The Rock Maze at Deep Creek Lake, MD in Garrett State Forest

This isn’t the first time I’ve posted about the Rock Maze, but it’s such a hidden gem, it deserves talking about more than just one time!

And this time, I’ve got a VIDEO (which is obviously better).

WHAT IS THE ROCK MAZE?

The Rock Maze is a hiking trail located in Garrett State Forest (the same state forest where both Herrington Manor & Swallow Falls State Parks are located).

It’s an out-and-back, mostly flat trail that altogether is only about a mile long. The trail is (mostly) marked & (fairly) easy to follow.

It starts off looking like just any other hiking trail – trees, ferns, evidence of wildlife – nothing spectacular. That is, until you get to the end. All of a sudden, you’ll find a few random house-sized boulders along the path & then you come to the reason people hike out that trail: The Rock Maze.

There is literally a football field of these gigantic boulders just strewn around. Like a giant was having some fun & tossed a bunch of rocks into a pile. They’ve had to have been there for hundreds (if not thousands) of years. I can say that with confidence because there are trees growing up on top of these boulders, with their intricate root systems snaking down around the sides to reach the ground below. It’s incredible.

It’s called a “Rock Maze” because you can literally get lost within the rocks. There are wide pathways & super super narrow ones. If you don’t keep your bearings about you, you will get lost. You’ll (probably) be able to find your way out (I mean, the two times we were there, we didn’t come across anyone so lost that they’d been in the Maze for days or anything) but it’s very easy to get turned around & to have to take a few minutes to figure out where you came from.

WHERE IS THE ROCK MAZE?

The Rock Maze isn’t heavily advertised. It’s one of Deep Creek Lake area’s best kept “secrets”. It’s too good of a secret to keep to ourselves though! (Plus, it’s truly not a “secret” – I’m not going to get into trouble for posting this or anything!)

While Swallow Falls & Herrington Manor have big beautiful signs enticing you to come visit them, the Rock Maze does NOT have a sign at all.
There used to be a tiny sign that said “Rock Maze” with an arrow, but as of October 2021, it’s gone. (It looked like some trees fell & the sign was simply removed.)

The best way to get there is to search:
“3739 Snaggy Mountain Road, Oakland, MD”
on your GPS.
Or, just look for the intersection of Snaggy Mountain Road & Cranesville Road (you can see the pull-off parking area from Cranesville Road).

If you have a day planned to go hiking at Swallow Falls or swimming at Herrington Manor, I’d highly suggest making a stop in to see the Rock Maze! You won’t regret it!

If you’d like to go back & see some photos that I’ve taken at the Rock Maze, go back and read my original post about this hidden gem HERE.