The Catoctin National Recreation Trail is a 26.6 mi (42.4 km)

hiking trail A hike is a long, vigorous walk, usually on trails or footpaths in the countryside. Walking for pleasure developed in Europe during the eighteenth century. Long hikes as part of a religious pilgrimage have existed for a much longer time. " ...

that traverses federal, state, and municipal woodlands along the northern half of

Catoctin Mountain Catoctin Mountain, along with the geologically associated Bull Run Mountains, forms the easternmost mountain ridge of the Blue Ridge Mountains, which are in turn a part of the Appalachian Mountains range. The ridge runs northeast–southwest for ...

in Frederick County in central

Maryland Maryland ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It borders the states of Virginia to its south, West Virginia to its west, Pennsylvania to its north, and Delaware to its east ...

, USA. The hilly terrain is typical of western Maryland with large sections canopied under dense forest cover.

History

Original portions of the trail were constructed in the 1930s by the

Works Progress Administration The Works Progress Administration (WPA; from 1935 to 1939, then known as the Work Projects Administration from 1939 to 1943) was an American New Deal agency that employed millions of jobseekers (mostly men who were not formally educated) to car ...

and the

Civilian Conservation Corps The Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) was a voluntary government unemployment, work relief program that ran from 1933 to 1942 in the United States for unemployed, unmarried men ages 18–25 and eventually expanded to ages 17–28. The CCC was ...

. The trail was later upgraded and completed by the Potomac Appalachian Trail Club between 1979 and 1982. In 2011, the trail was designated a

National Recreation Trail The National Trails System is a series of trails in the United States designated "to promote the preservation of, public access to, travel within, and enjoyment and appreciation of the open-air, outdoor areas and historic resources of the Nati ...

Route

The trail's southern terminus begins in Gambrill State Park (GMP). The trail continues north through GMP for approximately and then leaves the park and enters the Frederick Municipal Forest (Frederick City Watershed). The trail travels north for through the Forest, staying mostly to the east of the ridge crest on the bench of the mountain. As the trail enters

Cunningham Falls State Park Cunningham Falls State Park is a public recreation area located west of Thurmont, Maryland, Thurmont, Maryland, in the United States. The state park is the home of Cunningham Falls, the largest cascading waterfall in Maryland, a man-made lake, ...

(CFSP) it descends northeasterly off the bench and into Catoctin Hollow reaching its lowest elevation of as it crosses Catoctin Hollow Road. After crossing the road the trail turns northwesterly and then climbs to its highest elevation of , atop Bob's Hill. After traveling through CFSP the trail enters

Catoctin Mountain Park Catoctin Mountain Park is a park located in part of the Monocacy Valley and Catoctin Mountain ridge−range that forms the northeastern rampart of the Blue Ridge Mountains, in the Appalachian Mountains System. The park is approximately 5120 a ...

(CMP), a unit of the federal

National Park Service The National Park Service (NPS) is an List of federal agencies in the United States, agency of the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government, within the US Department of the Interior. The service manages all List ...

. The trail traverses through the Park to its northern terminus at Mt. Zion Road, north of Owens Creek Campground in CMP. From there, the

Appalachian Trail The Appalachian Trail, also called the A.T., is a hiking trail in the Eastern United States, extending almost between Springer Mountain in Georgia and Mount Katahdin in Maine, and passing through 14 states.Gailey, Chris (2006)"Appalachian Tra ...

may be reached by traveling west on Mt. Zion Road to Raven Rock Road for .

Restrictions

*Camping is permitted along the Catoctin Trail only at Rock Run Campground, Gambrill State Park; the Manor and Houck Campgrounds, Cunningham Falls State Park; and Owens Creek Campground, CMP.

References

{{MarylandTrails Hiking trails in Maryland Protected areas of Frederick County, Maryland Blue Ridge Mountains National Recreation Trails in Maryland