Overview
The bustling D.C. metro area seems light-years away from the parklands bordering the Sligo Creek Trail in the Maryland suburbs northeast of the city. The paved stream-valley trail follows the meandering creek for about 10 miles from its junction with the Northwest Branch Trail in Hyattsville in Prince George’s County to the town of Wheaton in Montgomery County.
About the Route
Named for the creek it follows, the Sligo Creek Trail is just one arm of the 40-mile Anacostia Tributary Trail System. That trail network starts in Hyattsville where the tidal Anacostia River splits into the Northwest and Northeast Branches, each with its corresponding creekside trail. The trail corridors run through parkland that the Maryland–National Capital Park and Planning Commission started acquiring in the 1930s.
The Sligo Creek Trail begins where it splits off from the Northwest Branch Trail at the confluence of Sligo Creek and Northwest Branch of Anacostia River in Hyattsville. The playing fields at Green Meadows Park are the first of many the trail passes as it heads northwest.
Throughout the trail, be aware of side trails that can carry you off the main trail and into nearby neighborhoods. Also, activate the flashing lights for pedestrian crosswalks at the Riggs Road and East–West Highway crossings.
The trail enters Montgomery County just before New Hampshire Avenue and begins long passages through woodland, where occasional small bridges cross the creek. Heading north, you may notice low dams crossing the creek. Some mark the locations of old gristmills, and one was part of Takoma Park’s public drinking-water system until the 1930s.
Commuters can use the winding 8-foot-wide trail from 5 a.m. to mid-night, although general hours are sunrise to sunset. Dozens of picnic tables and benches allow recreational users to relax and watch deer browsing in the woodsy sections or herons stealthily fishing in the creek.
The two-lane Sligo Creek Parkway runs alongside the trail most of the way through Montgomery County until the trail crosses University Boulevard/MD 193. The narrow trail gets crowded on the weekends with walkers, joggers, and bicyclists, so two sections of the parkway are closed to motor vehicles from 9 a.m. Friday to 6 p.m. Sunday. One stretches from Old Carroll Avenue to Piney Branch Road in Takoma Park; the other is from Forest Glen Road in Forest Glen to University Boulevard West in Wheaton.
The trail ends in a residential area about 0.4 mile from a pedestrian entrance to the 530-acre Wheaton Regional Park, a popular family destination featuring a large playground, an ice rink, a fishing lake, picnic shelters, and even a merry-go-round and miniature train for the kids.
Connections
In Hyattsville, the Sligo Creek Trail connects to the Northwest Branch Trail. The trail is also part of the Anacostia Tributary Trail System.
Please use this form to notify us of any changes or updates that we need to make to the trail information on TrailLink for this trail. RTC staff will review your submission and contact you if there is any need for further clarification.
