Environmental Quality, Wilderness Appeal
Not only is Little Bennett by far the largest park in the County's park system, it is also the most pristine and natural. Its size and almost wilderness quality make it perhaps one of the very few areas in Montgomery County where citizens and visitors may experience a sense of solitude in nature that can approach the feeling of being 'lost in the woods.' More than 23 miles of both hiker-only and multi-use trails, however, enable visitors to readily and safely experience and enjoy the wilderness appeal and serenity of the Park.

Woodland scene near Moundbuilders Trail; Little Bennett's deep forests enable visitors to feel almost 'lost in the woods.'

Creeks and Streams
Little Bennett Park is named after Little Bennett Creek, a high quality stream that bisects the park and supports one of the few brown trout fisheries in the County testament to the Park's pristine nature. Little Bennett Creek is also fed by several other good or excellent quality streams, some of which originate within the boundaries of the Park's protected state. Sopers Branch, Dark Branch, Ballfield Tributary, Kingsley Tributary and Stoney Branch are five other creeks found within the Park that each empty into Little Bennett Creek. Little Bennett Creek enters the Park at about 580' above sea level near Kingstead Road and exits the Park at an elevation of about 350' west of Hyattstown, a drop of about 230' that contributed in an important way to the history of the area as described elsewhere in this website.

Numerous ripples such as these are visible along Little Bennett Creek as it drops over 200' while passing through the Park.

Steep Slopes, Narrow Valleys, Wetlands
The large number of streams, creeks and smaller tributaries in Little Bennett Park are indicative of another notable feature of the Park: its hilly, undulating and frequently steeply sloping terrain that sometimes encloses wetland habitats. The presence of such steep slopes accompanied by numerous creeks and wetlands contributed to the lack of development in the area after many local residents left in the early decades of the last century. This, in turn, enabled Montgomery County to eventually acquire the land and establish the Park.

Much of Little Bennett Park is steeply sloping.

Forest Cover
But the most obvious physical feature of Little Bennett Park is the 2000-plus acreage of virtually contiguous woodland forest housed within it. This is perhaps most readily experienced by driving along the heavily wooded Clarksburg Road which bisects much of the Park into eastern and western sections. In fact, Little Bennett Park's extensive woodlands help make it readily identifiable from planes traversing Montgomery County airspace. One flyer eloquently described the Park as "the big green area down below surrounded by all that other gray and brown stuff."

The heavily forested Clarksburg Road passes through the middle of Little Bennett Park.