Montgomery Explorers - Montgomery Parks

All participants must be registered Montgomery Explorers Club Members to walk.
Register in this FREE program by visiting ActiveMONTGOMERY.
Organized in-person walks will be held on Mondays at locations throughout the county.
Our cheery and qualified volunteers lead walks.
Logistics about these walks will be sent after registration is complete.
Walk details will also be online by the Friday prior to the upcoming walk.

The most up-to-date schedule is below. Advanced registration is not required for the weekly walks, but you must be a registered Montgomery Explorers member. Members will receive complete details about meeting locations, distance and trail features the week prior to the scheduled walk.

We will meet for the first two weeks of December and then take a break during the holiday season. Starting on January 12, we will meet every other week until the weather warms up in April.

A group of Montgomery Explorers hiking on a natural surface trail in Rachel Carson Conservation Park.

Starting Location: 11950 Clopper Road, Gaithersburg, MD 20878

Maximum Miles: 3.9 miles

Surface: Natural surface, some paved

Amenities: Restrooms

This is one of our more challenging hikes on a natural surface trail. Some rocks and roots and minimal elevation.

The Lake Shore Trail loops around the 90-acre Clopper Lake at Seneca Creek State Park and is considered one of the most scenic hikes in the area with panoramic views of the lake all along the Trail. With the exception of a gravel access path to and from the parking lot, the Trail itself is mostly natural surface and is shady with a wide variety of trees and opportunities to spot wildlife too. There are areas with tree roots and rocks to navigate so hiking shoes/boots are recommended and, for those that have them, trekking poles may provide some additional stability/security.

Our starting point will be the parking lot next to the tire playground (on the map the lot right above “Expo Field”). You will be on Seneca Creek Road upon entrance to the State Park from Clopper Road. Follow the signs for the Clopper Recreation Area and turn left at the sign for the “playground” and “picnic sites” and proceed on the right into the playground lot. The lot has 44 spaces including 3 accessible spaces; if more parking is needed, volunteers will direct you to the lot next to the Pines Picnic Area. At the end of the meeting lot, there is a directional sign for access to the Lake Shore Trail, next to which there is a building with restrooms.

Our route will start at the Lake Shore Trail access sign; we will go about 0.11 mile on a gravel access path to the Trail where we can do the loop either counterclockwise or clockwise. Both ways there are deep blue blazes and some signs that help us stay on the trail. We will go left to do the clockwise loop with the gravel path changing to natural surface shortly thereafter. After only about 0.3 mile, we will walk around the front of the Boat Center/Launch and resume the Trail on the other side. At the 1.06 mile mark, there is a nice view of the lake and also makes a good turnaround point for those that prefer a shorter walk/hike. On this side of the lake, there are several spots where there are options to hike closer to the lake but we will stay on the higher ridge with the blue blazes where the surface is more compact with one exception to avoid an ascending patch with lots of roots. Over the course of the winding loop, we cross over several wooden bridges and/or crosswalks. At about the 1.85 mile mark, we will come to a chain-link fence on top of a drainage outlet over which there is a beautiful view of the lake; on the other side, the Trail becomes a bit wider and there are less areas with tree roots and rocks for the rest of the route as compared with the first two miles.

At about 2.90 miles, after we cross a boardwalk, we will see a sign at the intersection with the Mink Hollow Trail to the left – we will continue straight on the Lake Shore Trail, shortly after which we will cross over our 4th bridge. At 3.35 miles, the Trail crosses over the dam on a gravel path and on the other side we will come to the beautiful Kingfisher Overlook at 3.5 miles and then follow the trail around to where we started and take the access path back to the parking lot. The complete walk is about 3.9 miles including the Lake Shore loop and 0.22 miles out-and-back on the access path to the parking lot.

Starting Location:  3928 Greencastle Road, Burtonsville, 20866

Maximum Miles: 3.9 miles, out and back

Surface: Paved

Amenities: Flush toilets

Fairland Regional Park, starting at the parking lot which is to the left after you enter the park at 3928 Greencastle Road, Burtonsville, 20866 (see photo). Look for Explorers signs as you approach the park entrance and once in the park, turn left to follow the sign for the “Restrooms/Picnic Area/Play Lot”. Parked near the entrance to the trails near the restrooms at the opposite end of the parking lot .

This time we plan to use the paved Little Paint Branch Trail (LPBT) on the outward walk/hike and on the return provide a taste of the beautiful natural surface trails in this park that straddles Montgomery and Prince George’s counties (though those that prefer to stay on the paved trail for the entire return will have the option to do that). The out-and-back walk is 3.9 miles long using the planned natural surface trail on the return (or 4.2 miles for those that choose to stay on the LPBT the entire time) with the usual options for shorter walks as noted below.  Here is a list of the significant mile markers on this route:

At 0.26 miles from the start, we will bear left to stay on the LPBT as it enters the shaded woods – LPBT drops in and out of the lush Little Paint Branch stream valley but the descents and climbs are primarily gradual; it is flat on the 0.6-mile stretch alongside the PG Fairland Sports Complex 

At 0.7 miles, shortly after the LPBT bridge, we will enter the PG county side of the Park

1-mile marker is at the start of the Fairland Sports Complex as the trail comes out of the woods; this is the turnaround spot for those that want a shorter 2-mile round-trip

1.5 miles is at the far end of the pond we will pass on the left; this is the turnaround spot for those that prefer a 3-mile round-trip (shortly after this point the trail descends back into the shaded woods)

Planned group turnaround point comes at 2.09 miles after we cross Greencastle Road and go under the ICC

On return, after about 0.5 miles, we will enter the natural Viper Trail on the left (it is the second turnoff that we will see on the left and is unmarked; we will avoid the first marked turnoff as it leads to an area where they are currently working on constructing a new biking adventure trail). We will stay on the Viper Trail, which in part tracks along a stream, and follow the directional sign to re-enter Montgomery County, taking the Pine Loop Trail to the utility path back to where it rejoins the LPBT shortly above the LPBT bridge in the woods and then make the gradual ascent after the bridge up the last 0.6 miles of the LPBT back to the parking lot. (NOTE: This option keeps the return almost entirely in the shade as it avoids the open section of LPBT along the Sports Complex, but as stated earlier those Explorers who want to avoid the natural surface trails can return entirely on the paved LPBT instead). 