Skip to Navigation | Skip to Content

Back to: » Parks home » Planning & Stewardship » Park Planning

Little Bennett Regional Park Draft Master Plan

Little Bennett Regional Park, The Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission's largest park, is located in northern Montgomery County, Maryland.

Located 30 miles northwest of Washington, D.C. this park offers visitors quality wooded campsites and miles of hiking, biking and equestrian trails throughout 3,640 acres of forests and meadows. With more than 20 miles of trails to explore, 91 wooded campsites from which to choose, and a variety of weekend activities available for all age groups and interests, Little Bennett Regional Park is a perfect vacation spot.

On Thursday, March 22, the Montgomery County Planning Board unanimously voted to adopt the Little Bennett Regional Park Master Plan with the recommended changes suggested by staff in the Planning Board packet. Once the Public Hearing Draft Plan is updated to incorporate the Board’s changes, we will post the Plan on the web. Thank you for your interest and involvement in the planning process.

Download a copy of the whole Master Plan (pdf, 6.4MB) or use the Table of Contents below which is broken in to more easily downloadable pieces below.

Table of Contents
 
 
SECTION TITLE PAGE # DOCUMENT
Introduction 1 Contents, Intro, p. 1-4 (pdf, 545KB)
Plan Concepts 3  
Plan Recommendations 27 p.5-20 (pdf, 1.8MB)
Plan Concept 1: Nature Based Retreat 5  
Plan Concept 2: Trails 9  
Plan Concept 3: Gateway Features 14  
Plan Concept 4: Park Character Along Road Frontage 18  
Plan Concept 5: Interpretive Emphasis 21 p. 21-30 (pdf, 1.6MB)
Plan Concept 6: Park Accessibility 23  
Plan Concept 7: Design Guidelines 24  
Plan Concept 8: Active Recreation 25  
Implementation 27  
Background Information 31 p. 31-51 (pdf, 1.3MB)
1 . Public Process 31  
2 . 1985 Plan Concept 31  
3 . Natural Resource Analysis 32  
4 . Historic and Cultural Features 34  
5 . Identifying Future Regional Recreational Needs 40  
6 . Relationship to Network of Parks in Clarksburg 44  
7. Transportation Planning Analysis 45  
NOTE: Download a copy of the whole document (pdf, 6.4MB)

 

TIMING
STEP
11/09/2005 Community "Kick-Off" Meeting - Summary
01/19/2006 Planning Board Review and Approval of Plan Schedule, Plan Issues and Community Outreach Strategy. Staff Memo
04/04/2006

Community Meeting on Plan Concepts and Plan Options
7 p.m. to 9 p.m. Cedar Brook Community Church meeting facilitiy, 23700 Stringtown Rd., Clarksburg, MD. - Summary

10/03/2006

Community Meeting on Master Plan Alternatives
The Staff Draft Master Concept Plan will incorporate comments and suggestions from the two previous community meetings and reflect plan objectives approved by the Planning Board in January 2006.
An updated illustration of the Draft Concept Plan for this Park will be available here shortly and at the meeting. The Draft Plan will recommend the following:

  • An integrated trail network that includes linkages to the Clarksburg Greenway and trails in the Damascus area
  • A future Visitors' Center and nature-based recreation oriented facilities along MD 355
  • An interpretive focus near Hyattstown Mill and proposes linking this area of the park to historic Hyattstown
  • Acquisition of additional parkland east of MD 355 to accommodate potential future need for ballfields
  • The park frontage along MD 355 is proposed to be more natural and park-like to attract visitors

These recommendations will be presented at the community meeting. Following the meeting, a Staff Draft Plan will be prepared and presented to the Montgomery County Planning Board for their review and comments. A Public Hearing will then be held so people can testify to the Planning Board on the plan.
11/30/2006

Planning Board Approved Staff Draft (Click here to review the Staff Memo)
On November 30, 2006, the Montgomery County Planning Board approved the Public Hearing Draft Master Plan for Little Bennett Regional Park.
The Draft Master Plan map is shown below. The entire Public Hearing Draft Plan may be viewed here once changes suggested by the Planning Board at the November 30 worksession are incorporated in the text. Existing Facilities, Draft Master Plan and Proposed Trails printable version (pdf, 591KB)
The date, time and location of the Public Hearing has not been set but will likely be either January 18th or 25th, 2007. Keep checking this web site for updated information.You are invited to testify in person or in writing. More information about how to testify will be included on this site once the date of the Public Hearing has been finalized. If you have any questions, please call Lyn Coleman at 650-4391 or email her at: lyn.coleman@mncppc.org

01/18/2007

Planning Board Worksession(s)
Public Hearing - Little Bennett Regional Park DraftMaster Plan
Thursday, January 18 - call the number below for exact time. Location: M-NCPPC Auditorium, 8787 Georgia Avenue, Silver Spring, Maryland 20910 You're invited to testify and can sign up in advance to speak by calling the Community Outreach and Media Relations Office at 301-495-4600. To provide written comments, you can email MCP-Chairman@mncppc-mc.org, fax at 301-495-1320 or write to: Royce Hanson, Chairman, Montgomery County Planning Board, 8787 Georgia Avenue, Silver Spring, MD 20910.
Feb/Mar 2007 Planning Board Approved Plan

Contact

Lyn Coleman, Park Planning & Resource Analysis
Lyn.Coleman@mncppc.org
301-650-4370

*Requires PDF Reader to view
Get Adobe Reader