland towns of 2,500+ (261)Ahead of 73%
Maryland towns conserve more land than most (a typical one, 9%; the U.S., 4%), so Westminster’s 9% is ahead of 52% of Maryland towns, while its trails per square mile lead 60% of them.
How sure. Graded on any three of the four inputs instead, the letter would range from A− 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 Wakefield Valley Park, with 2.7 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Whispering Meadows JayCee Community Park
Park
11 acres0.2 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
All 10 parks & preserves
Wakefield Valley Park240 acres · 2.7 mi of trail · City of Westminster
DirectionsDutterer Family Park17 acres · 0.5 mi of trail
DirectionsWhispering Meadows JayCee Community Park11 acres · 0.2 mi of trail
DirectionsWestminster City Park Playground & Fields6 acres · 0.2 mi of trail
DirectionsKing Park4 acres · 0.1 mi of trail
DirectionsBelle Grove Square Park1 acres · 0.1 mi of trail · Westminster City Recreation
DirectionsWakefield Valley Trail Park63 acres
DirectionsUniontown Road Athletic Fields4 acres
DirectionsWestminster City Pool and Community Park3 acres
DirectionsLandon C. Burns Park1 acres
Who protects it
409 conserved acres
9% of Westminster’s land. Who manages Westminster’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
County214 ac
Town or city206 ac
Other or Unknown Local Government14 ac
State natural resources3 ac
Other state land2 ac
Not recorded88 ac
Local Park · 243 acForest Stewardship Easement · 123 acConservation Easement · 101 acLocal Other or Unknown · 57 acHistoric or Cultural Easement · 1 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 108 acres are conservation easements, usually private land. Public access isn’t recorded for 36 of 77 parcels. The walks above are places people visit.
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wakefield Park Local Park | Town or city | 187 | Open |
| East MS Local Other or Unknown | Not recorded | 29 | Unknown |
| Dutterner Family Park (City of Westminster) Local Park | Not recorded | 25 | Unknown |
| Westminster ES Local Other or Unknown | Not recorded | 20 | Unknown |
| Jaycee Park Local Park | Town or city | 10 | Open |
| Lime Kiln Park Local Park | Town or city | 9 | Open |
| Municipal Property Local Park | Other or Unknown Local Government | 5 | Open |
| Uniontown Road Athletic Fields Local Other or Unknown | Not recorded | 4 | Unknown |
| King Park (City of Westminster) Local Park | Not recorded | 3 | Unknown |
| Westeminster Community Park/Pond Local Park | Not recorded | 2 | Unknown |
5 smaller protected places aren’t shown.
Things to do
21 places to go in Westminster
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Playgrounds in Westminster
Dutterer Family ParkIn Dutterer Family Park
DirectionsPlus 19 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Dog parks in Westminster
1 dog park without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Trails & water
3 lakes & rivers
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
Biking & sports
1.1 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
0.2 mi
painted or protected bike lanes
1.0 mi
off-road bike paths
Courts & fields
12Tennis
12Pickleball
9Basketball
5Baseball
5Soccer
3Softball
1Football
1Beach volleyball
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
History along the way
History →13 places on the National Register
The country’s official list of places worth saving (National Park Service). The map also marks 16 historic points from OpenStreetMap: plaques, memorials and old buildings.
Farm ContentBuilding · listed 1975
About itAvondaleBuilding · listed 1975
About itCarroll County Almshouse and FarmBuilding · listed 1975
About itWestern Maryland College Historic DistrictDistrict · listed 1976
About itFriendship Valley FarmBuilding · listed 1977
About itWestminster Historic DistrictDistrict · listed 1980
About itMeadow Brook FarmBuilding · listed 1985
About itRockland FarmBuilding · listed 1986
About itJohn Orendorff FarmBuilding · listed 1997
About itEnglar-Scweigart-Rinehart FarmBuilding · listed 2003
About itRobert and Phyllis Scott HouseBuilding · listed 2004
About itSlagle-Byers House (CARR-821)Building · listed 2007
About it1 more on the History page.
When to get out
The best walking months in Westminster: 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 | 10.6 | 11.8 | 13.2 | 14.3 | 14.9 | 14.7 | 13.7 | 12.4 | 11.1 | 9.9 | 9.4 |
| High (°F) | 40 | 43 | 52 | 64 | 73 | 81 | 86 | 84 | 77 | 65 | 54 | 44 |
| Rain (in) | 3.2 | 2.6 | 4.0 | 3.6 | 4.1 | 4.2 | 4.4 | 3.6 | 4.7 | 4.0 | 3.3 | 3.7 |
February is the driest month (2.6 in) and July the warmest (highs of 86 °F). 4.7 inches fall in September, the wettest month. The climate in Westminster →
Questions about parks and trails in Westminster
Where can I hike in Westminster?
The longest trail networks: Wakefield Valley Park, 2.7 miles; Dutterer Family Park, 0.5 miles; Whispering Meadows JayCee Community Park, 0.2 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Westminster is conserved land?
9% 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 Westminster’s trails?
Wakefield Valley Park and Dutterer Family Park don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Westminster?
1.1 miles of bike routes are on the map: 0.2 of painted or protected lanes and 1.0 of off-road paths.
Is there public land near Westminster?
5,940 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Westminster or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 368 of them inside the city line.
How much outdoors does Westminster have?
Ahead of 84% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #70 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 Westminster 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 →