Name: Catoctin Mountain Park Visitor Center
Address: 14707 Park Central Rd, Thurmont, MD 21788, Thurmont
Telephone: +13016639388

Catoctin Mountain Park Visitor Center, Thurmont

At a glance

Rating breakdown

5 ★79%
4 ★18%
3 ★2%
2 ★0%
1 ★0%

14707 Park Central Rd, Thurmont, MD 21788

nps.gov

(301) 663-9388

Photos of Catoctin Mountain Park Visitor Center (98)

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Catoctin Mountain Park Visitor Center, Thurmont – photo 1

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Quick facts

What is the rating of Catoctin Mountain Park Visitor Center?: Catoctin Mountain Park Visitor Center is rated 4.7 out of 5 based on 454 reviews.
Where is Catoctin Mountain Park Visitor Center located?: 14707 Park Central Rd, Thurmont, MD 21788
How can I contact Catoctin Mountain Park Visitor Center?: Phone: (301) 663-9388 · Website: nps.gov

Reviews (11)

Trisha & Brad Hewitt 2024 Jan 28

Very nice NPS staff in this location. You are able to get National Park passes in this location, cancellation stamps, purchase items from gift shop, and view information on the local area. The streets close down during off-season so you might have to detour to get here. Otherwise, great place to hike with your dogs and kids.

skylar walter 2023 Oct 08

this park is incredible!!! don’t skip out on some amazing hikes! volunteer ranger sarah and ranger gabrielle were kind and informative. they have an awesome junior ranger book here. :) we went on a wonderful 5 mile hike through the beautiful fall colors! dog friendly, too. :)

Carl Deitrich 2023 Oct 08

Nice NPS visitor center with a friendly helpful staff. The parking lot is a little small, but there's a larger gravel lot right across the street.

David Lieu 2023 Aug 30

We visited in early August 2023. Mainly visited because Scouts BSA was holding a summer camp out at the Round Meadow Campgrounds. The visitor center was great. There is a exhibit room with a number of things to read about and look at. They also offer a junior ranger program here. There is a small bookstore/gift shop which sells a number of fun items. The staff was super pleasant to talk to and the rangers as well. There is a place to get your National Park Cancellation Stamp as well as junior ranger stamp. I didn't have much time to spend in the visitor center but from what I saw it was great and the bathrooms were nice too. The parking lot was a bit small but I think across the road there was additional parking spots. I visited on a Wednesday morning where there was only 2 other cars in the lot with me. Make the first right turn when coming off the main road. When I visited again on the Saturday morning around 11AM the lot directly in front of the visitor center was basically full. It looked like there was a hiking group or club gathering there ready to go. There also were 2 electric car charging station/ports in the parking lot. I think they may be the first time I've noticed that at any national park site. I included the picture, I'm not sure which ports they were as I don't own a electric vehicle.

The bathrooms inside the visitor center were also very nice and not sure if there were any on the exterior for when the visitor center is closed.

There were also some traffic concerns as a presidential summit was taking place at Camp David and certain roads were closed off as a result. Something to just keep in mind before deciding to visit. There was a increase presence of security as well. On the plus side we got to see a bunch of interesting plans fly by. Everyone liked watching the Osprey with it adjustable propellers for vertical landing and take off.

Would suggest take a stop here before heading into the park itself and get any info and details on the goings on at the park.

Rebecca Trapp 2023 Aug 19

Visitor Center is where to start. Small museum. Helpful Rangers & Volunteers. Trail maps for different areas. Junior Ranger books. Small NPS gift/book store. The whole park is a 10.

Mark Smith 2023 May 26

What a wonderful nps to visit! The ranger and especially a very friendly volunteer shared all types of info on the park, trails, wildlife, and much more on our visit. I only wish I had left more time to explore, will definitely be back to see more! Free to enter, although there is a donation jar that helps them offset costs.

Heather Wellington 2022 Oct 10

Beautiful set of trails with views every mile or less. Plenty of parking across several lots, bathroom or port a potties at every lot. Most lots have picnic tables, no grills or trash though. Dog friendly. Nice visitor center with bathrooms. Waterfall isn't that exciting from where we were standing on the boardwalk, but if you got off, which you're not supposed to, it's probably better.

Moving on with Old Man River Old man river 2022 May 03

I never knew this place existed until I saw it and wondered where it's located. Only about a 30 minute drive to Gettysburg and Eisenhower's farm. Here you can get 2 ranger badges. The Catoctin Mountain badge and the fishing Angler's badge. I walked the Moonshine still trail but didn't see any fish in the stream.

Michael J. Metzger 2021 Jul 15

Welcome to Catoctin Mountain Park visitor center. If you have never visited Catoctin Mountain Park you should definitely make a stop at the visitor center before you proceed to the other attractions within the park. This location is full of information in the cases on the walls on the outside of the building related to the park, when it is open and once again what it has to offer. Once you go inside it is no different there is information about the history of the park and even some interactive things for the kids to do. It is also maned by park employees who are forever ready and willing to answer any questions you might have about the park, the trails and animals or plants and trees you might see while your hiking. I took my kids there when they were younger and the park employees even swore my kids in as deputy rangers and gave them little plastic badges to wear around. There are bathrooms at this location as well and even a place to charge your electric vehicle if you have one.

Victoria Cabral 2020 Dec 15

Back in 2016 my kids and I went to this trail. It was an incredible experience.
There were stones they climbed on that were scary as the fall was very long
But they did a great job!
This trail was beautiful and well marked

Adithya Raam Sankar 2018 Oct 16

Cunningham Falls and Trail:
Very good view. Nice natural trail. Enjoyable scenery. Moderate difficulty. No hard climbs.

Yellow Blaze Trail:
Tiring and worthless. Too long, rocky and hilly. The hog rock and blue ridge vista view points were not too good for the trek. They have very small views in between trees. The trail is good if you want to just trek and not for the scenic views.