Darnestown Area Orientation  

Shopping  

There are a Giant, Safeway, Whole Foods and Italian Gourmet grocery store all within a 3-mile radius of Darnestown, as well as several convenience and package stores. A brand new Harris Teeter upscale grocery, reknowed for its prepared food, is scheduled to open right at the center of Darnestown this year as well (at the site of the old Food Lion) - the first in Maryland. Beer and wine are available at local convenience and package stores, but expect to make a trip to the Montgomery County-run liquor store in Gaithersburg for other spirits (county law). Other specialty food and beverage stores include Spring Hill Bread Company bakery, and several Starbucks coffee shops (again, within just a couple miles of Darnestown). A CVS drug store is also nearby, in North Potomac.  

For household items, apparel, gifts, etc, great shopping is just a short drive away. Among the larger shopping centers are the Westfield Montgomery Mall, in North Bethesda, White Flint Mall in North Bethesda, the Milestone Shopping Center in Germantown, Lake Forest Mall in Gaithersburg, the Rio Center in Rockville, and the Rockville Pike shopping corridor, in Rockville.
 

Restaurants  

The local restaurant scene offers quite a bit as well. In the fairly immediate vicinity some restaurants of note are North Potomac/Gaithersburg’s Bone Fish Grill (seafood), Mrs. O’Leary’s (Irish), Dogfishhead Brewery, Lone Star Steakhouse, Chevy’s, Famous Dave’s (Texas Bar-B-Q), Star Diner, Café Mileto, Wine Harvest, Vasili’s (mediteranian), Redrock Canyon Grill, Guiseppi’s Pizza, Last Mango, Rio Grande, Hamburger Hamlet, Fudruckers (burgers), Phillips Seafood, Tara Thai; Germantown’s Carraba’s, Red Robin, Lonestar Steakhouse, Dolce Vita, Jaspers, Bailey’s Pub (Sports Bar), Ruby Tuesday, Five Guys (burgers), Panera Bread, Coldstone Creamery (ice cream), Outback Steakhouse, and California Tortilla; and Potomac’s Renato, Flaps, Hunters Inn, and Old Angler.  

The Darnestown Civic Association is currently working with a restauranteur who hopes to build a country inn style retaurant/bar at the downtown Darnestown crossroads, as well. It's still too early to say when it might open.  

Best romantic fine restaurants: Old Angler, along the river in Potomac is rated as one of the most romantic fine restaurants in the entire capital area. Also Renato in Potomac.  

Best places to get to know locals: Hunters Inn, and Flaps, in Potomac; Last Mango and Wine Harvest in the Kentlands/Gaithersburg.  

Best place to watch a game: Hard Times Café in Germantown (best food, and coldest beer), Bailey’s Pub in Germantown (new and most upscale), Glory Days Grill in Gaithersburg (games on TV visible from every angle).  

Best Sandwiches: The Woodside Deli in Germantown, or friendly Roys Place in Old Town Gaithersburg.  

Best Burger: Fudruckers in North Potomac has the tastiest burgers, Red Robin in Germantown has a fun atmosphere for kids, and Hamburger Hamlet in Gaithersburg is often voted as Washington area’s best.  

Best Pizza: Potomac Pizza in Potomac and the Kentlands/Gaithersburg for traditional pizza, and Ledo’s in Germantown for original flakey, thin crust  

Best Mexican: Rio Grande’s fajitas are famous in Gaithersburg, and California Tortilla’s burritos are fantastic, in Germantown.  

Best Ice cream: Coldstone Creamery in Germantown, hands-down. Always a line.  

Even with all of this so close, Darnestown residents also love to go out in Bethesda (a restaurant mecca just a skip and a jump further). Washington is so close it doesn’t have to be a special occasion to go downtown either, for some of the finest restaurants in the country, of every type imaginable.
 

Outdoor Recreation

Darnestown Park, near the town center, on Darnestown Road, offers some well-maintained soccer fields, tennis courts, a basketball court, a baseball/softball field, a playground, and a picnic area. Local recreational teams play games in the park, and it is a convenient place to bring the little ones to expend some energy climbing and running around.  

If you are looking for even more recreational facilities, you surely won’t be at a loss. The South Germantown Recreational Park, is the very best park of its kind in Montgomery County, and perhaps the entire state. With indoor and outdoor soccer facilities to rival any, a fabulous playground, a “splash park,” a golf range, miniature golf, volleyball, horseshoe pits, archery range, and much more. Quince Orchard High School also offers quite a few public tennis courts, a track, and basketball courts.  

Favorite public golf courses in close proximity include; Falls Road, in Potomac, Poolesville, in Poolesville, Little Bennett, in Clarksburg, Needwood and Redgate, in Rockville, Whiskey Creek and PB Dye, in Ijamsville, and Worthington Manor, in Urbana. Darnestown locals who want to spend an hour working on their swing like to hit the range at South Germantown Recreational Park, or Falls Road Golf Course.
Exclusive local private clubs include Bretton Woods, Congressional, TPC Avenel, and Four Streams.
 

The C&O Canal, and the Potomac River are great focal points for outdoor activity. Pennyfield Lock, accessed by crossing River Road via Esworthy Road, is a favorite launching point for kayaks and canoes, and an excellent spot for fishing, hiking and birdwatching as well. President Grover Cleveland, during his time in the White House, used to enjoy bass fishing in the area, and stayed at the Pennyfield House (which remains in ruins beside the lock. The canal towpath provides a beautiful, seemingly endless trail for runners, walkers, bikers, horseback riders, and even cross country skiers in the winter. Joggers enjoy the soft shaded trail (easy on the legs), fresh air, and peaceful scenery. Recreational cyclists enjoy riding their bikes down to Georgetown and back - A very pleasant, scenic ride, approximately 20 miles each way, with no hills or challenging obstructions. For more exercise, you can head west instead, which will take you all the way to Cumberland, Western Maryland. (184.5 miles is the full length of the canal and path.) You’ll encounter plenty of deer, fox, squirrels, and chipmunks. You’ll see turtles sunning on logs, great blue herons wadding for fish, kingfishers diving, and so many other types of birds, that you’ll be sure to see something new every time. The many varieties of warblers attract the binocular crowd at certain times of the year.  

Dierssen Wildlife Sanctuary is just a ¼ mile walk west from Pennyfield lock, on the canal towpath. 40 acres of protected marshy wooded land, with two man-made ponds make this a special spot for waterfowl especially. Nature lovers enjoying seeing Wood Ducks, Mallards, Teal, Beavers, Turtles, and other wildlife, as they stroll along the trails.
 

Seneca Landing Park, at Riley’s Lock, can be accessed by locals via Seneca Road. It offers a boat launch to the Potomac, for small power boats and jet skis. This park, a civil war landmark, at the point where Seneca Creek meets the Potomac River, also offers a nice starting point for a hike, a run, or a bike ride. It is also a nice place for a picnic, with benches and grills provided. The old brick lockhouse is maintained by the Canal Association, as well as the ruins of the old red sandstone quarry.  

The old Black Rock Mill site, on Black Rock Road, also offers a nice spot to stop, take in a little history, and enjoy nature, along Seneca Creek. At the start of fishing season, in April, you’ll see anglers lined up on the banks of the creek, working their lines for stocked trout. Another favorite fishing spot on the creek is accessed via Berryville Road.  

If you care to head just a bit further out of Darnestown, to Potomac, popular Great Falls Park, with spectacular views, thrilling kayaking runs that draw skilled efficionados from all over the county, challenging rocking climbing, and more is all right there.  

If you desire a hike with some elevation, Sugarloaf Mountain, in Dickerson Maryland is beautiful. A quick trip up rt. 270, just over the Montgomery County line, into Frederick County, it takes less than ½ hour for a Darnestown resident to reach the trail head. The Northern Peaks Trail runs in a nice 5.5 mile loop with some spectacular views of the Monocacy Valley. It will take about 3 hours and give you a good workout, but won’t be any trouble for the average adult hiker.
 

Darnestown is known as horse country. Many local homeowners keep horses on their estate lands, but there is plenty available publicly for the equestrian enthusiast as well. The Potomac Horse Center offers horse boarding and riding, lessons for adults and children, annual horse shows, and more. The Potomac Polo Club schedules polo matches from May through September (though soggy weather spoiled the season last year).  

Right at the Doorstep of Our Nation's Capital City  

And of course residents are close enough to enjoy all the cultural offering of our nation's capital city: dozens of museums, the ballet and opera, the national symphony orchestra, shows and exhibitions of every type, professional and major college sports teams of all kinds…limitless entertainment options.
 

There's so much to do in Darnestown, Montgomery County, and Washington DC! Let me send you my FREE relocation package about this great area. There's NO obligation, and I promise to respond quickly...