Wheaton Regional Park is one of the best parks in Montgomery County, MD. The Regional Park is composed of three separate areas named after the major roads where the entrances are located. The Glenallan Avenue entrance is the location of Brookside Gardens, Brookside Nature Center, and the Horseback Riding Stables. The Orebaugh Avenue entrance is used mainly for sports and has a sports complex, covered field, ice arena, tennis courts, and baseball fields. The Orebaugh entrance is also the easiest access to the Wheaton Dog Park. The Wheaton Regional Park’s Shorefield Road area has picnic shelters, picnic tables, grills, and a playground with climbing areas and slides. The Shorefield area is the location of a train ride for kids that goes adjacent to Pine Lake and hiking trails. There is also a Carousel ride which dates back to 1915.
There are more than 11 miles of paved, equestrian, and natural trails throughout the park. The paved, accessible trails connect all three areas of the park: starting at Shorefield, the trail goes to the Orebaugh area, around Pine Lake at the Glenallan area, through Brookside Gardens, and then loops back around. The Brookside Nature Center is accessible from the Brookside Gardens trail next to the Conservatory. For a much more challenging hike, it is possible to hike along the equestrian trails to get to the Northwest Branch Trail and Rachel Carson Greenway Trail. You can follow either the Northwest Branch Trail or Rachel Carson Greenway Trail for 3 miles to the dam and parking area along Route 29, Colesville Road. Taking the either trail back will form a loop for a total of 6 miles of additional hiking. If you continue on from Route 29, the Rachel Carson Greenway Trail/NW Branch Trail crosses into Prince Georges County and links to the Anacostia Tributary Trail System which goes all the to the Anacostia River.
For more information and trail maps check out the Montgomery Parks website for Wheaton Regional Park.
