Oakland took top honors as the best town in America for leaf-peeping, thanks primarily to the blazing colors found just nine miles north of town at Swallow Falls State Park. As the Youghiogheny River flows through rock gorges, the oldest stands of eastern hemlock and white pine—more than 360 years old—blanket the area in gold, orange, and red. For five days in early October, residents turn out for the annual Autumn Glory Festival, including two parades, concerts, and band competitions. Oakland also embraces the Halloween spirit, hosting a hayride along the lakefront that passes scenes of zombies and ghosts.
Read More Here: http://www.travelandleisure.com/articles/americas-best-towns-for-fall-colors/2
From his house on Maple Glade Road, which leads to Swallow Falls State Park, Oates heard a forest in collapse — trees cracking and popping, trees being uprooted under the weight of the snow, trees hitting the ground and shaking the earth. It went on all night, explosions and thuds and flashes of light.
Swallow Falls, one of the two parks Oates manages — the other is nearby Herrington Manor — is famous for its waterfalls and its trees. Before Sandy hit last year, the park had Maryland’s oldest grove of eastern hemlock and white pine. Some of the hemlocks were believed to be at least 360 years old — nearly as old as the Maryland colony — a fact that Oates was able to confirm after the big storm.
Half of the trees in Swallow Falls are believed to have been damaged or destroyed during Sandy’s onslaught, Oates says.
In the cleanup that followed, he and others counted rings on the old trees, and, indeed, the estimates were accurate. Some of those hemlocks had stood in place during the entire history of the United States. They were spared the ax during the great sweep of timbering in Garrett County, then were made a gift to the state by the Garrett brothers who owned the land.
The hemlocks were there in the summer of 1921, when Henry Ford, Thomas Edison and Harvey Firestone famously camped by 53-foot Muddy Creek Falls and put the park on the map.
A cool pic of Swallow Falls from a few weeks back –
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Nov. 10, 2011
The Garrett County Roads Department expects to reopen the Swallow Falls Road bridge site to vehicular traffic today, Thursday, Nov. 10, at approximately 3 p.m., general roads superintendent Jay Moyer announced earlier this week.
“Everything’s pretty much back to normal, except that traffic across the new temporary bridge will be one way and foot traffic is discouraged,” he noted.
Vehicles traveling northeast on Swallow Falls Road will have the right of way across the bridge. Those traveling southwest will have to yield to oncoming traffic.
Moyer requested that pedestrians not cross the bridge, as there is no space available for them to safely do so. Swallow Falls State Park visitors are asked to drive their vehicles into the park.
The temporary bridge will once again allow combination vehicles carrying legal loads up to 80,000 pounds/40 tons to cross over the Youghiogeny River on Swallow Falls Road.
The site was closed in late September because the old bridge had deteriorated to the point where it would have failed the next inspection. There was no immediate funding available for a new bridge, so a temporary one, already owned by the county, was installed by the Roads Department.
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By Ginny Brace
Special to the News-Post
Friends Henry Ford, Thomas Edison, President Warren G. Harding and Harvey Firestone are pictured on a camping trip the four took together in Maryland with their families.
Packing up the car and driving to enjoy outdoor recreation is something many of us do. A century ago most people lived without basic comforts we enjoy today, like central heating and plumbing. It would have been unusual to consider driving to remote areas to camp or hike just for the pleasure of the activity.
A group of famous friends, calling themselves the Vagabonds, started camping on a regular basis in the summers over 90 years ago, with the media reporting. Thomas Edison, Henry Ford and Harvey Firestone, often with their wives, families and help, and accompanied by others including naturalist John Burroughs and President Warren G. Harding, led the trend toward summer vacation outdoors recreation trips.
Starting with a trip to the Florida Everglades by the Edisons and Fords in 1914, the group vacationed nearly every summer for 10 or more years, camping in Western Maryland during the summer of 1921.
Buying or selling real estate in Garrett County or Deep Creek Lake, Maryland? Call Jay Ferguson of Railey Realty for all of your real estate needs! I take great pride in referrals, and I assure you, I will take great care of your friends, family & colleagues!
OAKLAND — The Swallow Falls Road Bridge that crosses the Youghiogheny River will be closed beginning Monday at 9 a.m. due to its continued deterioration, the Garrett County commissioners announced.
The county roads department will install a temporary bridge within the next six weeks that will accommodate loads of up to 40 tons.
The bridge is located about five miles outside Oakland. Questions can be directed to engineering director Dwight Emory at 301-334-7481 or County Administrator Monty Pagenhardt at 301-334-8970.
More here.Buying or selling real estate in Garrett County or Deep Creek Lake, Maryland? Call Jay Ferguson of Railey Realty for all of your real estate needs! I take great pride in referrals, and I assure you, I will take great care of your friends, family & colleagues!
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