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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