Catoctin Mountain Park is located near Thurmont in Frederick County, Maryland (). It is owned by the National Park Service, designated as a separate unit on July 12, 1954. The summit of Catoctin Mountain is 1885 feet (575m) above sea level.
In the 1930's, after years of making charcoal to fuel the iron furnace, mountain farming, and harvesting of trees for timber, land was purchased to be transformed into a productive recreation area; helping to put people back to work during the Great Depression. Beginning in 1935, the Catoctin Recreational Demonstration Area was under construction by both the Works Progress Administration and the Civilian Conservation Corps. Originally planned to provide recreational camps for federal employees, one of the camps eventually became the home of the Presidential retreat, Camp David. The Presidential retreat is not open or accessible to the public; however the eastern hardwood forest of Catoctin Mountain Park does have many other attractions for visitors, some of which include: camping, picnicking, fishing, 25 miles (40km) of hiking trails, and scenic mountain vistas.
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