A Day of Adventure at Rocks State Park in Eastern Maryland

We visited aptly named Rocks State Park in Harford County, MD on a cold and bright November day a couple of years ago. It took us about an hour to get there. We visited 3 areas of the park, which took us the better part of the day.

Wilson’s Picnic Area and Hidden Valley

We went to the Wilson picnic area first. There is a small playground, a riverbank, picnic tables, port a potties, and plenty of parking. We didn’t see any trailheads here, but there are about 3.5 miles of trails throughout the park. You can also fish, wade, or tube down Deer Creek. Since we were there in November, this was not a main attraction. For us, this was not a must-see area, but the kids spent some time on the playground while I fielded a phone call from work.

We did not actually visit the Hidden Valley area of the park. But, it’s worth mentioning for other families who may want to explore this peaceful, undeveloped part of the park. It features a one mile trail along Deer Creek, and has no restrooms or picnic areas. Parking is limited to a small gravel lot with space for 8 or 10 cars near the Deer Creek bridge.

Rock Ridge Picnic Area

A few minutes drive led us to the Rock Ridge Picnic Area lot, where again there was plenty of parking. But, according to the signs and website, this and the Falling Branch areas get crowded during the summer. On weekends and holidays between Labor and Memorial Day, you have to make a reservation. On this cold November day, there were very few other people there.

From the parking lot we walked the very short trail out to the “King and Queen Seat.” This area is really cool but a bit terrifying with small children and the dog. It is imperative to keep a tight hold of them. The massive rock piles are great fun to climb but are actually an outcropping of a very high cliff whose precipice has led to death and injury, as proclaimed by a sign in front.

The kids had a good time climbing. But, we did not allow them to go as far as the actual outcropping for fear of said injury and death. The dog also cried piteously while I was exploring the outcropping. He was likely using his doggy-sense to understand the risk created by my natural clumsiness.

Although not one to be fearful of heights, I could not bring myself to go all the way to the edge, and kept seated a good way back in the center of the rock pile. The view was beautiful, of course, although most of the fall foliage has already dropped. If we had been there a few weeks earlier, this would surely be a spectacular place for fall foliage. For other ideas of where to see beautiful fall foliage in the Mid-Atlantic region, check out this post.

This area of the park is the reason that the park was formed in 1949 to protect this unique geological feature. The rock outcrop is 190 feet high, and it is actually possible to climb the King and Queen Seat. However, the website encourages novice climbers to seek professional training before attempting it.

Falling Branch Area

From here, we drove to a different, unattached part of the park (a few miles north) in order to see Kilgore Falls. The children enjoyed this even more, and it was very lovely. The path is just a little longer – still only about a half mile which was great for us since our youngest wanted to be held at least 50% of the time.

You can see the falls as soon as you reach the river, but in order to get close to the base of them, you have to scramble just a little over some slippery and muddy places, including crossing the river on wet rocks. It was no problem for us or the kids, but we did have to carry the baby.

Once there, there were lots more rocks to climb to get different views of the falls (not huge falls, but still lovely), and the kids also enjoyed sending leaves down the miniature river rapids. The dog also enjoyed the walk and snuffling around the cliffs, where there were ample mini caves in which to hibernate, though we didn’t actually see any creatures. All in all, it was a pleasant day and well worth the drive.

If you go during summer, you’ll need to make a reservation, which costs $3 per Maryland resident, and $5 per non-resident. You can save a dollar per person on weekdays. You are allowed to wade and swim in summer at your own risk. Pets are allowed on a leash. There is only parking for 28 cars, so the reservations are important. But in November, we hardly encountered anyone else on the trail and did not need a reservation.