The City of Gaithersburg is in the process of completing a 9.54-acre park at 10901 Darnestown Rd. with parking, community gardens, a bicycle skills course (pump track), open space, pavilions, a playground, fitness pods, and a welcome plaza. After another delay, the City of Gaithersburg has announced that park construction is at the final phase of the construction.
The following activities are in progress; construction of the vehicular entrance road (from Darnestown Road) and the asphalt paving of the parking lot. The following park elements are constructed; Playground, Fitness Zone, Community Garden, Bike Skills Course, Walking Trails, Stormwater Structures, Visitors Plaza, Landscape elements, Utility installations, Park lighting, Pavilions, and partial construction of Parking lot.
Originally scheduled to be completed February 2023, there have been some delays. In October 2023, we spoke with City of Gaithersburg project engineer Sunil Prithviraj, who told us that substantial completion is tentatively expected by the third week of November. Currently, crews are preparing to lay asphalt at the entrance of the park and after some finishing touches, the park could be ready to open for the public in December. Things were delayed, likely due to weather, but have progressed and the park is now nearly complete. An exact opening date is not yet available, but it appears to be this spring.
Pleasant View Park is named after the nearby Pleasant View community, one of the first free black communities established after the Civil War. The park’s name honors the historic significance of that community and also reflects the beauty of the natural surroundings. The land was acquired through the Federal Land to Parks Program of the United States Department of the Interior National Park Service. From 1955 to 1975, this location served as a fire control radar site for the U.S. Army NIKE missile system. After 1975, the site was used by the Consumer Product Safety Commission as the National Laboratory Campus for testing consumer products.
A new parking lot will be located the park’s west boundary. Vehicular access to the park will be through the drive that extends from Darnestown Road. Pedestrians will be able to access the site from Darnestown Road via a path that will be located parallel to the access drive into the park. Pedestrians will also be able to access the park from Marsh Lane. A Ride-On bus stop is located on Darnestown Road at the park entrance.