MD Dayhike

[hiker5]

I'm looking for a day hike for this Saturday. I'm based in College Park at the moment (just northeast of DC), and it would be nice to limit the drive time to about an hour and a half or so. I'd prefer a circuit if possible, but out and back is okay. If you have an favorites around 10 to 12 miles long let me know. Thanks!

BTW, lots of vertical is encouraged :D

[Jack Tarlin]

Hiker 5----

Unfortunately, if you're looking for a lot of vertical, Maryland isn't the best part of the Trail to find it, as there really aren't a lot of serious hills on the 40-odd A.T. miles there.

The section of the Trail in extreme Northern Virginia, especially the "roller coaster" section near Bear's Den Hostel is a bit more challenging. Not really big hills, but there are a lot of them. There are also lots of road crossings which'll help you decide how long a hike you want to make it; for more info on this section, check out the ATC website at www.atconf.org Since you're close by, you also might want to visit the ATC Headquarters in Harper's Ferry, which is THE place to go for maps, guidebooks, etc.; plus, a lot of the office staff lives close by, and might have some good ideas/suggestions on hikes in Marland, Northern Virginia, and that part of West Virginia.

[sdoownek]

Vertical? In the DC area? Not much

South of waynesboro there's a couple of mountains, but that's more than 90 mins from college park.

McAfee knob/Dragons Tooth, but that's WAY out of your 90 min timeframe.....

I'm doing hazel falls with my roomate for about the 487th time on Saturday. whoo hoo. yay. ugh.

[hiker5]

Yeah, I know there isn't much in the way of vertical around here, but I'll take what I can get. Maybe I'll try around South Moutain State Park.

I'll get to dragon's tooth and mcafee's knob when I return to Virginia Tech in the spring (How 'bout them Hokies!). I've done dragons tooth a couple times already, but will be taking advantage of more of the area when I return.

Thanks!

[Spirit Walker]

As others have said, it is hard to find much in the way of elevation gain in the DC area. If you go to the Shenandoahs, yes, there you can do some nice loops with a lot of good climbs. (Buck Ridge is a good one!) but the drive is long. Or the AT in MD and NOVA has some good climbs, but it's linear and likely to be crowded. Closer to town you'll have to sacrifice difficulty for distance. That said, there is some nice hiking in the area apart from the AT. We go down to Prince William Park near Quantico often for long loops; at Little Bennett you can do about 8 miles in a loop; Seneca Creek is about 15 miles long (linear and flat, but pretty); in the Catoctins you can do both loops and linear hikes, out west a bit the Greenridge Trail has some nice hiking, and the Massanuttens aren't that far and have some climbs and linear possibilities. Sugarloaf is close to town, but always crowded. Still, if you don't want to drive far, you do have a lot of options.
PATC puts out some good books on hiking in the area and the book "60 Hikes within 60 miles of Washington DC" has other options.