Due to the pandemic, 2020 saw many new outdoorsmen take their first hike, or catch their first fish, or just get outside more. Here are my top 10 adventures and locations I visited in Maryland this past year:
10. Catoctin Creek Park
This small park in Frederick County offers access to Catoctin Creek, a trout fishery, as well as trails through replanted forests and fields ideal for birdwatching. There is also a nature center, although it is currently closed due to Covid. I visited this park in May to go fly-fishing for my first time. Although I didn’t catch any trout, I found plenty of pottery in the creek, and I’m certain further searching could yield arrowheads and Civil War bullets.
9. Weverton Cliffs
This 1-mile (one-way) hike up South Mountain offers a beautiful view of the Potomac River downstream from Harpers Ferry. It is best accessed by a park-and-ride lot off Rohrersville Road in Washington County. I visited twice in 2020, first when I returned from my adventures in Utah and felt like reconnecting with the region I’ve grown up in. The second was at the beginning of my Appalachian Trail section hike, as it is the first view from the AT when hiking northbound.
Featured in AT Maryland Section Hike Day 1
8. Deep Creek Lake State Park
This popular park in Garrett County recently added more trails to explore Meadow Mountain, as well as connect the park to the larger Savage River State Forest. Deep Creek Lake is the second-most visited tourism destination in the state, so if you’re in western MD on vacation, take some time to hike the Allegheny Plateau. The white-blazed Meadow Mountain Trail will take you through a high-elevation bog, reminiscent of the terrain first encountered by settlers in the early 1700s.
7. Wheaton Regional Park
Located in the suburbs of DC, this small park lacks sweeping views, unique ecosystems, or long trails, but during the start of the pandemic, it was all I had. Connected to our suburban trail network, I ran or biked every day to the park via the Sligo Creek or Northwest Branch Trail, and I found myself just as happy exploring close to home as I do on larger adventures. Due to the park’s location, it is crowded, but quiet corners abound if you’re willing to look for them.
6. Blairs Valley Lake
I kayak-fished this lake located a mile south of the Mason-Dixon Line on a few occasions. Although the fishing can be tough, I enjoy fishing with Whitetail Ski Resort in view, representing an intersection between my passions for fishing and skiing. My fishing moment of 2020 was catching a 36-inch carp from my kayak; he towed my kayak across the lake like it was nothing, and all I could do was hold on to the rod.
5. Annapolis Rock
I hiked past this view, one of the best in Maryland, during the second day of my Appalachian Trail section hike, as well as on a day hike in the spring. On my spring hike, I hiked up and watched an idyllic sunset, then hiked down by the light of the moon and my headlamp. During my AT hike, the sun’s rays were shining through clouds breaking up from a recent thunderstorm.
Featured in AT Maryland Section Hike Day 2
4. Blackwater National Wildlife Refuge
The Heart of the Chesapeake in Dorchester County, I kayak-fished here in the summer and saw many bald eagles. Blackwater is at the center of the effects of climate change on the Eastern Shore, and the ecosystem is quickly changing. It is one of the most productive regions to birdwatch in the state. In my opinion, the crab docks and saltwater marshes of southern Dorchester County perfectly capture the history, culture, and spirit of the Eastern Shore. Harriett Tubman’s birthplace and a state park named in her honor are next door.
3. Savage River Reservoir
Most visitors to Garrett County and Western Maryland travel to Deep Creek Lake, but very few know of the other reservoirs in the county. Located in 55,000 acres of some of the most pristine ecosystems in Maryland, Savage River is a sportsman’s paradise. What it lacks in restaurants and amenities, it exceeds in outdoors opportunities and beauty. Some of the best views and freshwater fishing in the state are located here. I recommend fishing the reservoir from boat or kayak to take in the reservoir’s steep-sided mountainous banks, as well as fish the deep cold waters by the dam for potentially state-record trout.
2. Catoctin Mountain Park
Just an hour from DC and Baltimore, I covered this park extensively in a video on my YouTube channel. Their main 8.5 mile hike is packed with 4 views, a bouldering/rock scrambling playground, and a waterfall. The hike will also take you through different forest ecosystems. The bouldering and rock-scrambling was especially appealing to me after watching "Free Solo" the night before. This is a great winter hike, but parking is limited, so plan accordingly.
Featured in The 5 Peaks of Catoctin Mountain Park
1. High Rock - AT
This view on South Mountain is easily accessible by road, but I reached it after hiking 38 miles on my Appalachian Trail section hike. Just 3 miles from the Mason-Dixon, it marked by adventure’s completion in a fitting way with an expansive view of Hagerstown Valley into Pennsylvania. I still remember the feeling of accomplishment I felt walking out of the woods onto High Rock. If you’d like to hike rather than drive, but don’t want to spend 3 days covering 38 miles, you can park along Raven Rock Road and go north on the AT past Raven Rock Cliffs about 3 miles to High Rock. After an initially steep climb, the terrain is flat, following the ridgeline of South Mountain.
Featured in AT Maryland Section Hike Day 3
Here’s to even more adventures in 2021! What was your favorite adventure/location in Maryland in 2020?
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