Green Ridge Camping and Exploration
Quiet Weekend in Green Ridge
On a clear and cool weekend in early March, I wanted to get out to have a little quiet time after a pretty hectic few weeks.
I decided to take the opportunity to spend a little time out in Green Ridge State Forest, both to get away for a bit, as well as have a little free wheeling time to explore the forest a little bit. I knew there was primitive dispersed camping in the forest, but I didn’t know much about it, how it was laid out, or much of what the trails were like.
With that in mind, I made an open ended plan to go out there for a weekend and check it out!
Before getting to Green Ridge, I stopped at a gas station/restaurant located at 35206 National Pike NE, Little Orleans, MD 21766. It’s very close to Green Ridge, and is a great stop for refueling, as well as using the restroom and getting firewood. Like most camping areas, it’s recommended to get local firewood, to prevent introducing invasive insect species into the area.
I met up with a guest from the CORE 4x4 club and we went exploring. He had camped in the forest from Friday to Saturday. I was supposed to join him, but my daughter just had her 1 year vaccine shots, and was a bit fussy afterwards, so I stayed home with her on Friday, and planned to head out first thing Saturday morning.
I met with him at campsite 73. It was a nice ridge top site, with a nice view of the stars. My original plan was to get site 87, which is lower in the valley. I had hoped to possibly get some fishing in, so 87 looked on the map to be near a stream. But with me missing out on Friday, Jan chose the higher site to get some stargazing in.
We went to check out a part of the forest and a pair of roads. Twigg Road and Mertens Road. They were supposed to be more “interesting” from a 4x4 perspective. They turned out to be some fun roads! Nothing really requiring 4WD, but still pleasant to drive. I’m sure once the trees regain their leaves and the forest fills out, it would be absolutely beautiful.
After exploring those roads, we headed towards a couple of water crossings across Town Creek Rd. We’ve been across these in the past, but they seemed quite a bit deeper this time around!
After doing the crossings, Jan called it a day and we made our way north back towards the highway so he could head home. I, however, planned on staying the night, so that I could do some more exploring.
I returned to his old site, knowing that it wouldn’t be reserved, and settled in for the night.
The next morning I packed up and headed to the Point Overlook. It was a pretty view of the C&O River below. It’s the first image in this post.
After that, I went south to check out the rest of the road as it snaked it’s way towards the river. It was a very interesting trail, passing my original site 87, into the valley. I’m looking forward to seeing how this looks in the summer and fall!
In all, it was a great weekend, and I learned a lot about Green Ridge State Forest! I look forward to returning!
Check out more photos in the gallery!
