Catoctin Ridge, Dolly Sods & Allegheny Plateau

Cunningham Falls is Maryland's largest cascading waterfall — a 78-foot sequence of plunge pools and slide cascades down a lichen-covered schist face on the eastern flank of Catoctin Mountain. The 0.7-mile Lower Trail from the William Houck Area parking lot is accessible to all abilities; the 1.8-mile Blue Blazes Trail from the Manor Area approaches through old-growth hemlock forest and adds 400 feet of gain. The pool below the main falls is a designated swimming area open in summer.

The 3.2-mile Cat Rock and Bob's Hill loop from the Owens Creek trailhead is Catoctin Mountain Park's most rewarding circuit, gaining 700 feet through recovering second-growth forest on land that was clear-cut for charcoal production through the 19th century. The NPS acquired the ridge in 1935 as a recreational demonstration area, and the Civilian Conservation Corps built the trail system. Cat Rock's south-facing quartzite ledge delivers a vista down the Catoctin Valley and is the finest viewpoint in western Maryland.

A Thurmont landmark since 1929, the Cozy Country Inn has been serving American comfort food to the area's hunting, fishing, and hiking community for nearly a century. The Maryland fried chicken and the corn pudding have been on the menu for decades; the dining room's unpretentious, well-worn character is a genuine reflection of Thurmont's identity as a working rural town that also happens to sit at the foot of Camp David's mountain.

Dolly Sods is an 11,000-acre high-altitude plateau on the Allegheny Front at 4,000–4,700 feet — the highest tableland east of the Mississippi that supports open heath barrens. The landscape is ecologically anomalous: windswept heath meadows, stunted spruce bogs, and flag-form red spruce bent permanently westward by prevailing winds give it a Canadian boreal character found nowhere else at this latitude. The 6-mile Raven Ridge loop crosses the plateau's exposed heathland, passing through sphagnum bogs, blueberry plains, and rocky outcrops with sweeping views of the Allegheny Front escarpment. Rocky soil and frequent thunderstorms; bring layers even in summer.

The Blackbird Knob Trail (3.5 miles round-trip from Red Creek Trailhead) descends into the Red Creek valley and follows the stream through alder thickets and beaver meadows — a complete contrast to the wind-scoured plateau above. The creek crossing at the bottom is knee-deep and unavoidable; it is part of the experience. The combination of plateau and creek-bottom hiking captures the full ecological range of Dolly Sods in a single day.

Seneca Rocks is a 900-foot quartzite fin rising from the North Fork of the South Branch Potomac — the most dramatic rock formation in the mid-Atlantic. The 1.3-mile trail to the summit notch gains 900 feet through switchbacks to an observation deck with views down the Seneca Creek Valley. The rocks were used as a military climbing training site in World War II; the NPS visitor center has exhibits on the geology and climbing history. A natural late-afternoon stop on the return drive from Dolly Sods.

A West Virginia institution at the base of Seneca Rocks serving home-style cooking to hikers, climbers, and the local outdoor community — open for lunch and dinner, with generous portions of traditional Appalachian cooking. One of the few reliable dinner options in the Seneca Rocks corridor, and the right note after a full day on Dolly Sods.

A quiet gem on the Catoctin foothills above Frederick offering the 3.6-mile Yellow Trail loop over quartzite ridges with panoramic views across the Monocacy Valley — a rewarding final hike before heading home.

A beloved Frederick institution for Tex-Mex since 1985, Cacique serves generous enchiladas, fajitas, and frozen margaritas in a relaxed setting on Everedy Square — a crowd-pleasing lunch stop before the drive home.

Frederick was founded in 1745 and served as a strategic crossroads during the Civil War — Lee's Army of Northern Virginia passed through twice, and the wounded from Antietam filled every public building in the fall of 1862. The 50-block historic district has concentrated the best antique dealers in Maryland, along with a growing cluster of galleries, independent restaurants, and coffee shops that have made it a weekend destination in its own right.