I have been going to Rocks since I was a kid. There is something for everyone to do of all ages. Hike, see the falls,climb, forage, tubing, or just picnic in nature. Northern Harford County treasure!
If you have not tubed Deer Creek - please do so. Your friends, family and especially the kids will have a blast. About a mile or so between parking areas can be done in an hour with lazy, clean water and an abundance of nature. Buy the big tubes from Walmart for 13 bucks and have them to use again and again. King and Queens seat is a spectacular and a bit dangerous rock outcropping at the top of one of the many campgrounds. 4 miles up Route 24 is Kilgore Falls which is a great swimming hole with 20 foot falls you can walk behind. Great photo opps for the family.Bring coolers and some picnic foods for a great day trip. Only problem is many of the parking areas (especially Kilgore) are small and fill quickly.Friendly people and rangers.
Even on the fourth of July it was packed but not like the beaches. There was virtually no traffic leaving the city to get here. Forty minute drive. Beautiful unspoiled, well kept, many many picnic tables under total shade with clean bathrooms at all picnic areas. The tubing is what we were after and we weren't let down. There has been steady rain all summer so the water levels and current were perfect. My young sons had never experienced tubing so they had a great time. I took my own grill as many did but they have have grills out there that are suprisingly well kept. The grills were actually cleaner than mine!!! The King and Queens Seat was AMAZING OMG!! The story behind it all is incredible. Almost like the scene from The Lion King looking over that amazing valley. The Native Americans really had taste!! There are nice steps that lead down to the stream. Very tranquil and peaceful. We'd heard that over 70% of Baltimore County was rural filled with water trails and this was indeed our introduction!! We plan to visit a state park each weekend for the rest of the summer, that's just how much fun we had. You have to bring your own tube to this park though.:-) Take your family and relax! I think it was $3 each excluding children in car seats.
Took us about an 1.40h to get here from NJ. This state park is nicely set upwith multiple parking/picnic areas. We did a little hiking and visited the king and queen seat . There were alot of visitors this fall day including a few rock climbers. The views were spectacular and peaceful. We enjoyed the day here and also visited kilgore falls nearby.
We've enjoyed being 15 minutes from Rocks park for years. It features two key experiences. The "King and Queen Seats" offer breathtaking views of Harford County's foothills and the Deer Creek valley. There is some danger involved in getting to the top of the twin towers, best summited by skilled rock climbers. Down in the valley, the Deer Creek is a haven for fisherfolks and tubers alike. Much of the trailbed of the historic "MA and PA Railroad" can be viewed and walked within the park boundaries. Fans of the movie "Tuck Everlasting" will discover that several scenes were filmed here.
We hiked this park in January and were surprised at how pretty it is given that so few people know of it in Maryland. The trails were very icy but we made it to both the King and Queen seat and the waterfall. The falls were partially frozen and just beautiful. Easy hiking aside from the ice!
On week days the park is pretty quiet place to laze away an afternoon or to do some hiking. But Be Careful. Now and then someone gets too close to an edge during a rock climb falls off! People have had some serious injuries.
Rocks State Park is only only an hour and twenty minutes from our house in North Wilmington, DE (we're 20 minutes from Philly and always looking for day trips close to home). The park makes for a great day trip! We thought the trail moderate and were a little surprised to catch ourselves out of breath as we hiked toward Kings and Queen Seat, but there were benches strategically placed along the way. We took two 9 year old girls on our hike and they loved the little rock cave they found on the way to Kings and Queen Seat and the great hollowed out tree at the entry (the kids thought the hallowed tree a fairy house... lol00, The height of Kings and Queen caught us off guard. Other hikers, some with little dogs, some with ropes had already gotten to the rock before us. We didn't expect to see people with ropes and gear climbing the side of the rock. Just didn't think it would be that steep from other reviews. The view from the rocks is great and we'd recommend planning to keep a eye on the kids once to Kings and Queen Rock. It's a great place to take a rest and take a break. Be prepared on the way to hike a steeper than you think trail, for a way up there high rock formation, and a great view. This is a park that requires good shoes. We saw hikers with flip flops, but wouldn't recommend it ever. The overall trail is rocky and a little steeper than expected. From the Seats you can loop the park and once we got back to the park office we drove to the second part of our day which was the water fall which was a 15 minute drive from the park office (The park office has directions and maps). The waterfall was the highlight of the day. The kids were happy we saw King and Queen, but said they wouldn't go back. They were all about the water fall. Even thought the water cold this past weekend the kids didn't care. They went bare foot across the creek to get to the waterfall. Be sure to pack water shoes so the kids can can safely cross the creek. We found the other visitors at the park to be friendly and the day a fun one! Enjoy! The paths at both sections of the park rocky, full of crazy roots, and rocks, and a worthwhile adventure!
Took the Falling Branch Trail to Kilgore Falls which was an easy 0.5mi hike. The falls are beautiful with an easy side trail leading up to the top above it. There are also other side trails to the river banks, it was nice to explore. We visited around 11:00am and it was almost to capacity with a lot of folks hanging out on the rocks and in the water. The water itself was refreshing once we got over the chilliness!! No entrance fee to get it in which was nice, I would go again maybe earlier or later in the day to avoid the small crowd. Think we stayed for about 1 - 1 1/2 hours tops.This is a great option for a day trip with a relaxing drive, bring some food and drinks and your suit! Just make sure to look up directions to the parking lot of off Falling Branch Rd.
If you enjoy nature and/or local places to feel like you're "getting away" for a little while, this waterfall is a place you will want to visit at some point. It's situated in north central Maryland, just west of route 24 north of the town of Street. There's a little parking lot off Falling Branch Road where you park, and it's a very easy quarter mile hike from the lot to the falls. Bring your camera...there's a ton of different ways you can get beautiful pictures of the falls from all kinds of different locations.The pool below the falls is good for wading/swimming, although the water can be quite cold. I've seen kids jumping from the upper ledge, but I won't be trying that anytime soon.For a family its a great afternoon opportunity for a picnic.If you're a photographer, the falls offer a great opportunity for long-exposures. The fall foliage offers the best scenery for wider shots.