Located in the Catoctin Mountains, Cunningham Falls State Park is one of Maryland’s most popular state parks and is home to a great selection of boulders! Join Mid Atlantic Climbers on October 17, 2026 for an invasive species removal & native planting event that will help protect the habitat in this great park! We are looking for up to 20 volunteers. Anne (Cunningham Falls Park volunteer) will be demoing the plant(s) to remove and showing us where to plant the natives and how to protect them so they will flourish.
Schedule:
- Registration: 8:45am
- Project work: 9am-12pm
- Raffle: 12pm
Registration:
Registration is required. Sign up now!
Where To Meet/How To Get There:
We will meet at the main Cunningham Falls parking lot in the William Houck Area, located at 14274 William Houck Dr. Thurmont MD 21788. If this parking area is full, there is ample parking at North Beach. There are restrooms there and it is a short walk past the Nature Center from there to the Falls parking. You will have to pass an entrance station that collects fees (may or may not be attended at our arrival time) — volunteers DO NOT pay a fee to enter! The Contact station attendant will know about the event, just let the attendant know you are working with a volunteer group.
What To Bring:
- Closed toed shoes or boots
- Long sleeves and pants (we will be removing plants with thorns!)
- Work gloves (if you have them; we will be providing them to anyone who doesn’t have their own)
- Water & snacks
What We’ll be Doing:
We will be pulling invasive plants out and then planting native hackberry. Some plants may be difficult to remove; we will use tools such as shovels, loppers, pruners, mattocks, etc. All tools will be provided. When planting saplings, we will install fencing to protect them and water them.
Questions?
E-mail us at adoptacrag@midatlanticclimbers.org.