The Muddy Branch Greenway Trail is a long natural surface trail that runs from the

Potomac River The Potomac River () drains the Mid-Atlantic United States, flowing from the Potomac Highlands into Chesapeake Bay. It is long,U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map. Retrieved Augus ...

to Darnestown Road in

Montgomery County, MD Montgomery County is the most populous county in the state of Maryland. As of the 2020 census, the county's population was 1,062,061, increasing by 9.3% from 2010. The county seat and largest municipality is Rockville, although the census-design ...

. The trail runs near the course of

Muddy Branch Muddy Branch is a tributary stream of the Potomac River in Montgomery County, Maryland, United States, located about northwest of Washington, D.C. Course The headwaters of the stream originate in Gaithersburg, and the stream flows southwest f ...

, a

tributary A tributary, or affluent, is a stream or river that flows into a larger stream or main stem (or parent) river or a lake. A tributary does not flow directly into a sea or ocean. Tributaries and the main stem river drain the surrounding drainage ...

stream A stream is a continuous body of water, body of surface water Current (stream), flowing within the stream bed, bed and bank (geography), banks of a channel (geography), channel. Depending on its location or certain characteristics, a stream ...

of the

that originates in

Gaithersburg, Maryland Gaithersburg ( ), officially the City of Gaithersburg, is a city in Montgomery County, Maryland, Montgomery County, Maryland, United States. At the time of the 2020 United States Census, 2020 U.S. Census, Gaithersburg had a population of 69,657, ...

. The trail starts at Pennyfield Lock Road near the C&O Canal's Pennyfield Lock, Crosses Muddy Branch and runs through Blockhouse Point Conservation Park, across River Road and on to Esworthy Road. From there, the trail crosses the road and enters Muddy Branch Stream Valley Park and continues in the park until the end at Darnestown Road File:Muddy branch and trail 20201010 140036 1.jpg, Muddy Branch Stream and Muddy Branch Trail Muddy branch greenway trail at esworthy and query mill 20201010 124804 1.jpg, Muddy Branch Greenway Trail, Query Mill trailhead

References

{{coord missing, Maryland Hiking trails in Maryland Protected areas of Montgomery County, Maryland