Swallow Falls, Maryland

Swallow Falls

Muddy Creek Falls

Old growth hemlocks and white pines

While returning from West Virginia three weeks ago, I decided to stop by Swallow Falls State Park in the far western portion of the state of Maryland. It had been probably thirty years since I last visited this park. I was a kid back then, but the memories were still fairly fresh and the park looked just as I remembered. The one thing I didn't remember though was the fantastic old growth hemlock and white pine forest that is one of the park's highlights.

I arrived later in the afternoon and was happy that there were campsites available. After setting up camp I took a hike around the forest and visited the falls. The forest was fantastic, reminded me of a miniature redwood forest. It was busy though, as people were walking to and returning from the falls/ swimming areas. There also was a lot of tree damage, which I found out was a result of Hurricane Sandy back in 2012. The park received over two feet of wet snow back then and many of the trees simply snapped in half or lost their tops due to the winds and heavy snow. Regardless, it was a real treat to see such old, mature hemlock trees, a site that will become rarer and rarer in coming years as the wooly algedid parasite continues to kill off the remaining hemlock forests.

After exploring a few parts of the park, I called it a day and had a fairly good restful sleep in my tent. The next morning, I decided to wake up early and see if I could experience the forest with less crowds. This is something I would recommend to other visitors. I woke up around sunrise and had a nice peaceful hike through the forest and didn't see anybody, and was able to soak in the falls and trees a little better...