LONACONING — Autumn, one of the most scenic and popular times of the year in Mountain Maryland, keeps the tri-state area busy in September and October. As leaf peeping season comes to a close in Western Maryland, one final opportunity to catch the spectacular show was held at Dan’s Mountain State Park on Saturday morning. The final of two leaf peeping hikes at the newly constructed Lonacona Loop Trail at the state park was sponsored by the George’s Creek and Westmar Community School programs on behalf of Maryland Park Service.
“I was surprised by the abundance of color displayed by the forests throughout western Allegany County,” said Ranger James “Mac” Sloan, a seasonal ranger for Maryland Park Service. Although the summers’ drought and continued warm and dry weather have impacted fall colors this year with an early onset, leaf peeping has been surprisingly good this season. Sloan leads the leaf peeping hikes, and said that they were the perfect opportunity to show off the quality of the new Lonacona Loop trail.
The trail was built by Greenstone Trailcraft. “We felt it offered a healthy way to spend a few hours, enjoy the beauty of the season, and the mountains in which we live,” said Sloan. The trail, which was completed two years ago, traverses the ridge top of Dan’s Mountain, frolicking through groves of hemlock and spruce and cutting through dense clusters of maple.
It is open to mountain bikers and hikers. “The leaf peeping hikes offered a way to.