Hiking the Maryland Heights Trail at Harpers Ferry West Virginia

Harpers Ferry Part II

In last week's travel post I shared all about the town of Harpers Ferry and it's history, this week will be all about the hike and beautiful view from the overlook at Maryland Heights (pictured below).

Before starting our hike we stopped at this gorgeous overlook at the base of the bridge.

Next, we had to cross this bridge, which was quite scary as it is quite windy.  There were times I thought the strong wind was going to blow me off the bridge into the water below.  There is also a train track on the other side of the bridge and on our return trip, we were blessed to be on the bridge when the train went by.

The Maryland Heights Trail starts off on a beautiful bike path with level ground and views of the Potomac River.  I would love to bring my e-bike here someday and explore this path.

I love to go east in the spring because all the wildflowers and trees are in bloom weeks before I see any signs of life in my neck of the woods.  I fell in love with this field of yellow wildflowers.

Like the town below, Maryland Heights has a lot of history so there were several markers along the way highlighting that history.  The marker below explains how during the Civil War the cliff was turned into a fortress.

Once we got off the bike path and crossed the footbridge, we began our ascent up the cliff.  I will confess, I did not like this trail at all.  In fact, I would rate this in the top five worst trails I have ever hiked in my life.  The reason I give it this poor rating is because it is straight up hill!  There are no switch backs, it's just climb, climb, climb till you get to one of the most beautiful views you will ever see in your life.  Is it worth it?  Sure.  But be forewarned!

The trail is 4.5 miles round trip if you begin at the armory house, which we did.  It is rated as moderately strenuous to strenuous with an elevation gain of 1788 feet.  It takes 3-4 hours to complete.

I loved seeing all the Eastern Redbuds in bloom.  We don't have this tree in Wisconsin so I enjoy going east every spring and seeing them everywhere!

I screamed with glee when I saw this field of beautiful bluebells;  another plant I don't see in Wisconsin.

When we started to get more to the top of the cliff we saw this Naval Battery marker.  What a great spot for defense.

Here is a photo where I attempt to portray the steepness of this hike.  I don't think this photo does it justice.  It is so much steeper in real life and not just for a short stretch, but for the entire hike!  I really wish the state of Maryland would make some improvements on this trail to make it more accessible for everyone to enjoy because the view and the history is so worth it!

Perhaps they leave the trail as is because we read on another sign that we "were hiking the same mountain road" that the Civil War soldiers walked.

After a bit of difficult rock scrambling that I never would have been able to do had it not been for my hiking poles, we made it to the Maryland Heights overlook!  I was never so relieved in my life.  After that difficult time, we soaked up every inch of the view.

The beauty really is spectacular because you have the historic town below along with the river and the hills.  I can only imagine how breath-taking this view would be in the fall.

The rock is the perfect spot to sit and take photos.  It's so perfect, it made me wonder if someone put it there on purpose 😁.  We saw one gal do handstands on the rock;  that was scary.

Such a picturesque town!

The Peregrine Falcons were constantly flying around the whole time we were at Harpers Ferry.  We could see them from the town below, and now we were right next to their nesting site so we could see them really close.  They had a section of the trail/cliff roped off to protect the falcons nesting site.

The other side of the overlook wasn't quite as spectacular as the town view, but pretty nevertheless.

I was so happy I would no longer have to climb uphill on the return trip.  It was so much easier hiking down the mountain than up;  although it is harder on the knees.

Here is a view of the bike path/river once we reached the foothill of the mountain.

And here is the cliff we were on.  It doesn't look that high in this photograph, but the town is even lower so the height difference is quite something.

This is the train track on the opposite side of the bridge we crossed.  It goes right through this old tunnel.

 And that concludes my visit to Harpers Ferry.  Next week, I will share about the town of Winchester where we spent the night.  What a cute town that is!

Have A Great Day!  Amy

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For more posts on Harpers Ferry check this out:

Harpers Ferry West Virginia