Catoctin Mountain Park — Attraction in Thurmont

We visited in early August 2023. Mainly visited because Scouts BSA was holding a summer camp out at the Round Meadow Campgrounds. The visitor center was great. There is a exhibit room with a number of things to read about and look at. They also offer a junior ranger program here. There is a small bookstore/gift shop which sells a number of fun items. The staff was super pleasant to talk to and the rangers as well. There is a place to get your National Park Cancellation Stamp as well as junior ranger stamp. I didn't have much time to spend in the visitor center but from what I saw it was great and the bathrooms were nice too. The parking lot was a bit small but I think across the road there was additional parking spots. I visited on a Wednesday morning where there was only 2 other cars in the lot with me. Make the first right turn when coming off the main road. When I visited again on the Saturday morning around 11AM the lot directly in front of the visitor center was basically full. It looked like there was a hiking group or club gathering there ready to go. There also were 2 electric car charging station/ports in the parking lot. I think they may be the first time I've noticed that at any national park site. I included the picture, I'm not sure which ports they were as I don't own a electric vehicle.

I did drive through the park itself to get to the camp round meadow and the park was beautiful. Full of trees and multiple small parking lots on the side of the main road for different trails heads I would presume. I would definitely come back for sure and do some hikes. It's not too far out from the DC metro area.

Camp Round Meadow itself was great and the facilities we stayed in were also great. The bunk houses and bathrooms were terrific. Especially from scout BSA summer camp standards.

There were also some traffic concerns as a presidential summit was taking place at Camp David later in the week and certain roads were closed off as a result but we did get ample warning. Something to just keep in mind before deciding to visit. There was a increase presence of security as well. On the plus side we got to see a bunch of interesting plans fly by. Everyone liked watching the Osprey with it adjustable propellers for vertical landing...

The 10-15 min hike uphill was a little rough for people with varying abilities, stop saying it’s easy when you’re only considering yourself and ego. I likely wouldn’t have hiked up if I had know there was an easier path to the small waterfall base after recently injuring my knee, ankle and toes. Once up trail you’re basically there at the waterfall area. It’s not as clean as it should be and it’s unclear why individuals choose to pollute other than selfish habits passed on by selfish parents.

I noticed a deck off of the hikers path and followed it out to where there’s a small parking area for wheelchair accessibility and that’s excellent! It’s a nice wide deck for easy maneuvering and it leads straight to the fall.

If you’re physically abled then I do suggest climbing to the top of the waterfall as that’s where the real view is. Nothing super fancy or crowded, but just some rock climbing fun with steeper areas than others. It does get slippery so be mindful and take your time.

Kids should be kept close during the climb as there are sharp, slippery and steep ridges. If you go off the regular path you’ll find some nice flora including poison ivy and oak so look up what they look like before your hike so you know what to avoid.

And remember, don’t feed wildlife with chemically human food. Bring a small trash bag with you, pick up after yourself and if it’s easy enough to pick up what others left, then just do it.

Do better, be kinder and these lands will...

Where the Baltimore exurbs transition into some of the rugged wild that fills up much of western Maryland. This is great, unspoiled forestland with trails aplenty and opportunities aplenty to go off-trail and follow the running streams you hear down below. These ungroomed areas are not overrun with bramble and underbrush, so you can make it down to the water and hop along the boulders that pop out of the stream in summertime. It's all very peaceful. But it's also all very vast, giving you uneasy, Blair Witch Trial-type creepy feelings if you happen to be doing this in autumn as the sun is sinking fast. Finding your way back to the main trail requires quite a bit of angling-by-memory, as the footpaths follow ridges pretty high above you. Certainly not recommended on a solo hike. But the park is wonderful for urges to escape civilization, as you will catch very few signs of it once in its confines. I don't know this, but I strongly suspect that Camp David is somewhere among these woods not too...