Kingsley Trail
Use	Multi-use (Hk, Bk, Eq)
West Trailhead	Kingsley Parking Lot, Clarksburg Rd
East Trailhead	Kingsley Schoolhouse, intersection of Froggy Hollow & Purdum Trls
Distance	0.74 mile
Nearest Parking	Kingsley Parking Lot, Clarksburg Road
Summary	Probably the flattest trail in the park, it follows Little Bennett Creek for about ¾ mile to the historic Kingsley Schoolhouse and access to several other Park trails. The close proximity of Kingsley trail to the creek and its surrounding wetland also make it a great spot for birding. These attractive features plus its convenience to parking help make Kingsley the most heavily used trail in the Park.

Narrative Direction: East from Kingsley Parking Lot, Clarksburg Road

Kingsley Trail used to be part of the main road from Hyattstown to Kings Valley and Purdum. Today it retains its gravel bed surface as it follows the creek upstream to the schoolhouse. An interesting feature of Kingsley trail is that it acts as sort of a boundary between the hillside forest to your left and wetland meadow to your right. See the photo below.

At about ¼ mile along the trail you might see a faint path heading off through the meadow and down toward the creek. This is the remnant of a short little road identified as Wyatt Lane on Google maps. This little path is not routinely maintained though there has been increased usage lately and the path is becoming a little more prominent. It is an interesting little unofficial side trail but does not go quite all the way to the creek.

Soon after this, the trail passes through forest cover. It is a straight, flat stretch of gravel bed road with a very gradual upward slant to it. The trail parallels Little Bennett Creek which flows about 50 yards to the right and may be visible in the winter months.

After a few hundred yards, the creek begins to come into full view alongside the trail. You can hear the water gradually falling as it flows steadily downward toward Hyattstown. It may not sound like much, but there are hundreds of similar little ripples in the creek as it drops about 250 feet during its 4 mile passage through the Park. The accumulated "head" of this falling water was sufficient to power several industrial mills along the creek as described in the History section of our website.

Up to this point, Kingsley Trail has been fairly flat and straight but now you can see it start to curve and climb a little up ahead, as shown in the photo below. You are approaching what used to be the trailhead for the Hard Cider trail. It formerly climbed up the ridge to your left and linked up with Loggers Trail on the ridgeline. But excessive erosion and maintenance needs caused the Parks Dept to close Hard Cider trail.

Most of the rest of Kingsley Trail closely borders Little Bennett Creek and its wetland. There is heavy undergrowth on both sides of the trail here but mature hardwoods also provide good cover. The many mature sycamore trees you see lining the creek along Kingsley are a signature feature of Little Bennett Park.

Depending on the season, you may get several creek views along this next stretch of Kingsley trail. You will pass through a cut-through in a ledge that reaches down to the creek. See photo below.

Soon after that the best view of the creek along the entire trail comes up on your right. This is a truly good place to take a little break and admire Little Bennett Creek. See photo below.

After this the trail continues on for perhaps 200 yards, passing a large open wetland meadow and then ending at the historic schoolhouse.