Catoctin Mountain Park: Charcoal Trail (Blog Hike #305)

Trail: Charcoal Trail

Hike Location: Catoctin Mountain Park

Geographic Location: west of Thurmont, MD (39.64734, -77.44381)

Length: 0.6 miles

Difficulty: 2/10 (Easy)

Date Hiked: July 2013

Overview: An interpretive hike detailing the region’s charcoal-producing history.

Park Information: http://www.nps.gov/cato/index.htm

Hike Route Map: https://www.mappedometer.com/?maproute=722597
Photo Highlight:

Directions to the trailhead: From Thurmont, take SR 77 west 2.2 miles to the park entrance on the right.  Turn right on the park road to enter the park.  Follow the park road 0.9 miles to the trailhead parking lot on the right.

The hike: For my general comments on Catoctin Mountain Park, see the previous hike.  Today we usually think of charcoal as ideal fuel for a summer cookout, but our ancestors had a much more industrial use for this product: making pig iron.  Fast-growing American chestnuts would be harvested from Catoctin Mountain.  Since wood is incapable of producing the high temperatures needed to make iron, the chestnut wood was slowly burned by charcoal-making experts called colliers.  The colliers would sell their product to the Catoctin Iron Furnace downstream, which in turn would produce usable iron from iron ore.

This charcoal-making history is the feature of the short trail described here.  The American chestnuts have long ago been obliterated by the chestnut blight, but they have been replaced by the old, beautiful oaks, maples, and hickories you see along this trail today.  The Charcoal Trail makes a great warm-up or cool-down before or after one of the more substantial hikes at Catoctin Mountain.

Trailhead: Charcoal Trail

            Begin at the information board at the right center of the parking lot.  The wide dirt trail maintains a constant elevation as it heads into the beautiful, mature forest.  You quickly arrive at the first of four exhibits, all of which are described by interpretive signs.  This first exhibit is a storage bin used to store the wood before it was burned into charcoal.  Later exhibits include a cart for transporting wood, a hearth where charcoal was made, and a hut used by the collier for living quarters while engaged in his trade.  Make sure you read all of the signs to learn as much as you can about the charcoal-making process.

Approaching the old collier road

            Just after passing the hearth, the trail turns sharply right as it joins an old collier road.  These roads were traversed by wagons such as the one you passed earlier as they carried coal down to the furnace.  Imagine what a rough, rocky ride this must have been riding on a horse-drawn cart!

Collier's Hut

            The trail heads slightly uphill on the old road as you pass the last exhibit, the collier’s hut.  A final dip and subsequent climb will return you to the parking lot and complete the hike.  While you are in the area, be sure to try out some of the other short interpretive trails at Catoctin Mountain Park, including the Hog Rock Trail, the Spicebush Trail, and Whiskey Still Trail, each of which have a distinctive highlight that will tell you more about the area’s history and/or present.