Greenbelt (National) Park

Greenbelt (National) Park is a part of the National Parks System and is located in the Maryland suburbs of Prince George’s County, just inside the Capital Beltway near the cities of Greenbelt and College Park. [Don’t confuse this park with the nearby Greenbelt Lake Municipal Park (aka Buddy Attick Park), a community park managed by the Town of Greenbelt.]

Greenbelt Park is unusually large for a park in the DC-area suburbs, at about 952 acres. The mostly wooded park lies in the watershed of the Northeast Branch of the Anacostia River, which flows into the Potomac River. There are three main creeks (with numerous small tributaries) within the park – Still Creek, flowing east to west across the middle of the park, and then turning south toward the park’s southwest corner; the North Branch of Still Creek, which flows from north to south from Greenbelt Road , cutting through the picnic loop and then running parallel to the east side of Park Central Road until it joins the main branch of Still Creek; and Deep Creek, which makes an east-west arc south of the campground.

Greenbelt Park constitutes one of the largest tracts of forest inside the Washington Beltway. Upland forest trees include Virginia Pine and oaks, with an understory dominated by American Holly, Mountain Laurel, and blueberries. This habitat supports nesting populations of Forest Interior Dwelling Species. Oaks killed or damaged by outbreaks of gypsy moth caterpillars (Lymantria dispar) in years past provide habitat for cavity nesters such as Great Crested Flycatchers, woodpeckers, chickadees, titmice, White-breasted Nuthatches, and Carolina Wrens. Scrubby vegetation along forest edges or in disturbed areas provides nesting habitat for Gray Catbirds, Brown Thrashers, Blue Grosbeaks, and Indigo Buntings. Song Sparrows, White-throated Sparrows, and occasional other sparrows use these habitats in other seasons. Urban birds like Rock Dove, House Wren, Northern Mockingbird, European Starling, House Finch, and House Sparrow are found sparingly in Greenbelt Park, mostly along the edges that border residential neighborhoods.

The park property is bisected by the Baltimore-Washington Parkway (also part of the National Park System) into a western parcel (about 2/3 of the park area) containing all the roads, trails, and visitor facilities, and an a little-visited eastern 1/3 on the other side of the Parkway, inaccessible by vehicle and scarcely by foot – wild, overgrown, and forgotten, but containing some rare plant communities. Ask at the Ranger Station about the possibility of getting access to the eastern section if you want to explore on foot.

Entrance to the main part of the park is off Greenbelt Road/MD Route 193, west of  the Parkway. The park is almost entirely wooded, with small clearings near the picnic areas and campground, and is a pleasant place for either a drive, a short walk, or a longer hike to get away from the surrounding suburbs. Given the busy highways nearby, traffic noise can be distracting, but is less noticeable when the trees are leafed out. The campground area may be good for migrants in spring and fall; arrive early and walk quietly so as to avoid waking the campers.

Park Central Road carries vehicles from the main entrance on Greenbelt Road south to the camping area; a segment of Park Central Road also forms a loop around the three named picnic areas (Holly, Sweetgum, and Laurel). Note that although although the paved park road extends past the campground, it is NOT  possible to enter or exit the park at its south end via Good Luck Road, because the park road is gated closed at the campground and at the Good Luck Road. Signage at Good Luck Road states that it is NOT permissible to enter even on foot or via bike from that end.

There is a good natural surface foot-trail network throughout the main part of the park, with four main trails:

• Perimeter Trail (5.3 miles loop) – The trail encircles the park, beginning at the entrance of the park with multiple access points along the park drive (see trail map). Parking available at the Sweetgum Picnic Area. The southwest segment of the Perimeter Trail is particularly beautiful as it runs along the banks of Deep Creek. There may be one or more detours on the Perimeter Trail due to washouts or erosion on the banks of both Still and Deep Creek; detours will be sign-posted.
• Azalea Trail (1.2 miles, loop) – This is an easy loop trail that encircles the three picnic areas, inside the paved park road. Park in the Sweetgum Picnic Area, where the Azalea Trail begins and ends.
• Dogwood Trail (1.5 miles, figure-8 loop) – This trail starts at a paved parking area on the west side of Park Central Road just south of the picnic area loop. There are several connections from the Dogwood Trail to the Perimeter Trail.
• Blueberry Trail (0.8 miles, loop) – This short loop lies north of the campground and is accessed from it. The far end of the Blueberry Trail Loop connects to the Perimeter Trail.

Note that along Kenilworth Avenue on the western edge of the park, there is an inholding containing the privately owned Westchester Park Condos and the Friends Community School. The open space near the condos and school was a traditional venue for displaying American Woodcock in early spring, but they may no longer be present.

The land for Greenbelt Park was originally set aside during the 1930s as part of President Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s New Deal project to develop the city of Greenbelt as a model community. At the same time, the right-of-way for the Baltimore-Washington Parkway was laid out, and ended up bisecting the park. The park received its national park designation in 1960 and is prized by the community as an oasis within the dense DC suburbs.