Patapsco Valley SP - Hilton and Cascade Falls - 4 miles with 2 BIG hills

Let's hope our beautiful weekend weather continues and take a hike at Patapsco. This one is a fairly short 4 miles, but we will be hiking from the top of the valley, down to the river, up the other side, and then back. The good news: we're taking the gentler slopes on the way up.

We'll leave from the parking lot at the Hilton northern parking lot and take the steeper Hilton path straight down to the swinging bridge. We will swing a right on the Rootball trail and then follow a counter-clockwise loop, almost all the way to Landing Road, then back down into the valley again, passing the actual falls. From there we cross the bridge again, take a short, flat jaunt along the Grist Mill Trail, then ascend the Forest Glen Trail back to the Hilton Parking lot.

There are two significant uphills, totaling 660ft. Make sure you have appropriate footwear. There are also some potentially slippery rocks to cross over at Cascade Falls, so poles might be helpful.

Please arrive with time to get laced up and start promptly at 10:00. We don't wait for latecomers.

Follow along on Alltrails
(Route map is posted in the photos section)

There is a better than average chance that we will head to Guinness afterwards, as the tent area may be open.