South Mountain State Park
About
South Mountain State Park is a Maryland state park managed by the State Department of Natural Resources, about 2.5 miles from the town of Rohrersville. It sits within the Appalachian National Scenic Trail corridor, which makes it a natural stop for anyone hiking the long-distance trail through this part of the state. For comfortable weather, aim for late spring or early fall. Typical averages from a nearby weather station in Sharpsburg show May highs around 74°F and September highs near 78°F, while July averages climb to about 86°F. White Rocks Trail starts just half a mile away, and the Gathland climbing area is about 2.2 miles off. The Interpretive Trail lies roughly 3.4 miles away, and Rohrbach Group Campground, about 6.6 miles out, offers a place to camp.
Park size
9,237 acres
Inside this park
Location
South Mountain State Park
Maryland
Data source: USGS PAD-US 4.1 (Protected Areas Database, public domain)
Facts about this place
When to go
Best time to go: Apr–Jun. The mildest months here, with typical highs of 65–82°F and lows of 39–58°F.
Typical monthly averages (not a forecast) from the Sharpsburg 5 S, MD weather station, 6.4 mi away. High / low in °F.
- Jan41° high21° low
- Feb44° high23° low
- Mar53° high29° low
- Apr65° high39° low
- May74° high49° low
- Jun82° high58° low
- Jul86° high62° low
- Aug85° high61° low
- Sep78° high54° low
- Oct67° high42° low
- Nov56° high32° low
- Dec45° high25° low
Where it is
- Appalachian National Scenic Trail · National Park Service
- South Mountain State Park · State park
- Nearest town
- Rohrersville, Maryland · 2.5 mi
- Managed by
- State Department of Natural Resources
Source: NPS Land Resources boundaries; USGS PAD-US 4.1; USGS GNIS populated places
Conditions
Active alerts for Appalachian National Scenic Trail as of Oct 9, 2026:
Black Bears Frequenting the McAfee Knob Area in Virginia
Caution · posted Aug 24, 2026
List of trail closures post-Hurricane Helene
Park Closure · posted Aug 24, 2026
Source: NPS Alerts API
Nearby
- White Rocks TrailHiking0.5 mi
- GathlandRock climbing2.2 mi
- Interpretive TrailHiking3.4 mi
- Yellow TrailHiking5.3 mi
- Bartmans Hill TrailHiking5.3 mi
- Rohrbach Group CampgroundCamping6.6 mi
- South End, TheRock climbing7.3 mi
- Fin RockRock climbing7.3 mi
Source: Roamze catalog (indexable pages within 10 miles, PostGIS distance)
