/EDWARD B. 1 1711 »N DORP PLATE I Forest unspoiled waterfall still in Garrett County. speak of the primitive MARYLAND STATE BOARD OF FORESTRY EDWARD B. MATHEWS, Executive Officer F. W. BESLEY, State Forester THE STATE RESERVES OF MARYLAND "A Playground for the Public" BY J. GORDON DORRANCE ASSISTANT FORESTER BALTIMORE, MARYLAND 1919 ILLUSTRATIONS Plate. Facing Page. I. Frontispiece — Forest and Unspoiled Waterfall. II. Fig. 1 — Wide Reaches of Woodland 16 Fig. 2 — -Swimming and Fishing 16 III. Fig. 1 — Tenting on the Old Camp Ground 18 Fig. 2 — There is no Place like the Summer Home. 18 IV. Fig. 1 — Ten Miles from the City Hall 20 Fig. 2 — Boating or Bathing? 20 MAPS The Patapsco State Reserve. The Garrett County Reserves. INTRODUCTION This leaflet, as it now appears, is in large part a reprint and extension of one prepared earlier by the Board of Forestry, and published in 1916 by the Baltimore and Ohio Kailroad. Their edition has been sometime exhausted, and the newer one answers a demand which has been both general and insistent for late information on the State Reserves of Maryland, and their practical significance to and for the public. The term "Reserve" means, literally, some place kept in store, held back for future use. It is the intention of the Maryland Board of Forestry that it shall practically apply as reserved, but for public use now. It is very well to safeguard the water, and pro- tect the land ; but modern forest practice has its best office in making actual contribution to the public weal and wealth. It is with this thought that the State Reserves of Maryland are thrown open for generous use by all the people of the State. The recent maps which add substantially to the utility of this description are the work of Mr. Karl E. Tfeiffer, Assistant Forester. Acknowledgment is also due the camping books of Horace Kephart, by the Outing Company of New York, for many suggestions of in- terest and worth. THE STATE RESERVES OF MARYLAND. To the vacationist of average means — and it is with him that we will deal — the questions of how, when and where to take a vaca- tion best adapted to his needs are subjects for annual solution. His needs are various as the place to which his choice may lead, as various as the results which may stamp his vacation as a suc- cess or as a failure. In certain ways the short vacation weeks are the most im- portant of his year: in them such mental kinks and twists as have been snarling up through months of office and routine must be eliminated and straightened out; muscles well softened by disuse must be rebuilt by exercise and unaccustomed "stunts" to which the man has grown a stranger; the color of the city is to be re- placed by the reds and browns and blistered tans which intimate association with the fields and forests, the streams and swamps and open roads will brand on its habitues. The vacation is not alone a let-down from the usual. To be of greatest good it must entail a change, and a complete one. The Atlantic and its inlet, Chesapeake Bay, touch the edges of the Eastern Shore and cut a wide, deep waterway from the south to the north of the State. Great rivers — the Potomac and Patux- ent, the Choptank, Chester and Wicomico, the Patapsco, Gunpowder and Susquehanna, all famous streams — extend far into the coastal and tidewater regions of Maryland, navigable down near the mouths and many miles inland, rising in many cases up among the fertile lands and hilly places to the west and north. There, where great streams rise, some to flow east, some south, some to the west to reach the Gulf, are the out-croppings of the Blue Ridge and the dense forests of the Appalachians, the first stretching along in a hazy line that rests the mind and charms the eye with its reaches of smoky ridge and tree grown valley and high, bare tops ; the second offering to the observer a sight of one of tne State's few places where he may look away from a high-up point or ridge and see the forests almost as they were, dark, thick, covering all, as far as the eye can reach, with a mantle green and waving in the wind, which was put upon the mountains for a purpose. The State Reserves of Maryland. THE RESERVES OF GARRETT COUNTY. In the county of Garrett, the State of Maryland lias four re- serves. In 1906, Robert and John W. Garrett gave to the State, in three tracts, nearly 2,000 acres of mountain forest land for pub- lic use as a reserve. It was a valuable gift, but it was made con ditionally, and wisely. The condition was that there should be formed a State Board of Forestry to have the work of protecting, improving and caring not only for the lands, but for all forest lands inside the State. This was done, and the areas, two close together, one a trifle farther off, became the property of the pub lie, set aside for the public's use. One is now known as the Skip- nish Reserve; the second, near it, as the Swallow Falls; the third as the Kindness Reserve. They contain respectively 888, 823 and 206 acres. That is not all. In 1917, Messrs. Henry and Julian LeRoy White donated to the State for public enjoyment their Garrett County estate, "Herrington Manor." To this was added, by pur- chase, a desirably located block of 57 acres more. By its location, it joins the State Reserves of Herrington Manor and Swallow Falls. The Manor Reserve lies along Herrington Creek, four miles north- west of Oakland near the Oakland -Cranesville road, and border- ing the Hutton Switch road. It consists of 656 acres, of which 100 are woodland, largely virgin hardwoods, 156 acres glade pasture land, and 100 acres cleared. On the latter are a substantial home- stead and other buildings. The newer Reserve just touches the Swallow Falls Reserve, and is but one and one-half miles north of Kindness, making all four of the Garrett County properties a closely connected group of accessible, attractive, free-use lands. They total 2,630 acres and make a public playground whose ad- vantages are as great as the means for enjoying them are moderate. That no more people have seen them is not so strange, for they are not part of a thickly peopled district. Recently, however, witli the acquisition of the new Patapsco State Reserve, the Mary- land Board of Forestry, in whose charge these lands are placed, became convinced that if the people of Maryland had a better un- derstanding of how to enjoy the five large forest parks within raeir reach the knowledge would stand them in good stead when it came to the investing of a vacation which might be spent on any part of several thousand acres offered free for use and readily and cheaply accessible from any point. MAP OF THE GARRETT COUNTY RESERVES, AND ADJACENT AREAS. DISTANCE TO OAKLAND FROM : Baltimore 221 miles Pittsburgh 204 miles Washington 205 miles Cumberland 54 miles „ V\X State Laads V/////A Cooperative Areas MAP OF THE PATAPSCO STATE RESERVE AND ADJACENT AREAS MARYLAND STATE BOARD OF FORESTRY. The State Reserves op Maryland. 15 Since the greater number of vacationists come from Baltimore, that city is taken for purposes of illustration. Though to many the nearness of the Patapsco is a deciding factor, the other re- serves are not so remote as to place them out of easy reach of any portion of the State. Located in Garrett County, in the higher altitudes of Western Maryland, the Skipnish, Kindness, Swallow Falls, and Herrington Manor Reserves will appeal to those who like their vacations seasoned with a little wild life, a dash of the woods and the mountains, and withal a vivifying atmosphere. It is in Garrett County that the highest altitude of the Alle- gany Mountains in Maryland are reached. A nine-mile plateau tops the summit between Altamont and Oakland, and it is on this plateau that is located the famous Deer Park Hotel, with its charming forest reserve of over 800 acres, and Mountain Lake Park, a famous Chautauqua gathering-place. These two resorts are only three miles apart, and Oakland, three miles further west, is the getting-off place for the State Reserves. These places are reached by the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad, on the main New York-St. Louis Line, and consequently enjoy the very best of through train service. Oakland is the railroad station for the Swallow Falls and Skip- nish parks; Hutton, that for Kindness and Herrington Manor, is 16 minutes farther on by rail. It is possible and convenient to leave Baltimore on Friday night, spend Saturday and Sunday at the parks, returning Sunday night, and reaching Baltimore at 8.32 on Monday morning. From May 1st to September 30th the Balti- more and Ohio Railroad sells special-rate summer tickets from Baltimore to Oakland and return. Tickets purchased on May 1st and later are good returning until October 31st. Arrived at Oakland, the Skipnish and Swallow Falls Reserves are distant five and four miles, respectively. Good roads make both accessible. By good roads we mean those suitable for riding and driving, as well as motoring. At the reserves will be found one of the State's forest wardens, A. L. Sines, who is prepared to conduct visitors about the park, point out suitable sites for pitch- ing camp, and issue permits for their free use. Mr. Sines' resi- dence is on the Herrington Manor Reserve, where he may readily be reached by local telephone from Oakland. His postoffice ad- dress is Oakland. The Kindness Reserve is but one-half mile from Hutton Station, Herrington Manor being three miles farther on. All four places are well supplied, and naturally, with camp sites, springs and streams for supplying the camper's wants with drink- 16 The State Reserves op Maryland. ing water and a place to fish or swim. Boating is possible in many places, since the Youghiogheny River, with Swallow Falls, is adjacent to all four reserves. The Falls, in its setting of forest and mountain, offers a most attractive prospect to the sightseer; numer- ous trails through the forests, with lookout stations on the higher mountains, serve to open up much of interest to the visitor. On Snaggy Mountain stands a tower of the Board of Forestry from which more than 100,000 acres of wooded highlands are shown stretching away from the observer as far as he can see. The whole region is one of natural charm and great attractiveness. It typifies the Appalachians. THE PATAPSCO RESERVE. Nearer Baltimore, so near, in fact, as almost to be called a city park, is the Patapsco State Reserve. Maryland owns here DIG acres, chiefly of wooded land, with the addition of over 1,000 acres which are open to the public, with full park privileges, in return for the protection which the Board gives to its respective owners in the matter of patrol against trespass and fire. The en- tire Reserve is essentially a protection and a recreation forest. Prior to 1912 this region was only a piece of attractive country : two high, sloping banks with a cover of timber, a winding river between ; it was close to Baltimore ; it seemed to have some natural possibilities as a park; and its forests covered and protected the watershed of the Patapsco, thus affecting in a measure the harbor of the city. Through enactment of the Legislature of 1912, the Patapsco Reserve was created and soon began to be acquired. Most of the lands were secured through purchase, but a nucleus of 162 acres was given to the State. Trails were constructed, fire lines laid out, and a small amount of forest planting done on non-wooded por- tions of the various properties, which were first surveyed, then transferred to the State, as the importance of keeping them in forest to protect the stream, or to return to forest those which had been stripped and were deteriorating through soil erosion, became evident. Other improvements were planned and executed as their de- sirability became apparent, and as early as 1917 some 200 camp sites were definitely located for the use of visitors who cared to use the park's advantages. The first comers — and these included several Boy Scout troops from Baltimore and Catonsville — were PLATK II. FKi Wide reaches of woodland cloak the highland country of Western Maryland. PLATE II. PIG. 2 Swimming and fishing, with hiking and woodcraft, are the campers' "big four" in Garrett County. The State Reserves of Maryland. 17 pleased with the Reserve. They liked its fishing, swimming and canoeing, their camp sites, and the supply of drinking water from the springs. This use of the Reserve was so successful in its earlier limited way that the Board decided it should be generally extended, and to this end have planned accordingly. Those who are familiar with the Baltimore and Ohio between Baltimore and Frederick need no description of the country tra- versed from Relay to Hollofield and beyond. It is scenically beau- tiful. Under the management of the Board its attractions are be- ing protected and so far as possible enhanced, and the Patapsco Reserve made ready for free use by the people of this State. For greater public convenience and readier information, all sites have been clearly designated with the initials of the nearest railroad station. Thus: "0," "A," and "G" appear for Oella, Ava- lon, and Glenartney, respectively. Further, odd numbers are em- ployed for locations on the Baltimore County side, even numbers for those in Howard County. It may be mentioned that the sites lie in two main groups, those between Hollofield and Oella, and Ilchester and Avalon. Good trails from better roads reach all camp sites; and they are all within easy reach of water that is very fit to drink. Some of the better trails are: that from Oella to Hollofield, on the Bal- timore side; Hollofield to Ellicott City, Howard County side; This- tle to Avalon, Baltimore County; and River Road, throughout, in Howard. The tracks or tunnel of the Baltimore and Ohio will never be used by pedestrians having due regard for life and limb, or law and order. For beautiful views the woods trail leading along and up Cascade Branch, at Orange Grove, is suggested to those who have a tender feeling for the rustic unchanged whims of nature. Individuals, by scores, have already proved the Patapsco much to their liking. Community camps of families brought together by residential, religious, or social ties afford good opportunity for profitable association in a way that makes finer and better friends. Where cleared ground lies near their camp sites there is no objec- tion to the vegetable gardens of those who summer there. In fact, there is every disposition to encourage the deeper, broader appli- cation of "rusticating" and vacation camping practice. Frequent train service on the old Main Line of the Baltimore and Ohio places all parts of the Reserve within 20 or 30 minutes' ride of Baltimore city on a few cents' fare. Washington is not too far away for the use of the Reserve, and Frederick has direct con- 18 The State Reserves oe Maryland. nections. It would appear that this were enough — easy accessi- bility, low carfares, free sites, exceptional scenery, healthful loca- tions. It seems that it has some advantages compared with places far removed, where modern rates prevail. Many families only meet at week-ends. Patapsco Park is a place for all the family, all the summer. Days in town, and nights at the Park, are the portion of the tired business man. It is on these terms that the Board of Forestry at 311 West Monu- ment Street, Baltimore, F. TV. Besley, State Forester, either at their town office or through their resident representative, E. G. Prince, Ilchester, offers camping grounds to the people of the State. The State Forester may be reached at his office by tele- phone, Mount Vernon 105G; the local warden at his home, Catons- ville 9S-R. THE ART OF BEING COMFORTABLE. How to be well fed is not of less importance camping out than when at home. Indeed, it is of more, since in the camp life eat- ing is a feature and cooking is a different science. On all of the reserves the larder may quite easily be reinforced by purchases from nearby farms and towns, but where the camper wishes to assert his independence of the city when he leaves it, in all things, but most of all his table, we cannot do better than ad- vise his provisioning his camp according to the excellent advice contained in numerous books for campers by those who know. Questions of housing and clothing must always largely depend upon the requirements of individuals, the seasons, length of stay, distance from base or outfitters, with other and various conditions. Much must be left to the judgment and tastes of the camper, but that he may not overlook certain items convenient in his daily life brief reference to some necessities is here made. The problem of housing may be solved by a canvas lean-to, a rough board shack, or a tent. The first is cheaply and simply con- structed — an "open-face" — and will often answer as well as another the requirements of men and boys for a few days' bivouac. For "hiking" and stops of a few days or a week or two the canvas tent, in many sizes, shapes and prices is undoubtedly the best that offers. The latter inns from |15 to $18, for a tent seven or eight feet square, to the larger wall, apartment tents, costing as much as you choose to pay, yet no more essential to a pleasant trip than the kind you pack on your back and can just get into. Next to the ww**- i^yi iPH:'- -' 1 \ r ! V ..v PLATE III. FIG. 1 Tenting on the old camp ground appealed to a few; but camping on a Garrett County camp site should draw the many. PLATE III. FIG. 2 There is no place like the summer home after an August day in town. The State Reserves of Maryland. 19 tent, of course, comes what goes in it, your furniture, bedding and clothing. Camp furniture may consist of a blanket rolled on the ground or it may admit of a very complete outfitting which allows of some ingenuity on the part of the sojourner. Not always the best camp furniture is purchased ; much may be made on the spot. People frequently prefer to have a cot, and these may usually be bought for from $4.50 upward; blankets, $7.50 and upward a pair. Pine needles and a pillow-case should suffice for the camper's head-rest, and their odor is a balm which cities know not. For the tent a tarpaulin should be provided or a large and service- able rubber coat. Useful by day, it performs a good service at night, especially when the camper's bed is on the ground. Lighting and heating of the camp are not to be ignored by those who would be comfortable, and may be provided in a variety of ways. Stoves of small size may be secured at almost any price, and cooking may be done with oil or wood ; also the camp may be lighted with lamps, electric and acetylene, candles or torches. But the camper who will draw the maximum of benefits from his tented fireside will use neither. Modern improvements may from time to time be improvised and offered to the public, yet with them all the old wood campfire will remain^ smoky of flame, uncertain of heat, but none the less so typical of the atmosphere of camping. Aids to its further enjoyment are the sunken fireplace of brick or stone or tile, with an iron grating for the cooking dishes. The Board, in fact, has already provided numbers of ready-made fire- places of stone. In field cooking outfits there is nothing superior to those of aluminum, especially the "nests" of dishes which telescope and rep- resent the minimum of bulk and weight. These cost for two about $15, for four $25. They are pleasant to use, easy to clean, long lasting in service. Such sets contain practically everything the average camper wants in dishes. The subject of the camper's clothing is important. For long trips to remote places it should not always be worn-out articles, which give uncertain, at time embarrassing, service and often very little satisfaction. But for camping on the State's reserves, where temperate conditions of climate prevail, clothing which has seen service elsewhere and is no longer fit for use in town may with pro- priety be brought along and used. Heavy boots or shoes and sweater coats are quite important, and in the matter of the lighter 20 The State Reserves of Maryland. articles those made of wool are best for all conditions. Swimming suits should be included, as all the parks provide an opportunity of using them. In addition to these major articles of camp equipment are also many small ones which have a more or less important place to fill, "trifles," perhaps, yet not the ones we care to leave behind. An axe and a hatchet should both be brought, a pocket compass, hunting knife, matches in waterproof box, fishing tackle suitable for black bass, catfish, eels, mullets aud carp. A few home remedies for simple affections will also be advisedly included. Although in- sects are nowhere a serious menace, some "flydope" which is strong of scent should also be procured. All of this may be packed in a rough box with hinged top and rope handles at the ends, or in a pack basket or canvas ruck-sack. And in packing up, a little better- than-ordinary allowance of pipe tobacco should not be overlooked. Camp cooking is not exactly like unto that of mother and the old home range. Tried recipes may oftentimes be used, neverthe- less, or very wisely, those found in any standard cook book of the woods. With these suggestions in mind and proper preparation, noth- ing lacks for the success of a vacation spent on the slopes of the Patapsco River or in the mountain forests of Garrett County. Maryland. Permits are free and those who can are recommended to take advantage of them. State areas, for this purpose, are limited to 3,600 acres of wholesomely attractive lands. There is no limit to their right use and benefits. PLATE IV. FIG. 1 Ten miles from the City Hall of Baltimore. PLATE IV. FIG. 2 Boating or bathing? That is the question, on the Patapsco. The State Keserves op Maryland. 21 RULES AND REGULATIONS OF THE MARYLAND STATE BOARD OF FORESTRY FOR USE, BY THE PUBLIC, OF THE PATAPSCO STATE PARK. No person shall be allowed tlie exclusive use of any portion of the Patapsco State Park, for camping or other purposes, except under a written permit issued by the Board of Forestry upon an application signed by the person desiring to use said lands; which application and permit shall contain the following provisions : That the permittee and those enjoying with him the use of the Patapsco State Park under permit — 1. Will not cut, mutilate, or destroy any green trees except those selected and marked by the State Forest Officers. 2. Will not build or set any fires, except at places designated for them at the camp sites ; will always put out all fires before leaving camp; and will always use particular care in preventing the start- ing or spreading of fires, wherever they may be found. 3. Will not litter the ground and woods with paper, lunch boxes, other debris or refuse, or pollute the springs or streams in any manner whatsoever. 4. Will not bring into the Patapsco State Park or have in his or their possession while there firearms of any description; nor shoot or otherwise harm or molest any bird or animal therein. 5. Will prevent, as far as possible, any other damage to the State's property, which he and they will protect and conserve as fully as possible. 6. And will agree that this permit may be revoked in case of failure on the part of the permittee to comply with any or all of the above provisions. 22 The State Keserves op Maryland. DON'TS FOK USERS OP STATE FOREST LANDS. 1. DON'T build fires except at places designated for them at the camp sites. 2. DON'T forget to put your fire OUT when you leave the camp, if there is no one there to watch it. Water or earth will quickly smother it, and the slight work involved will help to keep the forest as YOU found it. 3. DON'T throw lighted cigar or cigarette butts into dry leaves or grass, or empty hot ashes from your pipe where they will start a fire. Be sure the tobacco is out before you throw it away, if you cannot throw it into a safe place such as a stream or bare earth road. 4. DON'T build fires except of "dead or down" timber, dry leaves and branches. No green trees may be cut without a permit from the Forest Warden. 5. DON'T forget that many things may injure a forest; but the greatest of these is FIRE. Carelessness causes forest fires, and campers have sometimes been the cause of carelessness! 6. DON'T take less care of your camping site than of your yard or lawn or porch at home. Keep this Reserve naturally clean for your own and others' use. 7. DON'T litter the ground and woods with refuse, or fill the springs and streams with filth. Pure water is the camper's greatest blessing; help to keep it so. 8. DON'T carve names in trees or otherwise deface this property. It is yours and it is also others'. Take good care of it, yourself. 9. DON'T leave your camp site less attractive than you found it. You may want to come again next year. 10. DON'T fail to let us know of any way in which you think the Reserve may be of greater service to you and to us. This use of it is an experiment; help to make it a permanent success. Posted by F. W. 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