Parks & Forests

70,000 Acres of Public Land

Allegany County has over 70,000 acres of public land between its four state parks and state forest. Rocky Gap State Park encompasses 3,000 acres of land with sheer cliffs, overlooks, and a hemlock forest dense with rhododendron and mountain laurel. The park is one of the top-explored Maryland parks for camping and day-use recreation. Green Ridge State Forest is the largest contiguous state forest in Maryland at 49,000 acres and is rich in natural and cultural heritage. The forest is managed as a working forest to conserve the natural ecological processes while supporting the economy of the region by offering recreation activities such as off-roading trails, horseback riding, mountain biking, backpacking, primitive camping, and challenging hikes. Also check out the smaller but still mighty Dans Mountain State Park, which offers an Olympic-size swimming pool with water slide as well as a newly constructed mountain biking park, and Sideling Hill Creek State Park, Allegany County’s newest state park with 865 acres of mountainous forest land and majestic views from the Potomac River Overlook.

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