Manor Area to Falls

The Manor Area to Falls route provides a longer and more rewarding approach to Cunningham Falls from the park's Manor Area campground and day use area, following Big Hunting Creek upstream through a progressively narrowing valley to reach Maryland's most celebrated cascade. Beginning from the Manor Area parking lot, the trail winds along the creek bank through a forest of tulip poplar, white oak, and river birch before entering the more hemlock-dominated lower canyon below the falls. This approach route passes several excellent fishing pools in Big Hunting Creek, which is managed as a special catch-and-release trophy trout section that attracts skilled fly anglers from the entire mid-Atlantic region. The creek is stocked with brown and rainbow trout, and wild brook trout inhabit the upper reaches. Wildlife along the Manor Area trail includes great blue herons stalking the shallows, belted kingfishers rocketing between perches, and white-tailed deer watering at the creek margins at dusk. The longer approach provides meaningful context for the falls' location within the broader Catoctin Mountain watershed. Returning hikers can take an optional ridge route that climbs above the creek for elevated views before descending back to the Manor Area, extending the outing by an additional mile. Spring wildflowers along the creek corridor include trout lily, bloodroot, and native columbine cascading from mossy rock faces.