The Northwest Branch of the Anacostia River, along with the Northeast Branch, is one of the two streams that forms the main stem of the Anacostia River. It's a 21.5 mile long stream running from the Sandy Spring area of Montgomery County to the confluence of the two streams in Prince George's County. Dozens of tributaries feed into it along the way. A paved multi-use trail runs for 7 miles along the stream from the Beltway in Montgomery County to the confluence in Bladensburg. Unpaved hiker/biker trails (in blue below) proceed north along the stream from the end of the paved trail to Bonifant Street on the other side of the Intercounty Connector.
There's room for a paved multi-use trail through much of the section north of the Beltway, but perhaps not a lot of political will. There may be less of an argument for a paved trail to Wheaton Regional Park where it runs parallel to the nearby Sligo Creek Trail, but north of that there is no such alternatives. A trail through the valley between Wheaton Regional Park and the ICC, and then to a trail closing a gap in the ICC trail from Notley to Layhill road would have significant utility.
North of the ICC it passes the Trolley Museum and then runs into the Northwest Branch Golf course, though a way around that - and to Blake High School - would not be difficult. North of the high school the stream flows through parkland before reaching the ridge at Olney-Sandy Spring Road. There are far too many tributaries, especially north of Wheaton Regional Park, to go into but many have potential, and a trail through this area opens them up as possibilities.
Some of this is in county plans. Montgomery County plans include a mutli-use trail from Wheaton Regional Park along roads and the stream to the ICC and a connection to it through the Poplar Run development to the Matthew Henson Trail, which would add some extra connectivity. The trail would then extend NW along the ICC. The county plan also includes an extended natural surface trail from the ICC to Blake HS. (Highlighted in yellow below)
A need to provide multiple kinds of space for different users and to protect the environment limit the county's ambitions with respect to the Northwest Branch, but the stream valley represents a big opportunity and the county plans to use the most important part, but it's unfortunate a trail north of the ICC isn't in the plans. Maybe someday the county will trade the golf course for an expanded trail network.
A paved trail between the Beltway and route 29 would be really nice, but I am betting it won't happen. There are two spots with cliffs/large rocks that would provide a construction challenge. And I get the sense that locals value the natural feel (narrow dirt trail) of the route. A safer crossing of route 29 would be a big step forward though. Between Wheaton Park and 29 there is a trail on both sides of the creek; the one on the west side is flatter and would be more conducive to paving.
Posted by: Purple Eagle | December 23, 2020 at 11:48 AM
A natural surface trail from Randolph Road near Wheaton Stables up to Bonifant Rd north of the ICC is built, and it connects to Poplar Run.
Posted by: Steven Newton | December 24, 2020 at 02:28 PM
Please leave a natural surface trail at Northwest Branch. Its really a natural gem of a place in close Montgomery County.
Posted by: Jonathanbruck | December 24, 2020 at 03:17 PM