The www.finishthetrail.com blog is a companion to this website, and discusses ongoing Purple Line/CCT issues in Silver Spring.
The Sligo Creek, Northwest Branch, and Northeast Branch stream valleys are all connected by an extensive recreational trail system. The Sligo Creek Trail provides easy access to this system from the Silver Spring area. BikeWashington.org has excellent maps of all of these trails at its Anacostia Tributary Trails webpage. This website also has excellent maps of the Rock Creek Trail, and many other trails and bike routes in the Washington Area.