Prettyboy Reservoir — Attraction in Hampstead

A beautiful, yet long hike! Around 6 miles round trip. Pros: If you make it to the end of the trail, you’ll be rewarded with a beautiful view of the reservoir. Trail is mostly shade.

Cons: The storm that hit last month knocked down a ton of large trees on the path. If you can’t climb over things, you won’t get far. The trail is kept up and cleared, to a certain part, then major overgrowth happens. Be prepared to walk through thigh high grasses once you get closer to the end of the trail. The bugs! Bring plenty of Deep Woods Off spray… you’re gonna need it. Not only do you have to walk through high grasses (ugh ticks), but the mosquitoes and gnats are horrible as you near the water. Oh, the spotted lantern flies come out of nowhere and will land on you. You’ve been warned. No restrooms, so you gotta pee in the woods. Trick: bring disposable wet wipes. The entrance to the trail is completely blocked by trees. It was hard to see where the trail started. Parking. There’s only room for about 5 cars on the shoulder.

Other than that, a great hike! Note: if you’ve made it to the white house on your left, you have about 45 minutes left until you hit the end of the trail,...

Really beautiful place to hike, fish, take pictures of wildlife etc. There are countless fire roads and trails to wander and explore. Close to so many conveniences yet a really beautiful spot to enjoy nature. Go check it out! Pack a picnic lunch and plenty of water. There are a bunch of places to pull off the road and park. There are no outhouses or amenities, so plan for that. The water is really pretty and clean. That said, Swimming is NOT allowed here. Make sure you pack out all the trash you bring. If you're able, you should even bring an extra bag to pack out trash you find when you're there. Maybe together we can all chip in and keep these pretty spaces pretty for the future. Get the family outside, prettyboy is a great place to do it. Diverse species of plant life, clear water in which you can observe plants and animals even from shore, birds, etc......

This was a decent hike. The lack of markings and overall directions makes it a bit of a fun challenge. We parked near the end of the park (on far West side- look to Prettyboy trail geotag on google maps) and walked down a blocked off road that led to the Reservoir and the blue trail. It was a pretty hike albeit the plethora of gnats. It is quite hilly and after a rain storm it is super muddy uphill so I wouldn’t recommend wearing sneakers if possible. The peak of the hike was walking through the pines with snow still on the ground. The snow was evaporating and creating an eerie mist along the trail that was f’ing magical.

I’d recommend coming here for a hike as there were almost no other people on the trail. It truly gives you an escape. Only downside is that these areas are used for hunting (found by someone asking us exactly where they...