It runs from Bouic Avenue next to the Twinbrook Metro Station in the city of Rockville to Battery Lane Park in Bethesda.

[1][2] The trail runs primarily on the abandoned right-of-way of the streetcar line that connected Bethesda to Rockville, but also partially on roads, sidewalks, and side paths.

Building a trail on the unused part of the right-of-way was first suggested in Montgomery County's 1978 Countywide Bikeways Master Plan.

[12][13] Bridges over I-495 and I-270 opened in 2002 and 2003 respectively, adding to narrow, discontinuous sections that existed before 2002 between Nicholson Lane and Beech Avenue.

Around the same time, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) built a trail along the south edge of their facility, which connected Rugby Avenue to the sidewalk along Old Georgetown Road.