Summertime is the perfect time for your kids to have some playtime in a stream or small creek. They’ll get wet and dirty and have a ball.
Address: 14760 Roddy Rd., Thurmont, MD 21788
Hours: 8am-Sunset, year-round
Highlights: Picnicking, fishing, historical covered bridge
The Roddy Road covered bridge, built in 1856, rests just north of Thurmont off of US 15, where Roddy Creek Road meets Roddy Road at Owens Creek. The smallest of the county’s covered bridges, Roddy Road is a single-span Kingpost design bridge measuring 40 feet long.
Address: 13506 Old Frederick Road, Rocky Ridge, MD 21778
Hours: 8am-Sunset
Highlights: Fishing, grills & picnic tables, horseshoe pits, playground, trails
Unpaved nature trails are perfect for leisurely strolls and observing the flora and fauna, unique to each location. Other trails, primarily the paved walks, are a favorite with those members of the community who prefer to exercise in the open air.
Little Pipe Creek/Pipe Creek Water Trail
Address: Double Pipe Creek Park, 1200 Keysville Rd S Keymar MD 21757
Ample parking with steps/slide down steep bank to access water; located approximately 1 mile from the junction with Monocacy River.
Highlights: The Pipe Creek Water Trail is great family-friendly place for beginning paddlers and children. Big Pipe Creek eventually joins with the Little Pipe Creek to form the greater Double Pipe Creek in Detour, approximately 1.5 miles from the Monocacy Scenic River. Little Pipe Creek actually starts west of Westminster but does not gather enough water to support kayaking until it reaches the town of Union Bridge where this section of the water trail begins at Locust Street. The creek twists and turns along the Frederick County line to join Big Pipe Creek at Detour.
Sligo Creek Stream Valley Park
Address: Sligo Creek Parkway cross streets Houston Ave/Kennebec, Takoma Park
Hours:Sunrise to Sunset
Highlights: Brand new playground and sits on a creek where the kids can play.
The Sligo Creek Stream Valley Park runs along Sligo Creek and hosts the Sligo Creek Trail. Many smaller parks and amenities line the creek and are hosted by the Stream Valley Park.
Address: 3042 Patuxent River Road, Davidsonville, MD 21035
Hours: Open daily, Sunrise to Sunset
Highlights: Playground, Picnicking, Paved Trails, Restrooms (open seasonally)
Water access is approximately 400-yards along a paved path that leads to a steep slope right before the put-in area. The site becomes wooded once you get down to the put-in site.
Cascade Falls in Patapsco Valley State Park
Address: 8020 Baltimore National Pike, Ellicott City, MD 21043
Hours: 9 a.m. to Sunset
Highlights: A short hike from the parking lot at the Orange Grove area takes you up the Cascade Trail to the first in a series of waterfalls. The trail continues for 2.1 miles along a trickling stream that will lead you to the following falls. The slightly hilly terrain is easy for little ones, and kids will love scrambling over the rocks to wade in the pools below. The three different waterfalls offer a shallow splashing area for kids to gather rocks and get close to the falls. After your hike back, cool off with a refreshing swim in the Patapsco River, which runs just beside the parking lot.
Catoctin Creek Park and Nature Center
Address: 2929 Sumantown Road, Middletown, MD 21769
Nature Center Hours: Mon-Wed: Closed; Thurs-Sat: 10 am-5 pm; Sun: 12-5 pm
Park Hours: April-October, 8 am-Sunset; November-March, 8 am-5 pm
Highlights: 138 acres of parkland, educational facility, hands-on displays, live animal displays, a playground, pavilion, and trails.
Catoctin Creek Nature Center has many green features that decrease the amount of energy needed to operate the building.
Address: 21843 National Pike, Boonsboro MD 21713
Hours: 8 am -Sunset
Highlights: Camping, picnicking, swimming, fishing, boating, and trails
Located in the Appalachian Mountains, Greenbrier State Park is a multi-use park providing many kinds of recreation. There is a 42-acre man-made freshwater lake and white sandy beach, a visitor center and gift shop.
Gunpowder Falls State Park
Address: 2813 Jerusalem Road, Kingsville, MD 21087
Hours:8 a.m. to 4 p.m., Monday through Friday (closed weekends and state holidays)
Highlights: 120 miles of trails, protected wildlands, fishing, kayaking, swimming beach, and historic sites.
Established in 1959 to protect the Gunpowder River and the Big and Little Gunpowder Falls, Gunpowder Falls State Park is now one of Maryland’s largest state parks.
Cunningham Falls State Park
Address: 14039 Catoctin Hollow Road, Thurmont, MD 21788
Hours: 8 a.m. to Sunset, April-October; 10 a.m. to Sunset, November-March
Highlights: Swimming, falls, hiking, fishing, and canoeing.
Cunningham Falls State Park is located in the picturesque Catoctin Mountains. It is divided into two separate areas: The William Houck Area, located three miles west of Thurmont on Route 77 and the Manor Area off Route 15, three miles south of Thurmont.
Address: 23701 Frederick Road, Clarksburg, MD 20871
Hours: Sunrise to sunset, year round.
Highlights: 3,700 acres, campground, playground, trails, wetland area on the Western Piedmont Trail and an 18-hole golf course.
If you have any other suggestions on great Creek Hikes and want me to add them to this list, please email me at [email protected]. Thanks!
