Sugarloaf Mountain is a small mountain, roughly 800 feet above farmland, and about 10 miles south of Frederick County, Maryland.
Trail Details:
Mileage: 5 miles (Northern Peaks Trail)
Elevation Gain/Loss: 1,282 ft
Dog Friendly: Yes
Parking: Free
Trash Free Park: (bring a baggie to store snack wrappers etc...)
Random Trail Thoughts:
Disclaimer, I am going to talk your head off a little bit. It might sound like I'm complaining but I'm not. Might sound like I'm not getting a tude" (aka attitude) but I'm not. Just post sweaty hiking thoughts. Thoughts about how we got lost and passed all the trail path colors, and much more.
Arrival to the mountain:
Do you live in Frederick County, Maryland or have you ever visited? This past weekend, my friend and I went to on a hike at Sugarloaf to take a break from the congestion and hustle and bustle of where we are located in Maryland to restart and regroup for the week ahead. Here's a few photos, if you'd like to see...
First up: Entering the park!
As you enter the park, you'll see a donation box and a couple of maps. I highly recommend taking a physical copy of the map or downloading one from the website https://sugarloafmd.com/trail-maps/. Aayana and I, who live roughly an hour away, made it to the park around eleven o clock, oddly enough we arrived at almost the exact same time, and she wanted to lead the trail so I was psyched to follow her on this journey. This trip, we both agreed to follow as best as we could the Northern Peak Trail to make the drive worth while.
Above is a couple pictures of the Northern Peak Trail markers along the way.
Up next: The way up and rocks
The trek up, the invigorating and challenging feeling continues through each and every step almost like an adrenaline (workout) high . I've been into fitness and outdoors since the age of four between my parents putting me in after school programs to me being a girl scout under cover until high school and the wider than your average pebbles are one of the very first things that I noticed. I like how they are sturdy and wide on the outside, just like a back porch step. The rocks are placed nicely at the beginning of the trail and that I love - because it essentially leads you up to get things started and it looks clever on the eye when you look over your shoulder to see how far you've gone.
Above is a couple pictures of the infamous rocks.
Approaching the top
About 2.5 miles into the trail, I was blown away (and so was my friend) with the level of safety and the creatures (i.e., ants, birds, caterpillars, colored mushrooms, trees, and speedy mosquitos) on the way up, down, and all around. I am going to start with safety as I think that's really important. The trees are marked with vibrant and distinct paint to correlate with the map. The marker posts are also marked with trail colors and they are placed I would say every quarter of a mile or so. If you don't see a tree marking you are bound to see a marker post in the ground nearby. On the way up, I noticed lots of rock climbers. Honestly, I would not recommend it unless you are experienced. The rocks on the way up are wide and large so gripping and working your way up will be challenging to say the least.
The mosquitos encounter:
Have you ever seen a bee keeping suit or mosquitos face nets? Well, I have. I noticed a few group that had the mosquito nets on there heads and thought to myself why would I need that? Shortly, after having this thought, I wanted one. At a certain elevation, I am convinced that I was in the mosquitos flying direction because they just kept, and kept, and kept coming in both my right and left ear. After about five minute going through the mosquitos flying direction I was swatting like no other and feeling slightly itchy. If you have a mosquito net bring it. If you have a bee keeping suit bring it. If you have bug spray use it. If you have DEET bug wipes use that too because it'll prevent lots of swatting and paranoia.
My verdict
I enjoyed the hike and after spending four hours give or take on it, up it, in it, down it, and getting lost I would highly recommend it ------ I have to many of my friends already! We had zero problems finding the mountain, parking, and or getting started on the trail. I will saying getting back down and finding the parking lot to depart we ended up getting lost and ended up off the trail and onto CONUS road. I will say, if you are looking for a beginner hike this is definitely a less populated option in comparison to others (i.e. Great Falls and Billy Goat). If you are looking for more people to be in a close proximity then in all honesty, I don't think Sugarloaf is for you. The trail was slightly rocky but not unbearable so I enjoyed it. That being said, I would recommend good quality hiking boots/sneakers and looking at the ground occasionally will save your big toe. As for the hike, I made it through and will be trying another adventure shortly. Maryland is so beautiful, green, and fruitful. All in all check it out and let me know what you think in the comments.
More soon.
- Carmen✌⛰