Cascade Falls

Patapsco Valley State Park

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I was charged with deciding on a hike that kids could do, except I have no experience in this or in evaluating what a particular kid can do. Plus, I would be without any parental supervision. Alltrails offered up Cascade Falls as a possible suitable suggestion, except that it would be done on the weekend and is a very popular location. I liked a climb on Garrett's Pass and a drop on the Cascade Falls Trail, which is 4 miles and only 300 feet or so from bottom to top. (It goes from ~20m to ~100m.) That's not so much, right? And I even had the means for up to 2 kids to be self sufficient, able to carry water, snacks, camera, and a light sweater on their own. Self sufficiency for the win, right?

The hike would be in the Patapsco Valley State Park, like most my hikes would likely be. This park has a mix of free lots and pay lots. The pay lots have different prices for in state or out of state, weekends/holidays or weekdays. The lot by Cascade Falls is pay, so on a weekend, it is $3 per person over 12 for in state people. On a weekday it is $2 per car. Out of state is $5 per person on weekends and holidays, $4 per car on weekdays. With Maryland plates, I was in state. The fees managed to keep a couple parking spots free in what is a pretty big lot. We headed for the trailhead, but stopped by the "swinging bridge" to see what that might be. A real one can be quite interesting.

Watching fishermen downstream on the Patapsco River from the suspension bridge.

The upstream view of the Patapsco River.

It is a suspension bridge, not a "swinging bridge" and after a few minutes watching the water, its wobbling as people passed got a bit much and we started on the hike.

Cascade Falls trailhead.

There were loads of people coming down the Cascade Falls Trail, so when asked which we should do first, the easy answer was Garrett's Pass. We turned to cross the parking lot again, but this time on a trail above it. This is the only place we had to actually step over a tree and leaves covered much of the trail.

Leaves are turning colors and many have fallen already.

Looking out through the trees to the valley, there's a lot of green remaining.

Turning up Garrett's Pass, there were still plenty of people, but far fewer, and we had to be alert for bicycles. There were a few smiles about at the gentle color turning of the trees.

Now following up beside a small stream with yellowing aspens.

It's a faintly rolling land in many places.

We seemed to be heading up at a suitably gentle pace.

A bit of the trail through the trees.

Dark leaves against the sky.

Let there be colors.

The reds are, unsurprisingly, red maples.

A bit more of the trail.

It's a good thing there were shortcuts for my loop because a complaint was heard shortly before arriving at the first cutoff. We had reached the 100m contour already! Apparently the upper mile of this trail just wobbles around within 10m of the 100m line. I bet there was more pretty along there, but we skipped it. There were complaints from me about how steeply the cutoff started downhill. With care, we made it down without mishap.

The remains of some white wood aster.

Complaints vanished by the time we were on Cascade Falls Trail. Mostly. We now had the challenge of a crossing of Cascade Creek. We had had a crossing on the trail above the parking lot, but it came with a bridge. Not so here.

The crossing of Cascade Creek offers dry foot options.

The creek goes down and we go up past a blue paint blaze.

A little more of Cascade Creek.

We weren't to the waterfall yet, but found a nice little cascade to have snacks by.

A little cascade on Cascade Creek. The far trail is a use trail, not the official one.

Watching the water flow down.

Getting to the falls from the little cascade was a challenge. There's a lot of use trails around, and the real trail drops down so quickly that it looks like another one. There's signs to mark it, but set so far before the trail that one thinks one has missed it already when getting to it. But we did find it and it even had some decidedly built bits at the bottom. All to bring us to Cascade Falls.

Cascade Falls. Okay, so it is not the right season.

I decided against voicing any disappointment about this extremely popular waterfall and everyone else around seemed very happy with it.

A little more typical view of Cascade Falls with all the people who are pretty nonstop in stopping by it.

There were rumors of more cascades to be seen below the falls, but you have to go off trail to see them. We did not see them.

The trees close in downstream.

The low smartweed, a garden escapee, looks to still be in bud, but those are flowers.

Common witch-hazel was flowering and going to seed and, down near the bottom, getting pollinated.

It's a very short way back down to the parking lot from the waterfall. Then we took the rough, but not paved among cars, trail to the far side nearer to where the car was parked. So a little long in the plan, but the empowerment of self sufficiency seemed to work out. I still have no idea how to plan for a hike with kids.

*photo album*




©2026 Valerie Norton
Written 23 Jan 2026