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Cunningham Falls State Park
Categories: Hotels & Travel Campgrounds Active Life Parks Campgrounds, Parks [Edit]
14039 Catoctin Hollow RdThurmont, MD 21788
(301) 271-7574
- Good for Kids:
- Yes
10 reviews for Cunningham Falls State Park
10 reviews in English
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Review from Dee B.
11/15/2011
I'm a sucker for a decent state or national park. I'd visited CFSP once in the spring many years ago, and it was quite busy then. My most recent visit was on a November Sunday when it was far quieter although there were other people out enjoying the remaining fall colors, the park's peacefulness and the sunny day. The drive itself to get here from the freeway was lovely, and the entire area is picturesque. The hike from the parking lot to the Falls is not too challenging, but other longer and more challenging hikes are available. Combine a visit to CFSP with brunch or lunch in Frederick, and you've got yourself a relaxing day trip from the DC area.
Listed in: Worth the drive
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Review from Mitch S.
Frederick, MD
2/5/2012
I have a love hate relationship with this place. I like the waterfall, but hate you have to park several miles away and pay an entry fee if you do not have handicap tags. It's great if you have them, but sux if you're health is not well enough to make the hike, but is no so critical that you have the tags. The lake and beach is nice too despite being artificial. (Maryland has no natural lakes) Beware of snakes.
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Review from Brandi K.
Frederick, MD
Updated - 5/6/2011 5 photos
This review is for the scrap tire playground at the Manor Area. The lake beach and the falls that I previously wrote about are at the William Houck Area. I have always found Cunningham Falls somewhat tricky to navigate because it consists of 2 different areas that are spread out on either side of Route 15. The William Houck Area is farther north on 15 by Route 77, while the Manor Area is just south of Thurmont across from the Catoctin Wildlife Preserve.
To get to the playground if you are heading north on Route 15, turn left into the Manor Area, make an immediate left after you go through the toll booth, and the playground will be on your left.
The Manor Area has a scrap tire playground that is really cool. My 6 year old loved it, but it is also great for both younger and older kids because of the variety of play equipment. The playground has a wood castle with slides, zip lines, a big vertically-hanging xylophone made out of pipes, huge tires to climb on, a dragon made of tires, a big net made of conjoined tires, tire swings, balance beams, and many other unusual features. Picnic tables adjacent to the playground give parents a place to relax in close range. Grills are also abundant.
If you continue down the road from the playground to the visitor center, there is a really interesting aviary with owls, falcons, turkey vultures, and other birds. There used to be an eagle, but he was released back into the wild when he was healed (I believe his wing was injured). A very friendly park ranger came out and talked to us about the birds when we visited. There are also turtles in the visitor center and in a pond out front.
While my favorite part of Cunningham Falls is definitely the William Houck Area for its scenic beauty, swimming, and hiking, don't miss the Manor Area if you have kids aged 12 and under.1 Previous Review: Show all »
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8/8/2010
Cunningham Falls State Park has great hiking trails...lots of steep climbs through the mountains.… Read more »
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Review from Jenny T.
6/16/2011
* Nice little waterfall at the end of a wooden boardwalk/ramp
* When I went, definitely parked at Catoctin and just walked over to a short trail at Cunningham, otherwise check their website for park fees
** Best part of Cunningham Falls is....there are TONS of Catoctin trails just across the way
Useful Links:
http://dc.about.com/od... -
Review from Mark S.
Columbia, MD
5/27/2008 1 photo
I hate camping. There. I said it. My idea of "roughing it" is not being on the concierge level of the Marriott. The idea of pitching and then sleeping in a tent is of great distaste to me. The concept of being out away from civilization is distressing to me.
The thought of no internet is terrifying!
But, camping we went this past weekend. We have a neighbor that gets a big group together once a year, so we got stuck going along. See, the wife and kids actually LIKE camping, so I decided once a year wouldn't kill me. Too painfully.
So as campgrounds go, Cunningham Falls State Park (hereafter CFPS) doesn't suck as bad as it could. Granted, I had no cell reception at ALL (that's an AT&T thing, VZW folks were fine) and my Sprint aircard wouldn't work (forgot to install software before I left...) but the campgrounds themselves were quite nice.
There are 4 loops that have 25-30 campsites each on them. Somewhere centric to these sites is a bath house with toilets, sinks and by God, hot showers! The bathrooms are surprisingly clean all the time, they really take good care of them. Each campsite has a gravel pad to park on, a finely crushed gravel site to pitch one's tent on (or park one's camper/pop-up/RV) and a fire-ring/grill. There's also a sturdy picnic table, which we dragged all of ours to one extra site we rented to set up a mess tent for our group. They don't care, as long as you put them back.
The area is pretty nice. They have some BS restriction in place about bringing in your own firewood, although you can buy mill scraps at the camp store to burn or gather your own. (Easy this time of year, impossible later in the season. It's all been burned!) The wood we purchased must have been outside, as it was all damp and took all my years of scouting experience to coax into flame.
There's a ton of hiking trails and a lake with a beach that your camping permit gets you into for free.
My one beef about this place is that they do not enforce the 11PM shut -the-hell-up rule. We had some ghetto couple booming their music until 12:30, when one of the other dads and I practically threatened to beat them to death if they woke our kids up. (OK, we actually threatened to call the Ranger, but we WOULD have beaten them to death. Maybe. Probably not, but it felt good to write!)
For the most part we had a good enough time, although I had never appreciated being home in my own bed like I did last night! -
Review from Ryan S.
Arlington, VA
7/21/2008
Why does it deserve four stars? Nicer bathrooms and showers than most campsites, hot water, a camp host who welcomes you and keeps you informed of what's going on in the part, etc. Most importantly, mosquitos were not much of a problem.
The falls themselves weren't terribly impressive to me, but we visited the park after several days of no rain in the peak of summer. I suspect early spring or after a rain, they are likely much more impressive.
Although the lake had multiple large swimming areas, they were pretty full. We opted for a canoe rental instead. It was so pleasant out on the lake.
There weren't really any negatives that come to mind. I'm not a fan of gravel camp sites, and would have preferred a grassy site to pitch our tent, but it was only a minor annoyance.
I'm sure I'll be back (its only about an hour's drive north of DC). -
Review from Nicole M.
Washington, DC
1/17/2011 1 Check-in Here
I loved it here. Went hiking (in the snow) a couple days ago. We did a very short hike, but did see some (frozen) falls. They were still beautiful...the outside was frozen, but we could see water trickling behind where the water had frozen. Being from California, I was totally unprepared. I wore running shoes. My feet were definitely wet at the end, but I still had a good time! I'm hoping to go back in the Spring...I bet it's beautiful then. It was pretty cool to see the lake frozen, too. I know, I know, California girl marveling at the cold. Bring hiking boots :-)
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Review from Bill C.
Mount Airy, MD
1/5/2011 2 Check-ins Here
I hate camping and tents. I can get a cabin here, charge my ipod and use my laptop. Is this camping? For me it is. Look - others can tell you how great it is for the camper. They are right - I'm telling you it ain't that bad for the non-camper either. If I've gotta go - I'm going here.
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Review from Alisa O.
Rockville, MD
1/24/2011
Just north of Frederick, Cunningham Falls was a mini-adventure that my husband, dog, and I visited in the fall. It was beautiful, the trails were well-maintained, and the restrooms were adequate. The kids loved climbing on the rocks to reach the falls, whereas the adults felt considerably more cautious. I did climb the rocks to the falls and was glad that I was wearing my hiking boots, although hiking boots were not the norm. Got some great pictures of the falls and had a fun picnic over by the beach.
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Review from justin p.
Walnut Creek, CA
10/14/2008
i miss the days when you could park a lot closer; now you have to go inside the park and pay :( but it's still worth it - the falls aren't huge, but it's really pretty and fun to climb on the rocks. and check out some of the other nearby trails as well.
