Hoyles Mill Park

Montgomery County, Maryland, enjoys a rich agricultural heritage. But as development has pushed north from Washington, DC, many communities have lost their rural character as open land disappears beneath tract homes and commercial subdivisions. The town of Boyds, just 25 miles north of DC, chose a different path. In 2003, county and state agencies enlisted TPL’s help to protect 800 acres of prime fields, wetlands, and forests between the Potomac and Patuxent rivers—linking more than 5,000 acres of conservation land. This, the largest land-preservation project in the county’s history, was funded by Maryland’s GreenPrint Program and will be managed as the Hoyles Mill Conservation Park by the Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission. Most of the land will be dedicated to conservation with opportunities for hiking and horseback riding. One portion will become an active community park for Boyds.