Northwest Branch Park

NORTHWEST BRANCH PARK

The Northwest Branch Trail (NBT) is a recent addition to the MORE trail inventory, after the efforts of Casey Anderson (Chair, Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission, resulted in MTB access to most Montgomery County (MoCo) trails.

Located in lower MoCo, NWB trail one of the few riding opportunities down county and a great option for those who live in the neighboring area. The trail winds its way through the Northwest Branch stream valley, north/south, for approximately 9 miles (including access trails) from Burnt Mills Special Park, where it actually begins on the west side of the stream. Users must travel along 29 over the bridge to the trail head (Bikes are not permitted on the east side of the stream along the Rachel Carson Greenway Trail). The trail eventually terminates at Alderton Road to the north after paralleling Bonifant and going under the ICC twice.

The terrain is relatively flat for most of the trail until the northern climb out to Alderton Rd. Ongoing work to realign the trail has added more elevation, rolling grade reversals and great views of the Stream Valley Below. The trail offers both natural and man-made technical elements along the way that make it a super fun ride.

The NWB is an excellent trail for beginners and families. Pay close attention to other users since it is also a popular destination for hikers, runners and dog walkers.

Future plans include extending the trail both to the north and south potentially doubling the NWB's mileage and introducing additional features along the corridor.

GETTING THERE

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The Northwest Branch Trail is suitable for riders of all abilities but include sections more suitable for intermediate to advanced riders. MORE subscribes to IMBA's trail difficulty ratings

MORE Volunteers donated 254 hours of their time to help maintain the Northwest Branch Tail in 2018.