On Saturday, the skies were clear and the temps were in the low 70s, perfect hiking weather! We loaded up the crew and hit the road early for our family adventure. Our destination was Gambrill State Park on the western side of Frederick. This park is located on a ridge of the Catoctin Mountains. There are two areas of the park, the Rock Run area and the High Knob area. We didn’t visit the Rock Run area. There is a campground there and a place to picnic.
We drove higher up Gambrill Park Road to a lot on the right side for trailhead parking. There is only space for 18 cars here. If the lot is full, you can continue up to the High Knob area to park. All trails are accessible from there, too. We got lucky and snagged the last spot in the parking lot. There is a porta potty as well as a large trail map. There is also a lockbox for you to put the park fee into. For Maryland residents it is $3.
There are multiple trails leading away from this parking lot. We’d decided in advance to hike the Black Locust Trail. It is a 3 mile loop trail rated as difficult due to steep slopes mixed with level areas. We chose this hike because there were supposed to be several lookouts with amazing views! These lookouts were built during the Depression by the Civilian Conservation Corp (CCC).
The trail started out flat, but plenty of loose rocks to trip you up. Stormy and Rainbow had a blast jumping from rock to rock. Pebble happily picked up rocks and dropped them again. The mountain laurel was blooming and beautiful!
We stopped looking around soon enough as the trail started going downhill. We had to watch our step due to the loose rocks and tree roots. I had to hold Pebble’s hand as she is still learning to walk slowly when hiking and carefully pick her trail.
The trail was well marked with black blazes. When we came to a t-intersection, there was a post with arrows to point which direction we needed to go. There were also multiple cairns people had made out of loose rock. I explained to the girls what they were and both made a few for other hikers.
After a fair amount of downhill, the trail started to climb steeply upward and it also narrowed. We stopped often for water breaks and the ever popular gorp, good old raisins and peanuts, plus I added in peanut m&ms. Pebble, of course, only wanted the m&ms. She also attempted to hike uphill with rocks in her hands and was very unhappy when we made her drop them!
After the first snack break, Pebble happily climbed into the carrier on my back. It was a hard climb for her little legs. Plus, with the narrowed trail, it was much harder to allow people to pass us and keep social distance. There was a fair amount of other hikers, many with dogs on leashes. At one point, we stepped off the trail to investigate a large rock and let a number of people pass us.
The trail continued to climb, and we were treated to small peek a boo views of the valley lying below. We also passed a small stream running across the trail that Stormy and Rainbow stopped to dip their hands in. The water was nice and cold!
We were relieved when the trail finally leveled out up in the High Knob area. It had been a hard climb up! The first lookout we came to was the North Frederick Overlook. The view was stunning!
The Black Locust trail gently meandered up and down as it wound around the High Knob area. Pebble was down out of the carrier and enjoying the easier trail. The second lookout we came too was a western view of the Middletown area.
The trail was still narrow, and there was often a steep slope on our right. We had to watch Pebble carefully as she didn’t always stay on trail. Pebble loves following her big sisters and doing what they do. This includes jumping on and off rocks no matter where the rocks are located!
The mountain laurel was gorgeous! We passed through areas where you were surrounded by white blossoms. There was also a massive rock we hiked past!
By this point in the hike, Rainbow was asking where the car was. The steep climb up had tuckered her out! Fortunately, the trail back to the car was only a little downhill and not hard to manage. I now wonder if we did the trail clockwise and not counterclockwise as we had, would it have been an easier loop?
Once we arrived back at our car, we loaded everyone in and drove up to the High Knob area for lunch. Our parking spot in the trailhead lot was taken before we even got out of the lot. If you want to park here, definitely come early!
The High Knob area is a giant loop with parking spaces on all sides. The narrow central area has picnic tables. We found a parking spot in the shade and took over a picnic table. The park was hopping! I couldn’t believe how many people there were! It was a big enough area that we could social distance, but this was definitely a popular spot in this area. There was one last viewpoint here too. The view must have been breathtaking once before the trees grew tall.
Would we come back? Definitely! There are other, not as strenuous, trails we’d like to check out. Stormy was disappointed when we didn’t let her play on the natural playground, and we promised we’d come back so she could play another day after covid restrictions had eased more. There is a Nature Center, too, that we were curious about. There is a lot to do at this park, and we plan to be back someday. Plus, there is an ice cream shop we want to visit over in Middletown. Ice cream is the best treat after a hard hike! Happy trails!
