Oakland Historic Walking Trail Tour Preview

Oakland Town Parking Lot

Begin your trail walk at the Oakland Town Parking Lot. Park for free and head to the back side of the lot towards the Mountain Fresh Pavilion. You will see a bridge over the Little Youghiogheny River.

Oakland Hotel Gas Cave

Early in the 1870's, the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad realized an asset to its passenger train service would be having a resort hotel in this area. First, it built the Deer Park Hotel in 1873, which proved so successful that in 1875 they started construction of the 300 room Oakland Hotel. The railroad chose land directly across the Little Youghiogheny River from the Oakland train station as a site for the new hotel. A short bridge spanned the river just west of the station platform and supported a driveway through park-like lawns up to the front of the hotel.

Washington's Spring

In late September 1784, George Washington, Bushrod Washington, Dr. James Craik and his son William were returning from a trip to Pennsylvania riding south over the McCullough's Pack Horse Path. On the night of September 25th, they were caught in a heavy rainstorm in what is now the Wilderness Area of Herrington Manor State Park. Washington recorded in his diary that"... It rained so hard that the group couldn't even get a campfire started."The next morning they headed south again stopping for water at the spring that now bears Washington's name before continuing on to John Friend's cabin 1 1/4 miles away.

The Glades

Glades Loop

The glades loops is a 1-mile trail that connects to the Fort Alice Trail as well as loops back to the entrance of the Glades Community.

Fort Alice Trailhead

Civil War TrailThe Fort Alice Trail showcased part of Garrett County's Civil War history. Surprised townsfolk emerged from church services April 26, 1863, to find the town occupied by John McNeil's rangers during a larger incursion into Western Maryland. McNeil's men captured dozens of prisoners here. Confederate rangers under John McNeill captured and burned a small Union fort here then proceeded to burn the B&O Railroad bridge over the Youghiogheny River during the raid on April 26,1863.http://www.garretttrails.org/fort-alice-and-oakland-town-trails.html

88 Bridge

Read more about the 88 Bridge and Fort Alice in a great article published by the Mountain Discoveries magazine.