Seneca Creek State Park

Seneca Creek is a nice serine park that’s is close to the Rockville, Gaithersburg, Germantown area. The park is maintained and cleaned up on a daily basis. This is without disturbing the natural park habitat.
I have been to five different pavilions for different outings and picnics. Each pavilion has its own charm and layout. The park is large and has a lot of great fishing and hiking spots!

We went to see the winter lights. There were very good but I did not like that many of the motorist drove with their headlights on and many times there were cars going in the opposite direction (bright headlights in your eyes ruin the experience).

We love this park for a number of reasons.
We’ve got kids in the extended family who love the tire park. It’s got an awesome sort of miniature zipline, a unique tire and net swaying thing-​y, and climbing parts. All softly padded by shredded tires.
Decent bathrooms in the kids area.
Large spaces nearby for volleyball and soccer.
When the parking is full, they open a field for more parking.
Across from the tire park is a picnic area with some grills and loads of tables under shady trees. No water that I’ve seen, so plan ahead.
It’s a short stroll down to the lake to walk around its perimeter. Not really accessible all the way around for sturdy strollers and longer than it first appears. The park closes at dusk, so don’t be caught (as we were) 2 miles away from the parking lot. It means park rangers start looking for you and they can’t go home.
I haven’t rented boats for over 20 years, so I can’t address that.

This place is great for a quick afternoon run, bike, or just plain hike after work as it is right next to great Seneca Highway and very close to the Kentlands shopping area.
The trails are good here but there’s quite a few people on the trail so if you’re thinking of taking your dogs make sure you bring your leashes because there are so many people with dogs too, that it makes it difficult to click and unclip your dogs so often. But people are really nice on the trail and there’s also kayaking and fishing

BRING CASH or check if you want to rent boats on Clopper Lake! I was sad when I saw the cash only sign as I wrongly assumed they take credit cards (like Lake Needwood or Black HIll/​Little Seneca Lake). But their rentals are like $ 1 cheaper and they stay open later too.
It is a beautiful lake and surrounding area with a lot of picnic areas and parking. You can hike all the way around the lake but make sure you have enough time. Some good fishing in various areas accessible by land but you’ll cover more water in a boat (obviously).

Visited Seneca Creek for the first time and I loved it. First I parked in the parking lot which is right across from the playground and made my way down to the lake! The playground was cute and I saw people fishing in the lake. It was peaceful and relaxing.
Then I drove around to the other side of the lake because I wanted a better view of the lake. I got there and they had benches to sit down on and it was beautiful. The only thing I’d suggest is bringing bug spray if you go in the summer. :) Besides that it was amazing.

Seneca Creek was a nice little park in the middle of a heavily congested urban area. We were looking for places to kill time before dinner and found this place nearby. It was only about 5 minutes away from the freeway. It appears to have another entrance at the south from the map, but the road was actually blocked to regular visitors. Admission was free despite being a state park.
The area closest to the entrance had some historic area to visit with an old cabin and camp area. It appears to be part of a long trail, and we walked a bit on it, but almost got ran over by golf cars… they allow those things no hiking trails? Deeper into the park were various reserved pavilion type camp sites. The all seem to surround the Clopper Lake. They have a nice lake view area with a trail that goes around it as well. The lake was gorgeous with reflective view.
I imagine this would be a great families and companies party location to get away from the city life. Cellular reception was great in the park being so close to the city area.

Went on a hike here on a cool winter Sunday. The park is perfect for beginners as there was nothing too difficult. A few declines and inclines but nothing I would consider intermediate. I grabbed a trash bag when I started to pick up trash and was only able to pick up 5 empty water bottles which is impressive compared to most hiking trails. The trail was well marked and maintained. Most of it was dirt that could easily get muddy after a recent rain. Trail is perfect for hiking, walking, jogging, or even biking. Would highly recommend this to anyone that is nearby. You are able to fish but there weren’t too many boats out there.

It’s a nice park with plenty of picnicking and playground options available for all your outdoor needs. Several walking and bike paths are also intermingled as part of the parks infrastructure which is nice. There is also a dock where you can choose to rent a kayak, paddle boat or peddle boat to enjoy the great Clopper lake. Just be mindful that cash is only accepted to pay for the water leisure activities.
In the winter (November and December) there is a ‘winter lights’ display which is pretty cool but of course there is another charge to see the display. Also, don’t forget about the seasonally adjusted traffic jam to get into the park as everyone and their monkeys uncle wants to see the twinkly lights.
The biggest downfall of this park is that there is a fee to utilize the space. Typical considering we are in the DMV area but not terrible enough to keeping you from visiting.

Beautiful park with plenty to enjoy. They have fishing, boating, a playground and trails. The playground is a cool concept with the recycled tires but there aren’t many obstacles to hold the kids interest very long. Right next to the playground there is a lot of grass space with a great view of the water. Bring a frisbee and a picnic lunch, and enjoy a fun afternoon without having to go far!

The whole park is pretty nice it seems. I’ve been heading over there for some trail riding if I get off work soon enough. The Clopper Lake area is pretty nice for riding, and amazingly even on fairly beautiful days I don’t find myself needing to pull off for too many runners or other cyclists.
There was some section of the Clopper Lake trail warning about sewage overrun… I’m not sure if that’s something that’s always there or not. I don’t think I want to give a park 5 stars with that warning though.
The trails; as far as cycling trails are well kept and mildly to moderately difficult in places. I found myself walking the bike in a few areas but I’m out of shape and old.

Excellent place for kids, picnicking, fishing and boating. If you are nearby and come here often buy an annual state park passport to save money. They are available online at the DNRC site.

I have been comin to this park since I was a kid (so about 23yrs now) and I absolutely love it. I learned how to drive there, play at the playgrounds, there’s paddle boats in the summer and disc golf.
There are two reasons though that I just can’t give 5 stars. The first one is that they got rid of the smaller playgrounds that were in the back of the park. Not sure if they just didn’t want to deal with the upkeep but the price you have to pay to get in they should have kept those smaller playgrounds!
The second is the winter lights. They are nice the first time — but they never change. They have been the same lights with a new one thrown in here and there every couple of years. Update them and the playgrounds please :)

My husband and I had our wedding here on 5÷24÷14. We got the Idea from our friends who also had their wedding here a year before us. We had so much fun at their wedding we just thought it was perfect for ours as well. We used the Blue Jay and Nuthatch pavilions which are totally private for you and your guest. We used one the one of the pavilions for the ceremony, and the other one for the reception. It was really inexpensive… and paid $ 35 extra for a alcohol license. We had the park from 8am-8:15 pm. Which gave us plenty of time to set up and enjoy our time there. The park doesn’t allow LOUD disturbing music but are willing to work with you. We had a DJ and everything went smoothly. There is a small park for kids at the pavilions, restrooms, and plenty of parking. Each pavilion can fit up to 200 people I believe.
We wanted a small, outdoor wedding that was kid friendly and that’s exactly what we got! We couldn’t have asked for anything more. They have two great places for wedding party photos as well. We took ours right by the lake. Our friends did theirs at the garden. Both locations are beautiful!!! I highly recommend this park for any event. Birthdays, graduations, weddings, and more!

A nice little state park. Plenty of area to roam around with a relatively low density of people so it doesn’t feel too crowded. Make sure you bring a hammock!

Picnic, kayaks, rowboats, and even a disc (Frisbee) golf course.

A wonderful, beautiful park. Provides a nice break from the hustle and bustle of the nearby cities. I use it for late-​afternoon, post-​work runs to skip dealing with rush hour on my way home. My only complaint is that the trails could be marked a smidgen better. Not that I mind getting lost– that’s part of the adventure! I’ve only ran the trail following the lake; I’m hoping to explore the others once my endurance improves!

What is there not to love about gorgeous scenery and serene piece of mind? My family adores this park! It is so peaceful, and the wildlife is bountiful. I highly recommend this park to any family that wants some quality and quiet family time.

Beautiful and relaxing place to take the family. There’s a cool playground area made of recycled tires that a lot of kids were playing on while their adults were watching from shaded benches. Across from the playground, you can have a leisurely lunch using the bbq grills and picnic tables. Don’t forget to bring your hammock too! We saw that a couple of families had strung theirs up, perfect for an afternoon snooze. The whole area is «trash free,» meaning you have to pack up and take out your own garbage, but there are plenty of compostable bags provided for free at the nearby information kiosk.
The Boat Center has canoes and kayaks that you can rent along with some ice cream treats to enjoy after a long hot day of paddling on the water. There are also nicely wooded trails that start from there and provide some nice views of the lake.

Very nice place to go with the family or want some romantic time with that special someone.
I went here with the kids They loved it an the zipper really fun as well.