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I figured I would post this in the main Maryland forum because the Frederick forum seems a little quiet. This coming weekend I will be traveling through Maryland on my way to Corolla, NC. I was wondering what good places there are to see in Frederick? Just some place to grab a quick bite to eat for either breakfast or lunch, and a walk through and around the downtown area. I will be driving through on my way from Youngstown and plan to first stop east of the Frederick and do some hiking in South Mountain State Park or Gambrill State Park. Does anyone have preference for either state park? Which one has better trails/better views? After one of the parks I will head into Frederick. I have driven past Frederick many times on my way to DC, but I am interested in what seems like a nice walkable little city.
I plan to leave some time early Saturday morning and being at one of the parks by the time they open. I assume that both open around 8. I am less than a four hour drive from the parks. Spend a few hours hiking and then head into Frederick itself. Some questions about Frederick:
Downtown and surrounding neighborhoods - what is worth checking out?
Food wise, what is good for a brunch before I hit the road?
Street parking/garage parking availability? Walking is not a problem.
I enjoy plenty of hiking in my area of NE Ohio and Western PA. When I travel I like to explore. Regionally, I have not seen much of Maryland and I am interested in seeing more. I like smaller PA cities like York, and having been past Frederick and not actually stopping, I figured I would this time. So I wanted to take advantage of the drive and check out Frederick specifically.
Essentially looking for a preference between the two state parks mentioned above and a good place to eat in Frederick with a good route to do a walking tour within the city.
I can vouch for Gambrills. The trailheads off of Rt. 40 just west of the Frederick city limits offer good Appalachian Mtn. hiking. I am not sure about South Mtn. State park, never been there.
Market St. is the main street in town. There are parking garages around there that are well marked. That street and Carroll Creek Park are the general areas for walking around.
I am out of touch on the food scene downtown. If diner fare is your style, there is a good Greek diner, Mountain View Diner, on Rt. 40 between Gambrills and downtown Frederick.
I can vouch for Gambrills. The trailheads off of Rt. 40 just west of the Frederick city limits offer good Appalachian Mtn. hiking. I am not sure about South Mtn. State park, never been there.
Market St. is the main street in town. There are parking garages around there that are well marked. That street and Carroll Creek Park are the general areas for walking around.
I am out of touch on the food scene downtown. If diner fare is your style, there is a good Greek diner, Mountain View Diner, on Rt. 40 between Gambrills and downtown Frederick.
Thank you for some of the advice. While at work after posting this I did a little research. South Mountain SP has the Appalachian Trail that runs through it and has some good scenic lookouts at Annapolis and Black Rocks. This is a little over 6 miles on the Appalachian Trail from the trailhead to Black Rock and back. This should be perfect for the amount of hiking I want to do. South Mountain SP seems like there are some good hiking options, but I would like more than a few hours to do it. Weverton Cliffs at the VA border has what looks like a nice trail as well. The entirety of Maryland's portion of the Appalachian Trail runs through South Mountain.
Any idea of when I can park and start hiking the trail? It's hard to tell on any website when I can park at the trailhead. I had planned on getting there early (potentially before sunrise) and get to one of the overlooks by sunrise. Reviews state the trail gets popular early on during the weekends.
Looking at downtown Frederick it looks like the Carroll Creek Garage sits near most of the walkable options of Market/Patrick Streets and Carroll Creek Park.
Cumberland is an area I would like to check out as well (not on this trip as time would not allow). I know some in Youngstown/Pittsburgh go to Deep Creek at different times throughout the year, but I have not been myself. Any good state park recommendations in Western Maryland you suggest?
Also, as far as preservation and activity in central cities in Maryland, outside of Baltimore, what are the most lively and preserved cities of the state?
Thank you for some of the advice. While at work after posting this I did a little research. South Mountain SP has the Appalachian Trail that runs through it and has some good scenic lookouts at Annapolis and Black Rocks. This is a little over 6 miles on the Appalachian Trail from the trailhead to Black Rock and back. This should be perfect for the amount of hiking I want to do. South Mountain SP seems like there are some good hiking options, but I would like more than a few hours to do it. Weverton Cliffs at the VA border has what looks like a nice trail as well. The entirety of Maryland's portion of the Appalachian Trail runs through South Mountain.
Any idea of when I can park and start hiking the trail? It's hard to tell on any website when I can park at the trailhead. I had planned on getting there early (potentially before sunrise) and get to one of the overlooks by sunrise. Reviews state the trail gets popular early on during the weekends.
Looking at downtown Frederick it looks like the Carroll Creek Garage sits near most of the walkable options of Market/Patrick Streets and Carroll Creek Park.
Cumberland is an area I would like to check out as well (not on this trip as time would not allow). I know some in Youngstown/Pittsburgh go to Deep Creek at different times throughout the year, but I have not been myself. Any good state park recommendations in Western Maryland you suggest?
Also, as far as preservation and activity in central cities in Maryland, outside of Baltimore, what are the most lively and preserved cities of the state?
Just my opinion, but Gambrills SP is much nicer than the Appalachian Trail through MD, at least the parts I have been on. Again, it has been over a decade now, but the trail was rough and the forest was not impressive. In many places you could look down and see suburbs, developments, etc. The part of the AT I was on was closer to the VA line though, so South Mtn. SP may offer more seclusion and more mature forest than the parts closer to VA. Hopefully somebody else has more information. To get to Gambrills, you just look for signs off of Rt. 40 as you approach Frederick from the west (or leave from the east.) I can't recall the exact road name, but it is clearly marked and has parking near the trailheads.
In my county, Rocky Gap and Green Ridge State Park are both very nice. Green Ridge is more remote and more of a camping type destination. Rocky Gap has camping too, but is a good day trip spot and will be much busier. Once you are in Garrett County, New Germany, Savage River, and Swallow Falls are all worth a visit.
Frederick has the best preserved historic and gentrified downtown in the state, IMO. Ellicott City is another popular downtown. Hagerstown and Cumberland have old urban cores as well. Hagerstown never impressed me very much in looks, but has some neat attractions, specifically their city park and art museum. Cumberland is more unique, sorta like a mini-Pittsburgh, but isn't really "lively" unless you have a plan in hand. My recommendation for Cumberland would be to time your trip to something on the downtown social calendar (or Canal Place calendar.) Sadly, we have lots of vacant buildings in our downtown, so just wandering around doesn't always lead to the same result as a place like Frederick.
I figured I would post this in the main Maryland forum because the Frederick forum seems a little quiet. This coming weekend I will be traveling through Maryland on my way to Corolla, NC. I was wondering what good places there are to see in Frederick? Just some place to grab a quick bite to eat for either breakfast or lunch, and a walk through and around the downtown area. I will be driving through on my way from Youngstown and plan to first stop east of the Frederick and do some hiking in South Mountain State Park or Gambrill State Park. Does anyone have preference for either state park? Which one has better trails/better views? After one of the parks I will head into Frederick. I have driven past Frederick many times on my way to DC, but I am interested in what seems like a nice walkable little city.
What you do in Frederick would depend on your interests. The Museum of Civil War medicine is a fantastic museum about a lesser known part of the war. There is also Monocacy Battlefield just outside town.
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I plan to leave some time early Saturday morning and being at one of the parks by the time they open. I assume that both open around 8. I am less than a four hour drive from the parks. Spend a few hours hiking and then head into Frederick itself. Some questions about Frederick:
Downtown and surrounding neighborhoods - what is worth checking out?
Food wise, what is good for a brunch before I hit the road?
Street parking/garage parking availability? Walking is not a problem.
Parking should not be a problem. There is a reasonable about of on street parking. I can't remember if meters are in effect on weekends. There are several parking decks. Carroll creek deck is pretty centrally located. But the others aren't bad.
Quote:
I enjoy plenty of hiking in my area of NE Ohio and Western PA. When I travel I like to explore. Regionally, I have not seen much of Maryland and I am interested in seeing more. I like smaller PA cities like York, and having been past Frederick and not actually stopping, I figured I would this time. So I wanted to take advantage of the drive and check out Frederick specifically.
Essentially looking for a preference between the two state parks mentioned above and a good place to eat in Frederick with a good route to do a walking tour within the city.
Thanks for any recommendations.
There are established walking tours of Frederick
South Mountain is a little west of Frederick Gathland State Park is a good spot to access the Appalachian Trail as is Washington Monument State Park.
How long are you planning on spending? If only a few hours I would not try to squeeze South Mt and the AT into it I would concentrate on Downtown Frederick.
If you are there when they are open, I highly recommend stopping by the visitors center in Frederick. They will give you a map of the walking tour. There is a parking garage about a block away and they will also validate your parking for a couple hours. The people there were super helpful when we went, so if you are looking for anything specific they will be able to direct you.
In Frederick, make sure you stroll along Carroll Creek; it's very scenic. A good number of shops and restaurants are clustered along Patrick Street, which runs parallel to Carroll Creek one block to the north. At the west end of downtown is Baker Park, a nice open space. If you like model trains, check out the Roads and Rails Museum, at the northeast corner of downtown at 2nd St. and East St. There's a bakery right across the street that my memory has as being good.
A good dining choice is a place called Family Meal. Despite the name, it's a modestly upscale place; not too pretentious, but not fast food either. It's at East Street and 9th Street, which is far enough from downtown that you would want to drive there. They serve breakfast, lunch, and dinner; I had dinner there once, quite some time ago, and I recall that I enjoyed it.
Frederick is a very pleasant city, and I imagine you'll enjoy it.
In Frederick, make sure you stroll along Carroll Creek; it's very scenic. A good number of shops and restaurants are clustered along Patrick Street, which runs parallel to Carroll Creek one block to the north. At the west end of downtown is Baker Park, a nice open space. If you like model trains, check out the Roads and Rails Museum, at the northeast corner of downtown at 2nd St. and East St. There's a bakery right across the street that my memory has as being good.
A good dining choice is a place called Family Meal. Despite the name, it's a modestly upscale place; not too pretentious, but not fast food either. It's at East Street and 9th Street, which is far enough from downtown that you would want to drive there. They serve breakfast, lunch, and dinner; I had dinner there once, quite some time ago, and I recall that I enjoyed it.
Frederick is a very pleasant city, and I imagine you'll enjoy it.
Sorry I got here late, the OP has probably hiked his trail and is enjoying a meal in Frederick, one of the great towns in the mid-Atlantic. I hope he/she reports back.
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!
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