Catoctin Mountain Park

Circumstances have brought me to the state of Maryland, so I will do what I do best and explore the area. The state has, so far, offered many areas to hike that prove to be both challenging and rewarding with views. Catoctin Mountain Park was one of my first areas to explore. It is part of the National Park Service and unlike some other National Parks, Catoctin Mountain Park allows dogs. Perfect!

The park is great and I highly recommend visiting if you are in the area. Whether you are looking for a quick out and back or a longer loop, there are many trails that offer experiences for all. There are also different parking lots for easier access to the vistas you want to see.

Chef and I hiked the outer loop which was a connection of trails (highlighted in pink in the picture to the right). It ended up being around 8 miles. The trail is rocky, like most trails in Maryland, and offers some ascents and descents. We started in the parking lot at the Visitors center. You can find friendly, helpful staff there... as well as bathrooms. Hiking clockwise on the map, the trail starts off up hill. Go figure. The trail comes close to route 77 where you can walk across and follow a short trail about .2 miles to Cunningham Falls. Cunningham Falls State Park borders Catoctin Mountain Park with route 77 being the boundary. This time of year the falls weren't too impressive, but worth a quick peak. Continuing on the loop you come to Hog Rock, then Blue Ridge Summit Overlook, then Thurmont Vista. None of these seemed to strike my fancy, but you may feel otherwise.


My favorite spots during the hike were Wolf Rock and Chimney Rock. Both are large formations that were left after glacier melts and years of erosion. Wolf Rock was an awesome area to do some mini exploring and rock climbing. Be sure to use caution, its easy to fall between or off rocks. There were DANGER signs for both areas. That's how you know its worth checking out!

Chimney Rock was my favorite vista of the whole park. After a while views become just views, but this one made me stop for a minute. There is a very short off shoot trail that takes you to this vista. The first thing you see is a sign warning you of all the dangers (left). Maybe it was the climb out to the edge of the rocks that made the view better than the rest. The air was chilly, the lighting was great, and the world seemed still for a minute. It was a good place to sit and just soak in quiet.

We continued on down the trail and back to the visitors center. The temperature was good and it only sprinkled for a minute while we were hiking. An after-hike snack had to be finished in the car instead of at the picnic table due to the clouds finally deciding to dump their contents, but I was grateful they held off until we were done. It took us about 3 hours to complete our day hike, which includes some short stops and minor goofing off.


Chimney Rock Vista

Overall, I would say Catoctin Mountain Park is a great area. The fact that dogs are allowed always puts parks at the top of my list. There are areas of the park I haven't explored but we'll save that for another day.