For me, Garrett County in western Maryland is the perfect winter getaway from DC. It's just over three hours away but it feels so completely different because of the change in elevation. When it rains in DC, it snows in Garrett County, which is what brought us to Herrington Manor this past weekend. I'd managed to reserve for the weekend a two-person, heated cabin with hot water, which was the perfect way to enjoy some cross-country skiing. The cabin was sparsely furnished with just a bed, a table, and three chairs, and the kitchen had pots, dishes, utensils, and kitchen appliances. But I can't tell you how great it was to have arrived late Friday, get a fire going in the wood-burning stove, and then to wake up the next morning, and ski out the door right onto the trails after making ourselves a good hot breakfast.
Herrington Manor has miles of wonderful beginner to intermediate trails that wind through the woods and across open areas that are barely used by other skiers. Because it's even farther out than New Germany State Park, even fewer skiers will travel the extra half hour, which is just fine by us. I fell in love with cross-country skiing at this park when skiing one day years ago, a small herd of deer ran across the trail. Getting so close to nature in the dead of winter made me love this sport! This year didn't disappoint either in the wildlife observations. We again saw deer and also a brown fox running trough the snow.
Heading back to our cabin, we were able to have a hearty lunch with the food we'd brought, rest a bit, and then head back out for an afternoon ski. While it snowed most of the morning the afternoon was clear and sunny and again such a contrast to experience the park under such different conditions knowing our cabin was so close by. After showers and a nap, we headed out for an early dinner knowing we wanted to get a good night's sleep so we could get in a decent day of skiing on Sunday, which started with a pre-breakfast ski before checking out by 10:00 and heading over to New Germany for more skiing. Staying in the cabin was so enjoyable I only hope that we can get one more ski weekend in before winter's end. I'm already online looking for a cabin! read more