Bill May: Summer at Cunningham Falls State Park brings back great memories

This time of year brings fond memories of end-of-the-school-year trips during the junior high school years of my daughter, Rachel. For three years, we always chose Cunningham Falls State Park for overnight tent camping, swimming, hiking, climbing the falls and some interesting encounters with deer, raccoons and other wildlife. The cast was always me as the only parent, Rachel and the school friend of her choice that year. (My wife billed this arrangement as a bonding experience, and it actually was. But we also suspected she wanted to avoid the tent.)

Through the seasons and years, there were numerous family day trips to Cunningham Falls and to our family’s “sacred mountain” in adjacent Catoctin Mountain Park. Like most Marylanders, we considered the two parks one entity, but the state park offers abundant blessings in its own right.

Cunningham Falls is open 8 a.m. to sunset through October (10 a.m. until sunset November through March). The park advises entering before 10 a.m. during peak days before the parking areas fill and folks must be turned away. The William Houck area can be accessed via state Route 77, the Manor area via U.S. Route 15.

Day-use admission fees for Houck Area from Memorial Day through Labor Day are: Weekends and holidays, $5 for Maryland residents, $7 for out-of-state residents; weekdays, $3 for Maryland residents, $5 for out-of-state residents. For the Manor Area, fees are $3 per vehicle for Maryland residents, $5 per vehicle for out-of-state residents.

Entering the William Houck area, there are two roped-off areas for swimming featuring sandy beaches with firm, sandy bottoms. There are bathhouses for changing, a playground and other amenities. Lifeguards are on duty from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Memorial Day through Labor Day.

Picnic tables, some grills and open grassy areas are available on a first-come, first-served basis for picnicking near the lake in the Houck area. Food trucks are sometimes available.

Picnic tables and grills are likewise available in the Manor area. A picnic shelter that can accommodate up to 150 people is available for reservation.

All of the standard Maryland fishing licensing rules apply at Cunningham Falls Lake. Persons age 16 and over require a freshwater sport fishing license. Those taking trout also require a trout stamp.

The 43-acre lake is easily accessible. Before entering the Houck area, along Catoctin Hollow Road, just off Route 77, you can park at the Dam Overlook Lot on the right and fish from the shoreline along the base of the dam and a little along the eastern shore. A bit further along this road is an entrance to a parking area with a launch ramp and accessible fishing pier. Almost any Coast Guard-approved small boat, canoe, kayak, paddleboard or 3-chambered inflatable may be launched for an honor system fee of $3 per vehicle for Marylanders, $5 for out-of-staters. Electric motors are allowed; gas motors are prohibited. Again, some shoreline fishing can be found in this area.

Once entering the Houck area, some more shoreline fishing spots are available but no fishing and boating is permitted in the swimming areas of the park.

Good put-and-take trout fishing occurs with heavy trout stocking in early spring. Bait fishing and trolling various small lures and flies are the preferred methods. As waters warm, the surviving stocked trout head for deeper, cooler waters and can be taken with lures and baits fished deep, but the lake reverts to a standard fishery for largemouth bass, bluegill/sunfish including some hefty shellcrackers, crappie and catfish. This is my favorite bluegill lake, and now is prime time.

I have taken some good bass fishing surface lures, spinnerbaits and plastics from the shoreline at the base of the dam. This area also features good spring fishing for bedding bluegills using fly rod poppers and tiny jigs beneath a float.

But most shoreline fishing is limited by shrubbery, so small watercraft, including float tubes, give access to more waters and fish. I like fishing the east shoreline from the ramp to the dam and along the base of the dam using a kayak or rowable float tube and casting bluegill bugs and flies under overhanging trees. I recommend a 5- to 6-weight fly rod with a floating line for fishing these lures but light spinning tackle with a casting float will also work.

Trolling, by oar, paddle, electric motor or breeze, is an ideal way of locating and catching all species here. You can cover the entire fishing area of the lake effectively by working breaklines out from shorelines to the center of the lake. Use small to medium crankbaits, jigs with curlytail plastics and beetle spins adjusted to run just above the bottoms and above sunken weedbeds. These weedbeds can be particularly productive. Stop and fancast places where you get action.

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Camping is available through October. The William Houck area contains 106 basic tent sites ($21.50 per day), 33 sites with electric hook-up for RVs ($27.50 per day) and a small number of cabins with limited amenities ($50.50 to $65.50 per day). The Manor area provides more solitude with 23 basic tent sites and eight sites with electric hook-up for RVs. Both sites have fire pits, flush toilets and hot showers.

Reservations are required. Call 888-432-2267 or go online to: parkreservations.Maryland.gov.

There are hiking trails throughout the state park and even more in Catoctin rated by length and difficulty. Take these ratings seriously and know your limits. And take plenty of water.

Cunningham Falls (aka McAfee Falls):

Even in a summer drought, the 78-foot cascading Cunningham Falls is worth the short hike from the William Houck area. An accessible boardwalk from Route 77 goes directly to the base of the falls.

Visiting the park last Friday, I was delighted to see a father-daughter tradition continuing.

See further details at: https://dnr.maryland.gov/publiclands/Pages/western/cunningham.aspx