Green Ridge State Forest

Address:
HCR 13, Box 50, Forest Court,
Flintstone, Maryland, 21530.
Ph. (301) 478-3124.

Location:

Western Maryland. In Eastern Allegany county.
Approx. 130 miles West of Baltimore, 20 miles East of Cumberland.
Total area about 40,000 acres.

A rough map of the forest is available at Maryland DNR.

Weather:

[Current_weather] Click for current weather forecast at Green Ridge State Forest (Alleghany-Washinton County, MD).

Directions for Visitors' Center:

(From Baltimore) Take I-70 West. Get on I-68 West.
Take Exit 64 and take the first right on M.V.Smith Road.
The next right turn is Forest Court leading to the visitors' center.

Camping Facilities:

No reservations. First-come-first-serve basis. Two types of campsites available.
[*] Semi-primitive.
Has levelled ground for pitching up a tent, place for parking car, kitchen table, barbeque pit.
[*] Backpacking Primitive.
Has place for parking car, cleared (but not levelled) place for pitching up a tent.

No drinking water is available at any of the two types of campsites. A flowing stream may be nearby at some campsites. No toilet facilities. Either carry your own or dig a small trench and cover it after use. Open fire is usually permitted. Check the visitor center for more info.

Charges:

Forest type:

Conifers and deciduous. Could not identify the trees. Should be Hickory or Oak. Almost no undergrowth. Forest is almost continuous. Has numerous streams. There is a long trail running approx. North-South. Can park the vehicle at a few places and start trekking on the trail. The trail is fairly long. From where we started, it was about 9 miles towards South and about 5 miles towards North. The trail runs along a stream, crossing it a lot of times.

Wildlife seen:

Mammals:
Couldn't identify exact species, but saw a species of deer (whitetail?), squirrel, and some beaver-like animal near the streams.

Birds:

  1. Turkey vulture
  2. Pileated woodpecker
  3. Tufted titmouse
  4. Marsh wren
  5. Common grackle
All names taken from Roger Tory Peterson's Field Guide.
plus a few we couldn't identify.
Couldn't see many because of rain.

Links:

Misc. Notes:

Pick up maps at visitors center. But they may not be accurate.
Nearest town is Flintstone. Get on 144 West, which runs parallel with I-68. Its about 15 miles West of the park.

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Last updated: April 22, 1998
Sanjay Joshi