Everything else here is Garrett County, Maryland. These aren't. They're close enough that people staying at the lake drive out anyway, and far enough that the distance is the first thing you need to know.
About 26 miles from Oakland, four miles between Kingwood and Reedsville. Roughly 45 minutes, and over the state line.
A family-run zoo in rural Preston County with over thirty species: chimpanzees, grizzlies, a giraffe, a herd of fallow deer that walks right up to the fence, and a walk-in room full of parakeets. You can feed some of the animals. There's a gift shop, a snack area, restrooms and somewhere to picnic.
Over the Allegany County line at Lonaconing, about an hour from Oakland.
481 acres on a sixteen-mile ridge, and the reason to drive out is the pool: heated, with a water slide, staffed by certified lifeguards and fully accessible. Also a fishing pond, a recycled-tire playground, pavilions and trails.
State park with a lodge, cabins and a waterfall · Davis
Over the West Virginia line at Davis, in Tucker County.
A 57-foot waterfall the color of strong tea — the park says that's tannic acid off fallen hemlock and red spruce needles, not silt. There are two ways to see it: more than 200 steps down a boardwalk, or a quarter-mile of pavement to a second overlook. Same falls, very different walk.
Seasonal — see dates→
Why these are kept separate
This site says it covers Garrett County, and that's worth something precisely because it's narrow. Sticking a West Virginia zoo in with the county's parks would spend it. You don't care about county lines. A reference that tells you what it covers has to.
They're a different kind of record too. A private business sets its own prices and changes them without telling anybody, where a state park's fee gets published by an agency. So expect admission to be the first thing that goes stale here. Call ahead.
