Catoctin Mountain Park

"We int need to hike the thurston-griggs trail but it was closed for the season. Instead we tried this nearby trail. The trail was in great condition. It's well marked and clear of snow."

"Excellent National Park site. Great trails, picnic areas. Scenic views, phenominal outdoor education programs especially for fourth graders!"

"Great views, about an hour from Gaithersburg. Good hiking shoes recommended, for sure as some trails are rocky. The trails are, for the most part, well marked. FYI - they have a really nice visitors center, too."

"We visited in early August 2023. Mainly visited because Scouts BSA was holding a summer camp out at the Round Meadow Campgrounds. The visitor center was great. There is a exhibit room with a number of things to read about and look at. They also offer a junior ranger program here. There is a small bookstore/gift shop which sells a number of fun items. The staff was super pleasant to talk to and the rangers as well. There is a place to get your National Park Cancellation Stamp as well as junior ranger stamp. I didn't have much time to spend in the visitor center but from what I saw it was great and the bathrooms were nice too. The parking lot was a bit small but I think across the road there was additional parking spots. I visited on a Wednesday morning where there was only 2 other cars in the lot with me. Make the first right turn when coming off the main road. When I visited again on the Saturday morning around 11AM the lot directly in front of the visitor center was basically full. It looked like there was a hiking group or club gathering there ready to go. There also were 2 electric car charging station/ports in the parking lot. I think they may be the first time I've noticed that at any national park site. I included the picture, I'm not sure which ports they were as I don't own a electric vehicle. I did drive through the park itself to get to the camp round meadow and the park was beautiful. Full of trees and multiple small parking lots on the side of the main road for different trails heads I would presume. I would definitely come back for sure and do some hikes. It's not too far out from the DC metro area. Camp Round Meadow itself was great and the facilities we stayed in were also great. The bunk houses and bathrooms were terrific. Especially from scout BSA summer camp standards. There were also some traffic concerns as a presidential summit was taking place at Camp David later in the week and certain roads were closed off as a result but we did get ample warning. Something to just keep in mind before deciding to visit. There was a increase presence of security as well. On the plus side we got to see a bunch of interesting plans fly by. Everyone liked watching the Osprey with it adjustable propellers for vertical landing and take off."