Rocky Gap State Park

August 2008

Rocky Gap State Park is nestled in the rolling hills of western Maryland a short distance from Cumberland. About 3 hours from Annapolis it provides a welcome rural retreat from the mess of city life in the heat of summer. There is a large lake, hiking, biking, and walking trails, some wildlife (we saw ducks and deer), canoeing, kayaking, fishing, and plenty of just plain relaxing. The beach store has a nice selection of ice cream goodies for that hot evening treat.

The western terminus of the C&O Canal is in Cumberland with a number of locks in the area. We spent some time walking along the canal and we walked through the Paw Paw tunnel - about 1.25 miles long and it does get dark about half way through.

Both in the park and along the canal we found a number of wildflowers.

One of the big attractions in the area is the Western Maryland Railroad which runs from Cumberland to Frostburg. On weekends it uses a steam engine and on weekdays it uses a diesel. Upon arrival in Frostburg the engine is uncoupled from the passenger cars and the engine drive onto a turntable to turn around for the trip back to Cumberland.

In Cumberland be sure and stop at Curtis's for some of their weiners.

This was a short trip so very few photos.

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