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Hike the Lower Trail to Cunningham Falls

Smithsburg, Maryland

Details

Distance

0.5 miles

Elevation Gain

78 ft

Route Type

Out-and-Back

Description

Added by Alyssa Gregory

Easy walk to Cunningham Falls which you can swim in and climb up.

Park on William Houck Drive in the parking lot that's on the opposite side of the road from the lake, across the street and about 0.2mi up the road from the larger parking lot for people going to the lake.

The trail head is right in the parking lot. Most of the trail is paved and easy walking, but at the end there are some rocks and a river you have to cross (either on the rocks or by wading). It's not challenging and we saw a lot of families doing it with their kids, but you wouldn't want to have a stroller or anything.

After you cross the river, Cunningham Falls is in front of you, all 78 feet of it. You can climb up the rocks to the top of the falls as many people were doing, and you can swim in the bottom. Be careful when climbing as the rocks do get slippery from the runoff.

Total Distance: A little less than a mile round trip

Total Time: 30 minutes if you want to spend some time climbing/swimming in the falls

Disclaimer: The picture attached to this adventure isn't mine, somehow I didn't take any pictures when we did this hike so I had to pull one from Wikipedia.

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Features

Hiking
Easy Parking
Family Friendly
Forest
Groups
River
Waterfall
Swimming Hole

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