Catoctin Creek boasts healthy headwaters and relics of American history

If you’re a fan of fishing, mountain streams and industrial-era history, then Catoctin Creek might just be the waterway for you. 

Named after the nearby Catoctin Mountains, Catoctin Creek flows for 28 miles through the farmland and mountain valleys of Frederick County, Maryland. The creek begins near Myersville, Maryland within the Catoctin Mountains and empties into the Potomac River near Brunswick. From there, its water continues downstream into the tidal Potomac and eventually reaches the Chesapeake Bay near Point Lookout.

The headwaters of Catoctin Creek are largely clean and clear with healthy populations of trout stocked by the Maryland Department of Natural Resources. The strong health of the headwaters is mostly due to the protected and undisturbed forests of the Catoctin and South Mountains that surround the waterway and protect it from pollution. 

Meanwhile, the health of the middle to lower parts of the creek is mixed, and the broader watershed has many impaired streams in it. Still, anglers can find quiet places to fish in the mid to lower catoctin creek and catch warm water species like bass and sunfish. 

Catoctin Creek also passes near historic landmarks such as the Catoctin Aqueduct. Built in the 1830s as part of the Chesapeake & Ohio Canal, the aqueduct is a stone “water bridge” that carried mule-drawn canal boats over Catoctin Creek during the industrial era. It became known as the “Crooked Aqueduct” because canal boats had to make a sharp turn to cross it. 

The area surrounding Catoctin Creek has no shortage of natural spaces to explore, including Catoctin Creek Park, Cunningham Falls State Park and Gambrill State Park. In Brunswick, Maryland, where the creek enters the Potomac, you can hop onto the 

Chesapeake & Ohio Canal towpath—a dirt and stone path that runs 184.5 miles along the C&O Canal. 

Do you have a favorite part of Catoctin Creek? Let us know in the comments!