Camping at Deep Creek

I have been eager to visit western Maryland, where they have meaningful snow and more dramatic scenery. Finally, we got a chance to go camping at Deep Creek Lake State Park. 

We did not do a lot of rugged hiking during our long weekend. Instead, we visited the Alpine Coaster at Wisp (checking off a bucket list item for me), drove around the lake, and hiked Swallow Falls State Park. We didn't even make it to the fire tower, which was .3 miles from the campsite - although the trail is longer than that.

Swallow Falls State Park was a really nice hike, perhaps my favorite in Maryland so far. It is only a mile, and while it has a lot of rocks and roots, you will want to go slowly anyway. It is also heavily traveled, hardly a backcountry wilderness excursion. But it has four different waterfalls, as well as plenty of cliffy overhangs, and follows scenic creeks and rivers. I would certainly do it again.

I am ready to go back again anyway and see some of the things we didn't have time for on this trip.

Around the lake, almost

We live near a lake, so I've been plotting for some time how to hike around it. My conclusion was that a full circumnavigation wasn't really possible, but that you can get most of the way around.*

Thus I set out one day in August to walk around Little Seneca Lake. I walked counterclockwise, as it made a more sensible path from my starting point, but it could be done either way. 

The hike is a mix of paved trails, dirt trails, and a bit of roadwalking. Some parts are fully in the woods, especially along the western side; others are past houses. The only bit of roadwalking that requires real caution is along Maryland 121; parts of it have almost no shoulder.

At Boyd's there is a market (with a port-a-potty) that marked the end of the walkable portion. From there I called a ride to take me to Long Channel Circle, a residential street about a mile away. After walking past condos, I reentered the park and continue the very few miles back to my starting point. 

Most of the trail is not in view of the lake, but there are many fine lake views along the way. The elevation gain is a little under 100 feet per mile - not flat, but very modest hills.

*About 1 mile at the southeastern end of the lake is off-limits due to the dam. The shortest roadwalk is just over 5 miles, but it uses a busy road with no shoulder where cars regularly exceed 45 mph. And I mean no shoulder. A safer route is over 7 miles, and it takes you a long way from the lake. A more intriguing idea would be to canoe or kayak it.