Fairview Mountain

Four Locks Road to McCoys Ferry

Start Mile: 109
End Mile: 110.2
Time: 1 Hour
When: Morning 1/15/06

Directions: From Williamsport, take MD 68 to MD 56. Make a left on MD 56 and follow it to Four Locks Road. There are several one-lane bridges on MD 56. Follow Four Locks Road to the signs for the boat ramp. There are several one-lane tunnels on Four Locks Road. There is parking at the boat ramp.



There is nothing like the cold to speed up a walk. Really, I should have just combined yesterday's walk with today's walk on a better day. The distance from the Four Locks boat ramp to the edge of Fort Frederick State Park is about 2 1/2 miles.

There was no precipitation today but it was extremely cold. The winds over the last couple days have taken their toll on the trees in the area. I had planned to park at McCoy's Ferry but there was a large tree blocking the road.

This is usually a nice walk with plenty of deer. The canal cuts inland to shortcut a turn in the Potomac. They rejoin near the North Mountain Campsite. If the campsite wasn't marked you wouldn't know it was there. The Western Maryland Railroad runs along the canal here. A train was just coming through as we walked by.

While the train held little interest for Buck, there were deer all along the walk. As usual, he followed his nose and missed most of them.

I ran into the campers from yesterday at McCoy's Ferry. It looked like they were packing up to leave so I told them about the trees in the road. They didn't seem concerned so I assume there is an alternative way out.