Contact: Sue Tucker, 240-777-6530
Robert Willson, DPWT, 301-840-2371 or
Doug Powell, M-NCPPC, 301-650-4381
For Immediate Release: June 29, 2001

HIKING TRAILS OPEN AT
FORMER SITE OF OAKS LANDFILL

Montgomery County officials today officially opened hiking and shared use trails at the former site of the Oaks Landfill in Laytonsville. The natural surface trails are located in the buffer area around the closed landfill.

The Montgomery County Department of Public Works and Transportation (DPWT) constructed the trails after working with staff from the Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission (M-NCPPC), the Oaks Landfill Advisory Commission and members of the local community to develop a plan for post-landfill use of the Oaks property. The plan includes natural surface trails and signage. Local equestrians have also expressed interest in a future equestrian ring in the large open area between the landfill and Route 108.

“When the landfill closed in 1997, we promised the residents of Laytonsville that we would convert the land to usable public space,” said County Executive Douglas M. Duncan. “With the opening of these trails, we have taken an important first step in fulfilling that promise to the community.”

"I was here when we closed the landfill and I'm delighted to be here for the start of its new life," said County Councilmember Nancy Dacek.

"Our ability to be here today to celebrate these trail openings would not have been possible without the commitment of DPWT staff members Bob Willson, Tom Kusterer and Peter Karasik who worked with the community to find an acceptable reuse," said DPWT Deputy Director Robert Merryman.

Staff from the County’s DPWT and the M-NCPPC worked together to implement the plan. Four miles of natural surface trails were prepared and marked for public use, and parking areas were constructed. Parking for hikers is located at the Zion Road entrance, and for equestrians, cyclists and hikers, parking is located at the Route 108 entrance. The trails will be maintained by DPWT staff and local volunteer groups.

The new hiker trail, called the Blue Mash Nature Trail, is located on the eastern side – where it loops through an easy, but diverse, natural terrain for 1.25 miles, with an optional segment that extends the trail to 1.6 miles. This trail commemorates the pre-Civil War settlement called Blue Mash, which was inhabited for many years by freed slaves from the nearby Riggs Plantation. The colloquial pronunciation of marsh was “mash.” Prior to emancipation, the Blue Mash swamp was known to have been a hiding place for fugitive slaves.

The shared use trails are primarily located in the large field areas on the western side of the landfill and in the forested land to the north of the landfill. Approximately 2.75 miles of trail is available for equestrian and cyclist use. Most of this will be part of a much larger planned greenway trail, eventually extending from Rock Creek Regional Park to the Patuxent River.

The 550-acre Oaks Landfill opened in June 1982 and operated for 15 years. The County closed the landfill in 1997 after signing a long-term contract with a Virginia firm to transport ash residue from the Resource Recovery Facility in Dickerson and other noncombustible waste materials to a landfill in Brunswick County, VA.

For more information about the hiker trails, call Bob Willson at 301-840 2371.