Cunningham Falls State Park

My husband and I spent a hot and sunny Fri-​Sun in June at Cunningham Falls, a 1.5 hour drive from DC, to go off the grid for a couple of days and relax. We camped at the William Houck Campground, specifically site 94 at the Deer Spring Branch Loop, a good spot for those who like to be relatively close to the bathrooms (but not right next to it) and the water pump. Every campsite was full (we booked online about three weeks earlier, and most of the sites were filled) and mostly occupied by families with children (and there seemed to be no limit to how many people could occupy one campsite), so if you’re looking for more solitude, you should camp elsewhere. The park offers access to some interesting, short (3 miles or less) hikes. Cat Rock Trail is particularly strenuous for newbies, but worthwhile after climbing the rock pile (watch out for snakes) and checking out the view from the top. The hike to Cunningham Falls is less than a mile and very easy.
But the best part of the park is the lake beach; it’s obviously very popular on a hot Saturday, but we managed to find space in the early afternoon, the water was nice and cold, and there’s a concession stand (open 11a-​5p, but may only be open on Saturdays and Sundays; it was closed on Friday) offering all the classics: burgers, hot dogs, sodas, ice cream. A camp store provides everything you may have forgotten, from half-​gallons of milk to marshmallows to camp blankets. Catoctin Mountain Park, a national park, is a 10-​min drive away for even more hiking (and a much better Visitor’s Center). Overall, a great place for a family camping trip. (Tip: Buy firewood from the main camp office where you check-​in, not the camp store, if you prefer your firewood to burn faster. Cost is $ 15 for three bundles, but you’re likely to use more over the course of three days if you’re cooking at every meal or enjoy cozying up to a late-​night fire.)

Great quiet place to rock climb to the falls, swimming, boating. Lots to do there. Beautiful quiet area. Trails, swimming, boating, hiking.

Great place to hike. It’s clean, and a great place to be with nature. I have no complaints. My only suggestion is that they should add more bathrooms and have trash cans

I love this park we went here for the weekend. The boys were so excited we camped out in the tents and it was only $ 20 a day. We also went to the beach and went canoeing it was $ 15 per canoe for 30 minutes. The canoe fits 3 people. There was a concession stand there so I was excited the French fries were homemade. I also got a coffee but they ran out of sugar. The girls behind the counter quickly found me a few equal packets and I was happy again. The next day we went on a hike and than checked out the waterfalls. Everyone was climbing all over the rocks and waterfalls even though the sign said not to. It’s was really fun slot of families were out a d the kids had a blast. They love to sleep in the tent. I prefer a cabin but the kids love it so much we will save the cabin for winter time. We all know I’m not getting in a tent in the winter lol.

Great camp sites and clean facilities. Camp grounds are level and have a picnic table with a fire ring. Definitely want to go back with my wife/​kids and stay longer and take in some of the hikes.

Beautiful park… Many families at this park. I went with a close friend and felt that we shouldve brought our family lol. Anyhow the rentals is kinda pricey $ 15 for only 30 min. This park has plenty of grills and restrooms. Oh and the beach area was nice as well. Had a good time overall!

What a lovely state park! We came here for 3 days and camped in the William Houck area.
Camp check-​in was easy and quickly accomplished. It had been raining, so I packed a grill to put into the fire ring. Good thing, it was pretty damp the entire time we stayed, so we did all our cooking on that grill. The camp sites are in rings and in the center of each ring is a clean bathhouse. An assortment of sites are available and you choose if you want to be close to the water pump, if you must have electricity, or perhaps a small rough cabins is what you want. The site was clean by the time we arrived at 3 pm for check-​in.
We didn’t ever personally see rangers, but they are around and responsive. There was a loud party going on near our site and they apparently did not listen to the check-​in or read the many signs about quiet time from 10 to 6. About 11 pm, enough folks needed to turn in that several calls were made to the rangers. Turns out that there were several emergencies but they did respond and get the music shut off by 11:30.
There’s lots to do at this state park. We hiked to the waterfalls, we did an afternoon at one of the beaches (clean sand, nice on the feet), did a nature talk one of the mornings, and rented a boat to go round the lake. There’s still a ton of things we didn’t do.
If you’re camping, the charges to use the park facilities are waived. There are state passes that can reduce your costs depending on your usage. In our group we had a senior citizen pass and a disability pass. Each of those passes reduces or waives some of the charges.
We will return.

I came here to hike with my husband this past Memorial Day weekend. I had to admit this was 110% worth the drive. The park and trails are beautiful and ample at that.
We decided to take the lower trail which was less rocky to make our way to the waterfall. The hike itself didn’t require much work, and with there being so many other trails to choose from both difficult and easy — we opted to let the adventure begin when we got the waterfall itself.
We climbed the waterfall as far as we could take it. In some parts it was pretty slick with not much placing to grip, but with a little extra care in watching your step the difficulty level isn’t that high. The waterfall cascades down about 100 feet. It is a slower trickling waterfall than a mass of water coming down at once like you would find at Great Falls in Virginia.
Aside from the waterfall itself, the park also offers a man-​made lake where people can go swimming, kayaking, paddle boating, and can picnic around the lake. It is a bit expensive to use one of the kayaks or paddles boats — you’re looking at $ 15 per 30 minutes. There is no charge per person — just per boating and kayak.
Camping grounds are also available at the lake. There were tons of tents around from where people had stayed the night before. Also here, there is a concession stand that offers your basic camp fare — hot dogs, corn dogs, and so forth. They’re fairly cheap. I got a corn dog for $ 3… a far cry from the kayak charge.
Parking is free, but there is a vehicle charge and they charge per person. For state of Maryland residents it costs $ 5 per person. For out of state it costs $ 7 per person. They accept cash and credit card.
This park is on the way to Gettysburg… within a 20 minutes ride to there. If you’re into history: my advice is to make a day at Gettysburg and enjoy the weekend camping. Make time for both if you’re able! It’s worth the drive and a nice getaway from DC.

Had a wonderful time visiting the with my sister and dad 2 years ago. the trail that climbs the hillside next to the visitors center and safe and well maintained and blazed. Theoverlok was well markd. Unfortunately You cannot park at the parking area for the falls since they reserved it for other people who are mobility inpaired.

We visited Cunningham for a weekday camping trip, and although it poured down rain the entire time, I was still able to take in the beauty of it all. CFSP has it all: from playgrounds for the kids, to hiking trails, to swimming and kayaking/​boating the lake… there is always something to do! The staff was a bit smuggy and didn’t really want to answer your questions and weren’t exactly the friendly type but I don’t expect too much when I go camping anyway. It is a BIG park though, so try and not get lost.

My boyfriend and I visited this park this past Sunday to do some hiking. We had seen some trails listed online and thought we would try to do 5 miles. The park and waterfall is very beautiful and well maintained and I have no complaints there.
We did have a lot of trouble figuring out where to go though. We’ve never visited this park before and I expected to find a pamphlet with trail maps or at least some sort of directional signage. The large maps they had near the parking area were faded and had no trail info. I did speak to someone at the boating area and he was very helpful in pointing out the waterfall trail.
On our way back from the short waterfall trail, there were some men working on the trail ahead of us and it was completely blocked. They didn’t move or stop what they were doing so we stepped off the trail for 15 seconds to go around them, so as not to interrupt. We were then harshly scolded and told never to leave the trail. I thought it was extremely rude, especially because there was no alternate way to pass them, other than to leave the trail.
All in all, we ended up leaving after only doing a mile because there were no trail maps. We probably should’ve just skipped the falls and gone to Canoctin.

Such a great thing to have locally for so cheap. There’s enough to explore to fill a day. Parking is never a problem even on holidays. I like that they set the falls back a bit from the cars and the lake to distance it a bit and preserve its authenticity.

My boyfriend and I spent two nights in a Mini-​Cabin in the William Houck Area. After much debate, we decided to stay in a cabin as I usually do not spend too much time in the «great outdoors» (he, on the other hand, was an Eagle Scout in high school).
Here’s what I will say about the mini-​cabins: they’re nice for a little extra privacy, but other than that, we would have honestly been better in a tent. Air mattresses or sleeping bags would have been more comfortable than the mattress they give you. For a city girl like me, while four walls were nice, it really wasn’t any different.
We had a GREAT time in the park, though. The hikes are wonderful as are the staff. And curling up next to a fire every night? Can’t beat that.
We definitely will be back before the summer is out, in a tent, but with an air mattress. Again, I’m a city girl.

Cunningham Falls is a great place to make memories for you and/​or your kids.
Side note: you do have to pay to get in the park. Its $ 5 per MD resident, $ 7 for all out of state residents and kids are free.
This review is based off our trip to the falls on Aug 3^rd 2014. It takes about 54 min to get to the falls from the Bethesda/​Rockville area.
This place is a great time and I could spend all day here.
–Most important, parking: D they have a HUGE parking lot that’s right next to everything. I really like the close parking lot so I don’t have to carry my crap with my around all day. Lawn chairs get heavy and fishing rods tend to hit people in the head.
–You can have a cook out next to the lake. They have plenty of benches and tables with grills right next to them so you can have a cookout.
–Fishing is allowed anywhere except for the swimming area (s)… that would be kind of funny though «and in this lake you can fish for a rare species called the Human.» Technically you need a freshwater fishing license to fish in my lake in MD but they do NOT check when you enter the park. You can get a year long fishing license here
for $ 20.50 and a 7 day fishing license for $ 7. Side note: kids will do whatever the hell they want! If some come near your fishing area and you don’t want them around just say with a lot of enthusiasm «you know what, earlier we were over there *just point wherever* and caught A LOT of fish!» Even though you didn’t catch jack and they will run away soooo fast and ever come back: D
–The designated swimming areas are phenomenal! I’ve never felt such soft sand in my life (in the USA) and the view is breathtaking. We were lucky enough to have the whole swimming area to ourselves… My little girl is almost 4 and the water wasn’t too deep for her. She could go out far and still stand. It was cute to see her swim, panic because she thought she was drowning *even with floaties* and then stand with a «god damn it» expression on her face. When you have kids you take advantage of the peace and quite when you can. Its very different sitting on the lake with out little snot nose kids running around and kicking up sand like it’s a desert sandstorm. There are lifeguards on duty during certain hours which is nice… some of them do have an «I’m entitled to everything» kind of attitude which is annoying.
–There are countless hiking trails that I want to take advantage of this year.
–The falls are beautiful… defiantly worth the little walk.
–Even the drive into the park is beautiful. There are a lot of twists and turns so I
suggest going the speed limit 0. o
–They also have boat rentals. There are different kinds of boats too. We asked them how much it was to rent a boat but honestly I wasn’t paying attention. I think its $ 15 for one hour.
–I know there is a nature center but I haven’t been there yet.
Cunningham Falls is now my go to place for a nice day outside but like every park there is always a good time to go. Do some planning… if you hate kids you might want to go early or late and possibly stay home. Sometimes it’s parked with humans and sometimes you are lucky to have the place almost to yourself.

Camping in the Manor Area born —
This was our second camping trip here and the layout of the sites deserves five stars. They pads are roomy and well-​spaced. The campground is what I call mature, meaning there are a lot of trees between the pads to give each one a private feel.
We go with a group of fellow campers and the park staff, while they really ain’t joking about no partying, are very tolerant of a bunch of adults bwa-​ha-​haing all the time.
A stream runs behind the campground and there’s a little nature center down there. The camp host was very nice and thorough. She came to our campsite to check us in (and explain the rules). At some sites you have to track down the host.
Just by way of comparison, we drove through the William Houck Area and I don’t think we’d camp there. While it isn’t one of those nightmare campgrounds where you wind up in the wrong tent if you inhale too deeply, it is a lot more crowded and there are some sites out in the open along the power line cut. No thanks. However, they do have newer bath-​houses up there.
My only complaint is there was no hot water for every day save the last day of our visit. I gathered there was some confusion about whether or not it had been fixed and the maintenance crew was swamped. However, it made me wonder how clean the bathrooms were getting and I think the park could have done a better job of communicating this to people before they arrived and either offering a discount or at least directing people to the Houck area’s bath house.

A fun place to hang out by the lake. Plenty of grills if you want to make a one day event of it… Lifeguards on duty, boats to rent, fishing allowed as well. Bathrooms are well kept and there’s an outside spray shower to rinse off any sand.
There is a snack stand open during the summer months if you choose to go without food.
$ 5 for in state (per person) or $ 7 out of state.

This was a wonderful place to hike. The waterfall was beautiful and was a nice place to climb.

1 star for mother nature, but Cunningham Falls gets four from me. The camp sites have enough parking for two cars and plenty of room for two tents, the picnic bench area (provided) and the fire pit. And there is plenty to do with fishing, hiking, swimming, boating etc. Its not really true outdoor camping– you have a camp store you get some basics at and Thurmont is only a ten minute drive.
I think my favorite part of the trip was the rock scrambling up the falls. It was amazing to see some little kids doing it– it can get slippery and you do have to carefully watch where you go.
We didnt have any issues with any rangers or any staff– everyone was friendly and polite.
I would definitely go back.

Some pertinent info:
*$ 5 per person to get in, kids in car/​booster seats get in for free.
*Hike to waterfall is still easy.
*If you are looking for a quiet and peaceful escape in the summer, this is probably not the place. Tons of families with little kids. Other times of year are definitely more peaceful.
*Beaches on the lake are pretty nice.
*Still a great day trip from the DC area.

I come to this park from time to time for photoshoots. It’s just as beautiful in the fall as the surrounding area, but maybe a little less enjoyable than Catoctin Mountain Park. This place is much better for families; easily navigated terrain, pretty waterfalls, even a beach. But if you’re looking for a peaceful nature adventure, I’d stick with the other park.
Because it’s more family-​friendly, it gets WAY more crowded. There aren’t highly elevated or difficult trails, but there are plenty of easy trails that are good for children. I can’t comment on the camping portion of it because I haven’t camped here, but otherwise, it’s decent for a day in the outdoors with the kids.