Swallow Falls State Park

Oakland, MD

Western Maryland's crown jewel - a 1.5-mile loop through old-growth hemlocks connects four waterfalls including Muddy Creek Falls, Maryland's highest free-falling waterfall.

Photography Guide

Best Time: any
Crowds: Moderate
Shot Types: waterfalllong-exposureforest
Best Seasons: springfallwinter

Practical Tips

The loop trail hits all four falls. Winter ice formations are extraordinary. Muddy Creek Falls is 53 feet - best photographed from the pool below with a tripod.

Gallery

Nearby Places

Waterfronts

McHenry, MD

Deep Creek Lake

Maryland's largest freshwater lake sits in the Allegheny Mountains - 65 miles of forested shoreline and mountain reflections make this a four-season photography destination.

golden hourfall · summer

Photogenic

Davis, WV

Blackwater Falls State Park

The amber-colored Blackwater River plunges 57 feet over a sandstone ledge in a hemlock and red spruce canyon that feels like the Deep North - the tannin-darkened water, misty canyon, and fall foliage create some of the most dramatic waterfall photography in the East.

morningfall · winter

Overlooks

Davis, WV

Dolly Sods Wilderness

A high plateau wilderness of wind-sculpted red spruce, heath barrens, and rocky outcrops at 4,000 feet - the closest thing to a Canadian boreal landscape in the mid-Atlantic, with expansive sky and wildly exposed terrain.

sunrisefall · summer