Swallow Falls State Park

Swallow Falls State Park is a public recreation area located on the west bank of the Youghiogheny River nine miles (14 km) northwest of Oakland in Garrett County, Maryland, in the United States. The state park features Maryland's highest free-falling waterfall, the 53-foot (16 m) Muddy Creek Falls,[4] as well as smaller waterfalls on the Youghiogheny River and Tolivar Creek.[5] The park is notable for its stand of old hemlock trees,[6] some more than 300 years old, "the last stand of its kind in Maryland."[7]

Swallow Falls State Park
IUCN category III (natural monument or feature)[1]
Muddy Creek Falls
Location in Maryland
LocationGarrett County, Maryland, United States
Nearest townOakland, Maryland
Coordinates39°29′48″N 79°25′31″W[2]
Area257 acres (104 ha)[3]
Elevation2,382 ft (726 m)[2]
DesignationMaryland state park
Established1930s
AdministratorMaryland Department of Natural Resources
WebsiteSwallow Falls State Park
Upper Swallow Falls

History

The park had its beginnings in 1906 with the donation by John and Robert Garrett of Baltimore of 1,917 acres (776 ha) to be used as a state forest. The land now known as Garrett State Forest included the areas that became Swallow Falls and Herrington Manor state parks, both of which were developed in the 1930s by the Civilian Conservation Corps.[8][9] Notable persons who have visited the area include Thomas Edison, Henry Ford, John Burroughs, and Harvey Firestone, who camped at Muddy Creek Falls in the summers of 1918 and 1921.[10][11]

Activities and amenities

The park contains 65 campsites, a picnic area with a pavilion and playground, as well as a mile-long hiking trail through the old growth forest. A 5.5-mile (8.9 km) trail for hiking and mountain biking connects the state park with Herrington Manor State Park.[5]

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References
  1. "Swallow Falls State Park". Protected Planet. IUCN. Retrieved May 1, 2018.
  2. "Swallow Falls State Park". Geographic Names Information System. United States Geological Survey.
  3. "DNR Lands Acreage" (PDF). Maryland Department of Natural Resources. p. 9. Retrieved January 7, 2020.
  4. "Muddy Creek Falls, Garrett County". Maryland Geological Survey. Retrieved November 27, 2013.
  5. "Swallow Falls State Park". Maryland Department of Natural Resources. Retrieved November 10, 2014.
  6. "The State of Chesapeake Forests" (PDF). The Conservation Fund. 2006. Retrieved November 27, 2013. Just west of the Chesapeake Bay watershed, in Maryland’s Swallow Falls State Park, an ancient hemlock forest, moist and sensitive to fire, provides a chance to experience a cool, dark woodland, with deadfalls of centuries-old trees.
  7. "Youghiogheny Grove". Historical Marker Database. Retrieved July 24, 2015.
  8. "The Civilian Conservation Corps, Part II: A Maryland Perspective". Maryland Department of Natural Resources. Retrieved November 6, 2017.
  9. Paula Stoner, Architectural Historian (October 1978). "Swallow Falls–Harrington Manor State Parks" (PDF). Inventory Form for State Historic Sites Survey. Maryland Historical Trust. Retrieved July 24, 2015.
  10. "Campsite". Historical Marker Database. Retrieved July 24, 2015.
  11. Zumbrun, Francis Champ. "The Vagabonds Camp at Muddy Creek Falls". Famous Travelers: Edison, Ford, Firestone. Maryland Department of Natural Resources. Retrieved November 27, 2013. Originally published in the Cumberland Times-News, November 1, 2008.
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