About
Muddy Creek Falls is a free-falling waterfall of more than 50 feet inside Swallow Falls State Park, about nine miles north of Oakland off Maple Glade Road. It's the centerpiece of the park's Canyon Trail and a natural first stop for anyone exploring the Youghiogheny River gorge.
The Falls and the Rock Behind Them
Muddy Creek starts in Cranesville Swamp just over the West Virginia line and joins the Youghiogheny inside the park. Tannins from the swamp's decaying vegetation tint the water a tea-brown color, which is where the creek gets its name. The Maryland Geological Survey explains that the falls drop over the Pottsville Formation, cross-bedded sandstone layered with softer siltstone and shale, laid down in the Pennsylvanian Period about 300 million years ago.
In July 1921, Thomas Edison, Henry Ford and Harvey Firestone, who called themselves the Vagabonds, camped beside the falls during a summer road trip through western Maryland.
Getting There on the Canyon Trail
You reach the falls on the Canyon Trail, a 1¼-mile foot path (no bikes) in the park's day-use area that also passes Swallow Falls and other smaller cascades along the river. The route runs through a grove of eastern hemlock and white pine that Maryland DNR reports includes trees more than 360 years old; the state treats the hemlocks against the hemlock woolly adelgid, an invasive insect. The park also links to Herrington Manor State Park by a 5.5-mile trail through Garrett State Forest.
Before You Go
- Day-use reservations are required on summer weekends and holidays between Memorial Day and Labor Day; book at parkdayuse.maryland.gov before you arrive.
- Pets are not allowed in the day-use area, including the Canyon Trail, during the summer season.
- Wet weather, ice and snow make the rocks and stairs slippery; the park recommends sturdy footwear, and crampons when the trail is icy.
If you're camping nearby, the park's own campground and the Swallow Falls Trail Parking & Trailhead listings have more on staying over and where to start.
Address
2470 Maple Glade Rd, Oakland, MD 21550