Submit your own Adventure of the Week or picture playing in the snow here and keep an eye out for your adventure to be featured in one of our next Weekly Outdoor Adventure Guides!
Weather (Click Here)
Before you hit the trails or set up camp, make sure to take a second glance at the weather for this weekend!
Today's Moon Phase according to NASA (Click Here)
Third Quarter: "As it reaches the three-quarter point in its month, the Moon once again shows us one side of its disc illuminated and the other side in darkness. However, the side that we saw dark at the first quarter phase is now the lit side."
Hiking (Click Here)
Washington Monument State Park, Middletown, Washington County
Located atop South Mountain, Washington Monument State Park is named for the first completed monument dedicated to the memory of George Washington. The Washington Monument is a rugged stone tower that was initially erected by the citizens of Boonsboro in 1827. The monument makes it an ideal site for spotting migratory birds such as hawks, eagles and falcons, especially in mid-September. The main office for South Mountain State Battlefield is located in Washington Monument State Park. Stop by the park office or museum to learn more about the first major Civil War battle fought in Maryland. The main parking area, picnic pavilion and museum are accessible to the mobility impaired. The comfort station, however, is not.
Most of the Washington Monument’s hiking trail is part of the Appalachian National Scenic Trail. Visitors are welcome to hike the Appalachian Trail from Maine to Georgia or for just a few miles. Those planning an overnight backpack outing can park at Washington Monument State Park for a few days. The Appalachian Trail is a footpath only. Mountain bikers can use the trails at Greenbrier State Park.
Hunting (Click Here)
Be sure to consult your Maryland Guide to Hunting and Trapping for season dates and bag limits.
Rocky Gap State Park, Flintstone, Allegany County
Rocky Gap State Park is located in Western Maryland’s Allegany County. The park encompasses over 3,000 acres of public land for visitors to enjoy. Rugged mountains surround the park. The 243-acre Lake Habeeb is known for having the "bluest water in the state." The lake is fed by Rocky Gap Run, which winds its way through an impressive mile-long gorge, displaying sheer cliffs, overlooks and a hemlock forest dense with rhododendron and mountain laurel. Overlooking the lake is Evitts Mountain, named for one of the first European settlers in Allegany County.
Rocky Gap is one of Maryland's many state parks that allow hunting activities for the public. At Rocky Gap there are 1,451 acres of designated for hunting. This area can be accessed by walking from the parking area at the Touch of Nature Trailhead or by walking in from the campground or campground office parking lot.
A separate 300-acre tract of land between Pleasant Valley Road and I-68 offers bow only hunting. Parking is available at the amphitheatre on Pleasant Valley Road.
History of our State Parks (Click Here)
Seneca State Park, Gaithersburg, Montgomery County
The park, comprised of 6,300 acres, extends along 14 scenic miles of Seneca Creek, as it winds its way to the Potomac River. The Clopper Day-Use Area contains many scenic areas, including the 90-acre Clopper Lake, surrounded by forests and fields. Picnicking, boat rentals, trails and a tire playground are just some of its recreational opportunities. A restored 19th century cabin and a self-guided path interpret the history of the area. Over 50 miles of trails are open for hiking, horseback riding and bicycling which wind through a variety of habitat.
Woodlands Estate
Located at the Park Office and Historic Area at 11950 Clopper Road, a self-guided interpretive path reveals the history of the Clopper Family and their estate home “Woodlands.” Francis Cassatt Clopper (a distant relative of the painter Mary Cassatt) was a prosperous merchant who moved to Montgomery County in 1812 and established a huge plantation farm off Clopper Road. Explore the archeological remains of the now-vanished plantation house and its outbuildings, and learn about daily life on a farm across four generations, from before the Civil War up to the middle 1950s.
Grusendorf Log House
Also located near the Park Office is Grusendorf Log House, the oldest surviving building from the original Germantown, Maryland. Built by a German-American carpenter named Jakob Snyder in 1855, this one-room log cabin once stood near what is now the corner of Clopper Road and Great Seneca Highway. When the land on which the cabin stood was redeveloped in the 1980s, the historic home was relocated to Seneca Creek State Park. Park volunteers present interpretive programs and offer interior tours periodically on weekends from spring through fall. Check the monthly program calendar for open house dates and times.
Schwartz Peony Garden
The Schwartz Peony Garden is a living reminder of one of the great commercial horticulture operations in Montgomery County. Now located in Seneca Creek State Park’s Day Use area, the garden was originally planted at Summit Avenue in downtown Gaithersburg.
Between 1915 and 1924 a prosperous real estate broker and flower fancier, Mr. Edwin P. Schwartz, collected heirloom peonies from dealers in Holland, France, England and Germany as well as the United States. Mr Schwartz’s mansion home, which once overlooked the garden, is now Gaithersburg City Hall. By the 1920s the family had become prominent peony root stock dealers, publishing a catalog offering hundreds of different varieties for order by mail. In the 1940s the family moved their commercial garden operations to five acres in what is now Seneca Creek State Park.
Thousands of individual peony plants in scores of varieties still bloom in the park every May and June. Visit the display garden and walk the open fields to enjoy the spectacular flowers in all their colors and varieties.
Black Rock Mill
Black Rock Mill sits along Great Seneca Creek adjacent to Black Rock Road. Inside the walls of the now roofless old building are displays which tell the history of this 1815 grain-grinding mill. Featuring reinstalled gears and machinery, the displays give a cut-away view of the milling operation. Startling high water marks on the inside of the walls show the magnitude of the floods which have ravaged the Great Seneca valley from time to time over the last century.
Seneca Historic District
Closer to the confluence of Great Seneca Creek and the Potomac River are the Seneca Schoolhouse and Seneca Historic District, including the ruins of the Seneca Stone Mill and Quarries. Located at the end of Tschiffely Mill Road, the quarry is renowned for providing the signature red sandstone used to build the Smithsonian Castle. The nearby one-room schoolhouse, located at 16800 River Road, once served children of quarry workers and other members of the local community. Historic Medley District, Inc. now presents interpretive programs at the restored schoolhouse. Also nearby are Riley’s Lockhouse and Seneca Aqueduct of the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal, both preserved by the National Park Service as part of the C&O Canal National Historic Park.
Waring Viaduct
The park’s Seneca Greenway foot trail offers excellent views of the 110-year-old Waring Viaduct, a three-arch stone railroad bridge that soars high above Great Seneca Creek. Built by the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad to replace an older steel bridge on the same site, this majestic bridge still carries trains high above the Greenway and the valley of Great Seneca Creek. Access the viaduct by walking on the Seneca Greenway north from the Park Office at 11950 Clopper Road (1 mile) or south from the MD Route 355 trailhead parking lot (2 miles). Please note: Waring Viaduct itself is private property and is in active railroad use--never walk or trespass on railroad tracks.
Animal Cams (Click Here)
This week tune in to watch the Tembe Elephant Park in Emangusi, South Africa.
Beach Cam
In the winter months we all long for the beach. Take a look at whats going on at your favorite East Coast beaches right now.
