This bridge has been out to long now and needs to be open, i love this trail but we need the complete trail.

Can anyone tell me way that bridge is still out? and when are the parks/county people going to repair it?

This is a very nice trail. There seem to be plenty of people walking along it, especially on the weekends.

I do warn anyone planning to walk this trail to NOT park at the small parking lot just off Brinkley Road (down the Street from Jumbo International Foods Grocery Store). Our car was broken into today 9/19/10. Nothing of value was taken (we don't leave stuff in the car), but the driver's side window was smashed completely and the idiot who committed this crime also damaged the ignition, so we had to have the car towed. It was an unfortunate ending to an otherwise nice day.

Just park your car elsewhere instead of on this little lot, which frankly is kind of hard to get out of anyway, as it's hard to see oncoming traffic when exiting. And remember to bring your cellphone along, just in case.

I live near this trail so I ride it a few times a week. It's a nice escape into nature. I see deer every time. And I've seen blue heron, and various other wildlife. If you go in late morning you can catch the horses being put through their paces at Rosecroft Raceway. It's mostly flat until you get to the end of the trail where there is a hill that I for one can't ride up. My only issue with the trail is that it doesn't drain very well after it rains. So you're with many big puddles. And for the safety issue. I've felt a little unsafe at times. But mostly because I'm a woman, alone, in the woods. And once or twice I've come upon people engaging in some...seedy activity. But nothing serious. On the whole I like it very much.

There seems to be some mix up about this trail.

Where does it go?
Start at Temple Hills Road and crosses Brinkley, Bock, and Tucker Road. When you get to Tucker Road as you leave the parking lot of Ice Rink/Fields hang a left for a few hundred yards and then a right into the Tucker Road Community Center where you pick the trail back up and go under 210 and follow the trail to Oxon Hill/Old Forte Road. Since there is no signage many people think the trail stops at the Ice Rink or begins at the community center.

How safe is it?

I have ridden this trail in the early morning to just before dusk. I've never felt unsafe. I have seen 1 person who was just walking and smoking and clearly not exercising but the person was not menacing.


What I like about it?

It's pretty flat which is great for a beginning cyclist. It's also very shaded.

What I don't like?

At the beginning there are a few bumps in the road that are a bit much for a road cyclist. As with any trail that is close to nature after it rains sometimes large pieces of debris float down the creek and make the southern most portion a mess.

We live nearby, and the Henson Creek Trail is not located in "a very dangerous area of the DC/Metro region." We have used the trail on a near daily basis for the past 20 years & have never had any problems, nor have we heard of any "recent (as of 4/09) assaults on that trail of lascivious nature" or any "other attacks." There is no "library" on the trail. The trail does follow Tucker Road for a few hundred yards between the Tucker Road Ice Rink and the Tucker Road Community Center. Both of us were very puzzled at this review. Even more so after we road the wooded trail today.

I highly recommend this trail to anyone who would enjoy a casual ride through the woods. The trail is mostly level with a slight incline going north. (Although there is one rather large hill right at the very south end of the trail.) Much of the trail at the south end runs through the woods next to the creek, crossing the creek on occasion with bridges. On the north end the area next to the trail is a little more open and therefore gets more sun. The trail gets a little confusing in the middle where you have to follow Tucker road for about 100 yards. There is a separate section of the road for the trail that is on the edge of the road (separated from the road by cement dividers.) Be sure to get familiar with the map for this section. When you cross the road (going south to north on the trail) you enter the parking lot of the Tucker Road Park and Ice Rink. Continue through the parking lot, past the bathroom facility and head toward the lake. When you get past the lake you will see a short road leading north to a maintenance building. Follow the trail along the side of this road and you will be be back on the trail.

Enjoy.

This trail is in a very dangerous area of the DC/Metro region. Although it is a nice ride, it seems to end at the library and the continuing section is nowhere to be found. However, between Temple Hill Road and Brinkley (the library/park), it is a very dangerous area. There have been recent (as of 4/09) assaults on that trail of lascivious nature, as well as other attacks. Do NOT ride this trail alone if you do decide to ride it, and never EVER ride it unless it is in broad daylight.