Greenbrier State Park is a public recreation area located on South Mountain, northeast of Boonsboro in

Washington County, Maryland Washington County is located in the western part of the U.S. state of Maryland. As of the 2020 census, the population was 154,705. Its county seat is Hagerstown. Washington County was the first county in the United States to be named for the ...

, USA. The

state park State parks are parks or other protected areas managed at the sub-national level within those nations which use "state" as a political subdivision. State parks are typically established by a state to preserve a location on account of its natural ...

has camping, hiking trails, and a man-made lake. It is managed by the

Maryland Department of Natural Resources The Maryland Department of Natural Resources (DNR) is a government agency in the state of Maryland charged with maintaining natural resources including state parks, public lands, state forests, state waterways, wildlife, and recreation areas. It ...

History

Greenbrier and

Janes Island State Park Janes Island State Park is a public recreation area on Chesapeake Bay lying adjacent to the city of Crisfield in Somerset County, Maryland. The state park features some of marked water trails through the island's salt marsh leading to isolat ...

were created in 1963. Between 1964 and 1978, the

Maryland General Assembly The Maryland General Assembly is the state legislature of the U.S. state of Maryland that convenes within the State House in Annapolis. It is a bicameral body: the upper chamber, the Maryland Senate, has 47 representatives and the lower chamb ...

authorized funding of over $2 million for land acquisition and development of Greenbrier's camping and picnic areas, beach, day-use facilities, parking areas, interpretive center, roads, and trails.

Activities and amenities

The park offers camping, fishing, boat launch and rentals, swimming, hiking, picnicking, mountain biking and hunting. The park's visitor center is open year-round, its nature center seasonally. ;Trails Greenbrier State Park contains ten maintained trails: Bartman Hill Trail, Big Red Trail, Camp Loop Trail, Copperhead Trail, Green Trail, Marked Mile, Rock Oak Fire Trail, Snelling Fire Trail, Water Tank Trail, and Yellow Trail. Trail difficulties range from easy to strenuous, and lengths range from to . All trails are open to hikers, and most are open to mountain bikes. In addition, the

Appalachian Trail The Appalachian Trail (also called the A.T.), is a hiking trail in the Eastern United States, extending almost between Springer Mountain in Georgia and Mount Katahdin in Maine, and passing through 14 states.Gailey, Chris (2006)"Appalachian Tr ...

crosses a corner of the park and can be accessed from the Bartman Hill Trail. ;Lake Greenbrier Lake is a 42-acre, man-made lake with beach and swimming area that gradually reaches a depth of six feet. Fishing for

trout Trout are species of freshwater fish belonging to the genera '' Oncorhynchus'', ''Salmo'' and ''Salvelinus'', all of the subfamily Salmoninae of the family Salmonidae. The word ''trout'' is also used as part of the name of some non-salmoni ...

, bass, or

bluegill The bluegill (''Lepomis macrochirus''), sometimes referred to as "bream", "brim", "sunny", or "copper nose" as is common in Texas, is a species of North American freshwater fish, native to and commonly found in streams, rivers, lakes, ponds and ...

is permitted on the lake, with a state-issued license required for those 16 or older.

In the news

In 1995, two rare albino deer were spotted in the park. In 2008, the park received a federal grant for $130,000 to build concrete culverts to allow

box turtle Box turtle is the common name for several species of turtle. It may refer to those of the genus '' Cuora'' or ''Pyxidea'', which are the Asian box turtles, or more commonly to species of the genus '' Terrapene'', the North American box turtles. T ...

s to safely cross Keadle Road within the park. The

pilot program A pilot study, pilot project, pilot test, or pilot experiment is a small-scale preliminary study conducted to evaluate feasibility, duration, cost, adverse events, and improve upon the study design prior to performance of a full-scale research pr ...

was the first of its kind in the United States.

References

External links

Greenbrier State Park
Maryland Department of Natural Resources
Greenbrier State Park Map
Maryland Department of Natural Resources {{authority control State parks of Maryland Parks in Washington County, Maryland South Mountain Range (Maryland−Pennsylvania) State parks of the Appalachians Protected areas established in 1963 IUCN Category III 1963 establishments in Maryland