Rocky Gap State Park

Infobox_protected_area | name = Rocky Gap State Park, Maryland, USA
iucn_category = V


caption =
locator_x =
locator_y =
location = Allegany County, Maryland, USA
nearest_city = Cumberland, Maryland
lat_degrees = 39
lat_minutes = 42
lat_seconds = 17
lat_direction = N
long_degrees = 78
long_minutes = 38
long_seconds = 18
long_direction = W
area = 3,400 acres (13.76 km²)
established =
visitation_num =
visitation_year =
governing_body = Maryland Department of Natural Resources

Rocky Gap State Park is a 3,400-acre (13.76 km²) park in Allegany County, Maryland. It is seven miles east of Cumberland on Interstate 68 (exit 50), and is about a two-hour drive from Washington, D.C., Baltimore and Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Lake Habeeb, which covers 243 acres and sports white sand beaches, is fed by Rocky Gap Run. Evitts Mountain, named for the first European settler in Allegany County, offers a backdrop for Lake Habeeb, named after Edward Habeeb.

Amenities include the Rocky Gap Resort and Golf Course, developed in 1998 by the Maryland Economic Development Corporation, an agency created in 1984 that allows the State of Maryland the ability to directly own or develop property for economic development. The Rocky Gap Lodge is located on Lake Habeeb and features a 18-hole Jack Nicklaus Signature Golf Course. A 220-room lakeside lodge provides conference rooms for meetings and conventions, and a full-service restaurant and lounge overlooks the lake.

Amphitheater

The park provides a concert stage, which can be rented. In the past, this stage was used for the Rocky Gap Country Bluegrass Festival (1988-2001). The seating capacity of the amphitheater is 3,000, and the stage area is 42 feet by 60 feet. [ [http://web.archive.org/web/20010216083903/http://dncarch.com/indevelopment/rockygap.html 'Rocky Gap Music Pavilion'] , [http://www.dncarch.com DNC Architects] , published 2001]

Recreation

Rocky Gap offers a range of year-round recreation such as swimming, camping, fishing, boating and hiking.

Rocky Gap provides a variety of hiking trails, including the four-mile Lakeside Trail and the five-mile Evitt's Homesite Trail climbs Evitts Mountain amid streams with hemlock, mountain laurel and rhododendron growing nearby. The quarter-mile Touch of Nature Trail is a paved route to an accessible fishing dock.

Lake Habeeb is home to everything from panfish to large trophy trout and bass. Boats are allowed on Lake Habeeb 24 hours a day, seven days a week, and a fee is assessed; motorboats, however, are prohibited if they are gasoline powered. Electric motors are acceptable. The park also offers paddle boats, kayaks, and canoes for rent. Fish most commonly caught by anglers at Lake Habeeb include largemouth bass, smallmouth bass, black crappie, rainbow trout, brown trout, channel catfish, bluegill, redear sunfish, and pumpkinseed.

Rocky Gap is also served by the Volunteer Team, Inc., a group of Western Maryland and surrounding community citizens that participate in daily operations in the park. The Team has a website located at www.volunteerteam.org

References

External links

* [http://www.rockygapresort.com Rock Gap Resort Rocky Gap Resort: located at Rocky Gap State Park]
* [http://www.dnr.state.md.us/publiclands/western/rockygap.html Official website of Rocky Gap State Park]
* [http://www.mdmountainside.com/attraction.php?attraction=181 mdMountainside: Rocky Gap]
* [http://www.unep-wcmc.org/wdpa/sitedetails.cfm?siteid=21870 Rocky Gap State Park in World Database on Protected Areas]
* [http://www.dnr.state.md.us/outdooradventures/rockylodge.html DNR: Rocky Gap Lodge]
* [http://www.volunteerteam.org Volunteer Team, Inc.]