ROCKVILLE, MD—Starting this Saturday, April 4 six popular natural surface trails in Rock Creek Regional Park will be open to bicycle use for the first time. Before now, bikes have not been permitted on any of the natural surface trails within Rock Creek Regional Park.
“This creates an additional 3.75 miles of trails in the park for bicyclists to enjoy, “said Department of Parks Regional Operations Manager Jim Humerick, “something that the bicycle community has been requesting for some time now.”
Effective April 4, the Department of Parks will permit bicycle use on the following trails on the west side of Lake Needwood in Rock Creek Regional Park: Westside Trail, Gude Trail, Lake Ridge Trail, Parilla Path, Blue Heron Trail and Dogwood Run.
The parks department made the change in accordance with the Rock Creek Regional Park Master Plan and the Upper Rock Creek Trail Corridor Plan, which was approved by the Montgomery County Planning Board in October 2008. Both the park’s master plan and the Upper Rock Creek Trail Corridor Plan call for increasing the amount of trails to fill gaps in the existing trail system and expanded trail use.
Park trails on the east side of Lake Needwood, north of the boat rental, will remain for hikers only to ensure quiet areas for fishing.
Rock Creek Regional Park is one of the most popular parks in the Montgomery County parks system, with opportunities for boating and fishing, 18 picnic shelters, more than 13 miles of trails including a portion of the Rock Creek Hiker-Biker Trail, a National Recreational Trail as designated by the US Department of the Interior, and more.
For more on Rock Creek Regional Park, visit www.MontgomeryParks.org.
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Contact:
Kelli Holsendolph
Media Relations Manager
Montgomery County Department of Parks
301-650-2866