Fall color usually builds across Frederick County from late September into early November, moving down from the ridgelines to the valley floor. The highest and earliest color shows up along Catoctin Mountain, where the hike to Chimney Rock in Catoctin Mountain Park opens onto miles of treetops, and neighboring Cunningham Falls State Park pairs the season's reds and golds with a 78-foot cascade.
Chimney Rock at Catoctin Mountain Park
West of the city, the Appalachian Trail runs the spine of South Mountain past Gathland State Park and the original Washington Monument. If you'd rather drive than hike, Route 15 - the Journey Through Hallowed Ground National Scenic Byway - carries you the length of the county, and the Covered Bridges Driving Tour connects Roddy Road, Loy's Station, and Utica Mills through some of Maryland's prettiest farmland.
The county's farms turn fall into a full season of its own. Gaver Farm, Summers Farm near Middletown, Magnolia Meadow Farms, Jumbo's Pumpkin Patch, and Green Meadows Farm all run fall festivals with corn mazes, hayrides, pick-your-own pumpkins, and enough cider donuts to justify the drive. Catoctin Mountain Orchard, just off Route 15 north of Thurmont, stacks its pumpkin pyramid within sight of the mountain and sells apples picked that morning.
Catoctin Colorfest draws crowds to Thurmont each October, while FallFest at Catoctin Furnace brings apple butter boiling over an open fire and blacksmiths at the forge. Add Frederick's Oktoberfest at the fairgrounds and Oktoberfest at Schifferstadt, and the calendar fills fast.
Downtown Frederick gives the season its evening shift. Carroll Creek Park is the walk to take when the leaves start dropping onto the brick promenade and the iron bridges, and it puts you steps from more than 200 locally owned shops - good timing for holiday buying before the crowds. The Carroll Creek Brewing District keeps Attaboy Beer, RAK Brewing, and Steinhardt Brewing pouring seasonal beers. Once it's dark, the Weinberg Center for the Arts lights its marquee, Ghost Tours of Historic Frederick head out by lantern light, and the National Museum of Civil War Medicine opens its Haunted History tours.
Don't miss out on experiencing the fall magic of Frederick County this year!