Matthew Henson State Park
| Matthew Henson State Park | |
| Matthew Henson Trail | |
| Maryland State Park | |
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Boardwalk section of Matthew Henson Trail
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| Country | United States |
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| State | Maryland |
| County | Montgomery |
| Coordinates | Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found. |
| Trail length | 4.5 mi (7 km) |
| Area | 100 acres (40 ha) [1] |
| Established | 1989 |
| Management | Montgomery County Department of Parks |
  Location in Maryland
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| Website: Matthew Henson Trail | |
Matthew Henson State Park is a publicly owned greenway with recreational features that runs along Turkey Branch, a tributary of Rock Creek, in Montgomery County, Maryland.[2] The state park is managed by Montgomery County under an agreement with the Maryland Department of Natural Resources.[3] It was named for Maryland native and arctic explorer Matthew Henson.[4]
Matthew Henson Trail, an 8-foot-wide (2.4 m) hard surface hiking/biking trail, was completed through the park in 2009.[4] The trail runs 4.5 miles (7.2 km) from the Rock Creek Hiker-Biker Trail near Aspen Hill northeast to Alderton Road near Layhill. The trail features 0.6 miles (0.97 km) of wooden boardwalk through environmentally sensitive areas.[5][6]
History
Purchased by the state in the 1950s,[7] the land was originally called the Rockville Facility, which would have connected to Montrose Parkway[6] as a spur to the proposed Washington Outer Beltway.[4] In response to residents' calls to the preserve the stream valley corridor, the state legislature designated 83 acres of the land as a state park and 117 acres as a county park in 1989.[8][9] The state land is owned by the Maryland Department of Natural Resources, and the county land is owned by the Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission (M-NCPPC).[8]
Planning for the Matthew Henson Trail began in 2001. After many public meetings and environmental studies, the trail's preliminary plan was approved by the Montgomery County Planning Board in 2003.[8] Funding was put forth in 2006.[10] The Montgomery County Department of Transportation paid for the design and construction, but the M-NCPPC managed the project.[8] Opened May 9, 2009,[4] the project cost $5.7 million.[8] The trail connects with the Rock Creek Hiker-Biker Trail at Winding Creek Local Park on Dewey Road and continues northeast to Alderton Road.[11][12] The trail includes ten-foot-wide boardwalks to protect the most sensitive areas and solar-powered emergency cellular phones.[8] The trail's design and construction were nominated for a Planning & Design Award as part of the 2010 National Trails Awards.[8]
References
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External links
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to Matthew Henson State Park. |
- Matthew Henson Trail Montgomery County Department of Parks
- Matthew Henson Trail Map Montgomery County Department of Parks
