cunningham falls largest cascading waterfall images

The Mountaineer: Catoctin Mountain Park News: Special 75th-Anniversary Edition. Catoctin Mountain Park Historic Resource Study. Maryland Department of Natural Resources.

^ 'Source Water Assessment for Cunningham Falls State Park' (PDF).

There's a man-made lake and the largest cascading waterfall in the state. Here's why: 1) Scenery: From the drive up to the hike through the forest, the views are beautiful. United States Geological Survey, United States Department of the Interior. A thirty minute drive north of Frederick, Cunningham Falls State Park is the perfect family day trip. Blacksburg, Va.:McDonald & Woodward Publishing. Big Hunting Creek, one of Maryland's premier trout streams, flows through the park.

Recreational activities include hiking, hunting, swimming, boating, fishing, and camping.

There is an abandoned iron mine located in the park in addition to the ruins of the third Catoctin iron furnace, owned and constructed by Jacob Kinkel, in the 1850s-1860s. Īn old homestead can be seen above the falls. Other hiking trails of various difficulty levels weave through the park. A hiking trail and a short walking path both lead to the falls where visitors enjoy picturesque views year round. Known locally as McAfee Falls, after a family of early settlers, 78-foot (24 m) Cunningham Falls was apparently named after a photographer from Pen Mar Park who frequently photographed the falls. Surrounded by the ridges of Catoctin Mountain, Cunningham Falls State Park is home to Maryland’s highest cascading waterfall. Features View from the top of Cunningham Falls The southern 5,000 acres (2,000 ha) were transferred to Maryland as Cunningham Falls State Park. The site's northern portion was transferred to the National Park Service on November 14, 1936, and renamed and reorganized on July 12, 1954, as Catoctin Mountain Park. Beginning in 1935, workers with the Works Progress Administration and the Civilian Conservation Corps began constructing the Catoctin Recreational Demonstration Area to transform the area for recreational use. In the 1930s, after years of clearcutting for the making of charcoal, mountain farming, and timber harvesting, the land was purchased by the Federal government. Over two hundred years of abuse of the forest led to the destruction of the land. The charcoal flats can still be seen in the park. 'Charcoal flats'-square areas measuring approximately 25 by 25 feet (7.6 by 7.6 m), cut flat into the hillsides and linked by mule trails-were used to build charcoal kilns. During the 19th century, settlers began cutting the area's forests for charcoal to power the Catoctin Iron Furnace. The park is one of several protected areas occupying 50-mile-long Catoctin Mountain it is bordered on its north by Catoctin Mountain Park and on its south by Frederick Municipal Forest.īefore the arrival of European settlers, Native Americans used the Catoctin Mountain area for hunting and fishing and also quarried it for rhyolite to make projectile points. The state park is the home of Cunningham Falls, the largest cascading waterfall in Maryland, a 43-acre (17 ha) man-made lake, and the remains of a historic iron furnace. Frederick County, Maryland, United Statesģ9☃7′53″N 77☂8′17″W / 39.63139°N 77.47139°W / 39.63139 -77.47139 Ĭunningham Falls State Park is a public recreation area located west of Thurmont, Maryland, in the United States.

Cunningham falls largest cascading waterfall images