Catoctin Mountain Park

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Catoctin Mountain Park
IUCN Category V (Protected Landscape/Seascape)

Location:	Maryland, USA
Nearest city:	Thurmont, MD
Coordinates:	39°38′54″N, 77°28′0″W
Area:	5,770.22 acres (23.35 km²)
Established:	July 12, 1954
Visitation:	699,274 (in 2004)
Governing body:	National Park Service

Catoctin Mountain Park, a unit of the National Park Service in Maryland, USA, is part of the forested Catoctin Mountain ridge that forms the eastern rampart of the Appalachian Mountains, this mountain park has sparkling streams and panoramic vistas of the Monocacy Valley.

1 History
2 See also
3 Reference
4 External links

[edit] History

In the 1930s, after years of making charcoal to fuel the iron furnace, mountain farming, and harvesting of trees for timber, land was purchased to be transformed into a productive recreation area; helping to put people back to work during the Great Depression. Beginning in 1935, the Catoctin Recreational Demonstration Area was under construction by both the Works Progress Administration and the Civilian Conservation Corps. The park was transferred to the National Park Service on November 14, 1936, and renamed and reorganized on July 12, 1954.

Catoctin Mountain vista

Originally planned to provide recreational camps for federal employees, one of the camps eventually became the home of the Presidential retreat, Camp David. The Presidential retreat is not open or accessible to the public; however the eastern hardwood forest of Catoctin Mountain Park does have many other attractions for visitors, some of which include: camping, picnicking, fishing, 25 miles (40 km) of hiking trails, and scenic mountain vistas.