Sligo Creek Trail is a paved hiker-biker trail running along

Sligo Creek Sligo Creek is a free-flowing tributary of the Northwest Branch of the Anacostia River in Maryland. (The Anacostia, in turn, feeds into the Potomac River and eventually empties into the Atlantic Ocean via Chesapeake Bay.) The creek is approxima ...

in the

suburbs A suburb (more broadly suburban area) is an area within a metropolitan area. They are oftentimes where most of a metropolitan areas jobs are located with some being predominantly residential. They can either be denser or less densely populated ...

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

Most of the trail passes through

tree In botany, a tree is a perennial plant with an elongated stem, or trunk, usually supporting branches and leaves. In some usages, the definition of a tree may be narrower, e.g., including only woody plants with secondary growth, only ...

-filled

park A park is an area of natural, semi-natural or planted space set aside for human enjoyment and recreation or for the protection of wildlife or natural habitats. Urban parks are urban green space, green spaces set aside for recreation inside t ...

land. The trail and surrounding park is a popular place for locals to jog,

walk Walking (also known as ambulation) is one of the main gaits of terrestrial locomotion among legged animals. Walking is typically slower than running and other gaits. Walking is defined as an "inverted pendulum" gait in which the body vaults over ...

bicycle A bicycle, also called a pedal cycle, bike, push-bike or cycle, is a human-powered transport, human-powered or motorized bicycle, motor-assisted, bicycle pedal, pedal-driven, single-track vehicle, with two bicycle wheel, wheels attached to a ...

, roller-skate, and take their children to the

playground A playground, playpark, or play area is a place designed to provide an environment for children that facilitates play, typically outdoors. While a playground is usually designed for children, some are designed for other age groups, or people wi ...

. Many local families enjoy

picnic A picnic is a meal taken outdoors (Al fresco dining, ''al fresco'') as part of an excursion, especially in scenic surroundings, such as a park, lakeside, or other place affording an interesting view, or else in conjunction with a public event su ...

king at one of the 15 picnic areas along the trail.

History

The trail and the Sligo Creek Parkway have their origins in 1927 with the establishment of the

Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission The Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission (M-NCPPC) is a bi-county agency that administers parks and planning in Montgomery and Prince George's counties in Maryland. History The commission was formed in 1927 by the Maryland G ...

, which was charged with creating a park system in the Maryland suburbs of Washington, DC. Plans for the Sligo Creek Parkway were developed in 1929 and land acquisition started the next year, aided by the Capper-Crampton Act of 1930. Construction of the road occurred in three phases between 1930 and 1954. The first section of the road, between Park Valley Road and Colesville Road, opened on September 1, 1934, with a parallel bridle path that was later paved to make the trail. Originally there was to be a narrow road on each side of Sligo Creek—an East and West Drive—and a bridle path in-between them. Actual construction resulted in one, wider road on the West Drive alignment south of Maple Avenue and on the East Drive alignment north of there. The bridle path meanwhile was built primarily on the alignment of "East Drive" south of Maple and on the bridle path north of it. The section of trail from Piney Branch Road to Riggs Road was built in the 1990s, opening in June 1997, as a community amenity to allow for the construction of a

storm sewer A storm drain, storm sewer (United Kingdom, United States, U.S. and Canada), highway drain, surface water drain/sewer (United Kingdom), or stormwater drain (Australia and New Zealand) is infrastructure designed to Drainage, drain excess rain an ...

reclamation project by the Washington Suburban Sanitary Commission. This section was aligned to follow the path of the storm drain through the narrow valley in the vicinity of the

Fall Line A fall line (or fall zone) is the area where an upland region and a coastal plain meet and is noticeable especially the place rivers cross it, with resulting rapids or waterfalls. The uplands are relatively hard crystalline basement rock, and the ...

. After the trail was paved trail bridges over the creek were either added or upgraded, with most of them built in 2001 and installed between 1994 and 2002, though about nine bridges predate this work. In some places, the trail was moved as bridges have been relocated, recreational facilities have been added or altered, or the course of the stream has changed.

Location

''Heading upstream from southeast'' ''(closest to DC)'' ''to northwest'' ''(farthest from DC):'' The

Prince George's County Prince George's County (often shortened to PG County or PG) is located in the U.S. state of Maryland bordering the eastern portion of Washington, D.C. As of the 2020 U.S. census, the population was 967,201, making it the second-most populous ...

section is about long. It ''begins'' at the intersection with the Northwest Branch Trail of the Anacostia Tributary Trail System, ''crosses'' Riggs Road, passes behind the Parklawn Community Recreational Center, ''crosses'' East-West Highway and ''ends'' in Carole Highlands.

Junction list

The Montgomery County section is about long. It ''begins'' in Carole Highlands and ''ends'' inside the Wheaton Regional Recreation Park (WRRP). Between Carole Highlands and WRRP, Sligo Creek Trail ''crosses'' (in this order): *New Hampshire Avenue *(passes underneath Carroll Avenue) *Maple Avenue *Piney Branch Road *Wayne Avenue *Colesville Road *(passes underneath the

Capital Beltway The Capital Beltway, designated as Interstate 495 (I-495) for its entire length, is an List of auxiliary Interstate Highways, auxiliary Interstate Highway in the Washington metropolitan area. The Ring road, beltway encircles Washington, D.C., ...

) *Forest Glen Road *Dennis Avenue *University Boulevard *(crosses Arcola Avenue via a trail connector) File:Sligo creek 20081120 103753 2.jpg, In the Fall, Forest Glen Sligo creek trail 20200913 115537 1.jpg, Sligo Creek Trail in Silver Spring File:Sligo creek and trail 20200913 130816 1.jpg, Sligo Creek with the Sligo Creek Trail in the background

References

External links

Detailed trail map; covers only Carole Highlands to WRRP (Montgomery County)Less detailed map that covers the Prince George's County portion of the trail plus other connecting trails in the Anacostia system
* ttp://www.bikewashington.org/visitor.htm Info on many DC area bike trails, including Sligo Creek Trailbr>Friends of Sligo Creek
{{Protected areas of Maryland Bike paths in Maryland Hiking trails in Maryland Protected areas of Prince George's County, Maryland Protected areas of Montgomery County, Maryland National Recreation Trails in Maryland Kemp Mill, Maryland Silver Spring, Maryland Takoma Park, Maryland Wheaton, Maryland

History

Location

Junction list

See also

References

External links