YO
Christy
and I took a different route on this year’s Christmas trip to Clearfield,
PA. Instead of driving up 81, we went up
through West Virginia. This had a couple
of advantages. First, traffic was
surprisingly light. Also, it enabled us
to stop at Swallow Falls State Park in Maryland for a short hike.
Swallow
Falls State Park is located in western Maryland, near the towns of Oakland and
Accident (yes, that is really the name of it). We drove very carefully through
Accident. Our motive for visiting the
state park was to see 4 waterfalls on the Youghiogheny River (locally known as
the “Yo”) and various tributaries. A 1 ¼ mile loop trail visits all them. This includes Muddy Creek Falls, Lower
Swallow Falls, Upper Swallow Falls, and Tolliver Falls.
The
park closes at dusk. We arrived at 3:30,
giving us about an hour and a half for our hike. We paid the $5 entrance fee, used the
restroom, and hit the trail.
Temperatures were in the low 30’s, and we weren’t really dressed for a
cold weather hike. But it was just a
short leg stretcher.
The
beginning of the trail passes through a healthy old-growth hemlock forest. This was a highlight of our visit, as
virtually all of the hemlocks in North Carolina are dead. I’d almost forgotten the beauty of a hemlock
forest.
We
hiked the loop clockwise. After a short
distance we arrived at an overlook of Muddy Creek Falls. Muddy Creek is a big stream, and it wasn’t
muddy at all. We descended some icy
steps to the base, and I worked my way over icy rocks to get a decent vantage
point for photos. Muddy Creek Falls is
perhaps 40’ high and quite scenic. It
ended up being my favorite waterfall in the park. From there, we followed an icy trail below
sandstone cliffs. We contoured well
above the confluence of Muddy Creek and the Yo,
before following the base of more cliffs up the Youghiogheny River Canyon. It was along here that I spotted several
kayakers running the river. We were
amazed that they were running the river in such cold weather.
Before
long Lower Swallow Falls came into view.
We followed a primitive path down to the river. This gave us a view of both the lower and
upper falls. Unfortunately, fallen trees
along the bank made photography hopeless.
Both the lower and upper falls are powerful cascades. Neither is particularly tall, but the volume
of water was impressive.
We
returned to the trail and followed it to an overlook above the brink of the
lower falls. This was a surprisingly
effective vantage point for photos. From
there we followed the main trail, and then another primitive spur path, to the
base of the upper falls. This was a neat
spot, but not great for photos. The most
interesting feature here is a sandstone spire at the lower end of the plunge
pool. I hiked around the back side of
the spire, and was treated to a view of hundreds of icicles clinging to a cliff
on the far side of the river.
We
returned to the trail and followed it to the brink of the upper falls. From there, we continued up the river, and
then turned to follow Tolliver Creek upstream.
After a short distance we reached the final waterfall, Tolliver Creek
Falls. This is just a small cascade, but
it is pretty and surrounded by healthy hemlocks. I enjoyed it almost as much as Muddy Creek
Falls.
It
was getting late, and we didn’t want to risk getting locked inside the
park. We followed the loop trail back,
and reached the parking area shortly before 5pm. There was one other car in the lot when we
arrived. From there, we had 3 more hours
to drive. That was far more pleasant
thanks to taking some time to stretch our legs and get some fresh air! Western Maryland has quite a few parks and
trails. I’d like to explore this area
more in the future.
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Please remember to Leave No Trace!