Traveling through MD this week

[DaveinMtAiry]

Thanks for returning and giving your impression. I can't say I know the pizza place but your plan to follow the creek into town was a solid one. I too love the old buildings of Frederick as well as everything else it has to offer.

[westsideboy]

Originally Posted by rdr2133

Thank you everyone for the recommendations. It was much appreciated. I ended up getting to South Mountain State Park around 6 in the morning and started the trail. The drive took less than 4 hours. I did a total of about 15 miles on the trails around Frederick. The Annapolis Rock overlook was a nice stop for breakfast. I ended up going further north on the Appalachian Trail than I had planned to because I wanted to come back and take in some of the overlook views after the fog had lifted. Oh my god, the cicadas. We have them here in NE Ohio this year too, but not as bad as DC. Driving south on 270 and 495 they were a constant figure on cars' windshields. My drive back through on Sunday was no different. I also stopped at Gambrill State Park rather briefly and took in the view at the North Frederick Overlook with its views of Frederick itself.

Frederick is so underrated. I was there during the Frederick Festival of the Arts. Downtown was packed with people, and I was really impressed with what the city had to offer architecturally. I walked about 3 miles around the immediate downtown Frederick area and enjoyed my quick stop. Parked over by Baker Park on Carroll Parkway and followed Carroll Creek into downtown. I ate at Pistarro's as I was craving a pizza and didn't want anything too elaborate as I had to get back on the road.

It's not a long drive and would be a nice weekend trip. I definitely plan to come back!

Great, I'm glad you enjoyed yourself and updated us. Frederick is underrated, IMO, as well. There aren't that many places where you can be 15 minutes from a historical gentrified mid-19th century small city and good quality mountain hiking options.

[MidValleyDad]

Originally Posted by rdr2133

Thank you everyone for the recommendations. It was much appreciated. I ended up getting to South Mountain State Park around 6 in the morning and started the trail. The drive took less than 4 hours. I did a total of about 15 miles on the trails around Frederick. The Annapolis Rock overlook was a nice stop for breakfast. I ended up going further north on the Appalachian Trail than I had planned to because I wanted to come back and take in some of the overlook views after the fog had lifted. Oh my god, the cicadas. We have them here in NE Ohio this year too, but not as bad as DC. Driving south on 270 and 495 they were a constant figure on cars' windshields. My drive back through on Sunday was no different. I also stopped at Gambrill State Park rather briefly and took in the view at the North Frederick Overlook with its views of Frederick itself.

Frederick is so underrated. I was there during the Frederick Festival of the Arts. Downtown was packed with people, and I was really impressed with what the city had to offer architecturally. I walked about 3 miles around the immediate downtown Frederick area and enjoyed my quick stop. Parked over by Baker Park on Carroll Parkway and followed Carroll Creek into downtown. I ate at Pistarro's as I was craving a pizza and didn't want anything too elaborate as I had to get back on the road.

It's not a long drive and would be a nice weekend trip. I definitely plan to come back!

I'm glad you had a good trip. I completely forgot about the Arts Festival! Thanks for the after action report.