Updated on May 18, 2021

Winter Hiking to Cat Rocks, Cunningham Falls State Park

Mid-December, 2020, heavy snow fell in the Washington DC region. With not much snow during the previous winter, I was looking for some winter fun this time, and I chose to hike Cat Rocks trail in Cunningham Falls State Park.

Forest
Distant plains beyond Thurmont in the background.

Generally I thought of winter hiking among lifeless trees as boring, that is, unless there was snow to decorate the landscape. This time, it’s the first serious snowfall in the Washington DC region in almost two years (who could foretell that there were a couple more snowstorms lined up later this winter), and I was eager to hike some new trails. Another motivation being that I would love to try out the new pair of snowshoes that I got for my trip to Lake Tahoe in a few days’ time, it just turned out that the few inches of snowfall wasn’t enough to warrant their usage.

With a few crashes along I270 the previous day, most drivers on the highway were meticulous, I included. Apart from that, the proximity to Christmas and fear of icy surface meant there was little traffic on the roads. With some errands to run along the way, I arrived at the northern trailhead of Cat Rocks at 2pm. The trailhead parking lot wasn’t plowed, but across the road the small lot at Catoctin Mountain Park Headquarters was, that’s where I parked.

Creek
A lovely scene as the rocks in the water were covered in white.

The trail to Cat Rocks was just over 1 mile one-way, with noticeable but minimal elevation gain. So I set off despite being less than 3 hours from sunset.
Here’s GPS tracking:

Trail
The pine trees near trailhead were, on a large part, the only greenness throughout the trail.

Forest

Footprint

Nobody had visited this trail since snowfall, so it’s a sensational feeling to set foot on this fresh snow and to experience this seclusion. The snow was only a couple of inches thick and didn’t require snowshoes.

Trail

The trail’s well-marked and easy to follow, except for one small section towards the start where I lost the trail for about 100m. (It shouldn’t be a problem in absence of snow cover.) Even more surprisingly, portions of the trail had cellular coverage, which probably came from the nearby town of Thurmont.

Sun through Woods

Creek
From the map I learned this is a creek. Now it’s covered in snow and hard to spot.

Powerlines
Which the trail crossed underneath.

Trail

Finally, about an hour after I started (I moved a lot slower than expected in snow), I was at Cat Rock.

Cat Rock
A series of loose rocks covered in snow.

In summer this should be a short class 2 scramble, nothing difficult. Driven by an adventurous spirit, I made an attempt to climb it, but stopped short of the top.

Cat Rock

On top of Cat Rock I should be able to enjoy phenomenal views of fields to the west. Unfortunately, the rocks were covered in snow and I didn’t have the right gears to scramble in snow. I attempted to summit it but called it off a few meters from the top.

After that, I traced my footsteps back.

Leaves
Melting and refreezing of snow.

Plants in Snow
I took a detour into the woods for these photos.

Trail

Forest

By the time I got back to the trailhead, it’s 4:15pm. There was still some time left before sunset, so I decided to pay a visit to the nearby Hunting Creek Lake.

Road

As a major access road for presidential retreat Camp David, Foxville Road (left) was well clear of snow and ice. The same couldn’t be said for Catoctin Hollow Road (right) along Hunting Creek Lake.

Hunting Creek Dam

Along the road there’s a parking lot with foot access onto Hunting Creek Dam. That’s where I ventured on and took the following photos, of the world in serenity of sunset.