# Looking for a Maryland Hill Climb



## TheLung

I live in Baltimore - but I am looking for some known hill climbs in the state. I can assume most real climbs are in western MD. Id like to hear about those. Id also like to hear about any hill climbs relatively near Baltimore. I just did a great hill climb in Virginia on thxgiving and now im hooked on finding more 'real hills'.

Here is the climb i did on thxgiving. 1450ft of ascent in 4 miles with a gradient of 14.5%.
https://www.mapitpronto.com/index.cfm?fuseAction=routePlanner.viewDBRide&rideId=1262
This climb was part of a 28 mile loop i did that had lots of other climbing in it as well.
https://www.wdg.us/eric/thxgiving/peak1.jpg - picture of the top at Blue Ridge Pkway.


Thanks in Advance!


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## MarkS

Well, there's nothing like that around Baltimore. The hills around Baltimore are steep, but short -- usually just a few hundred feet in elevation gain. There are some nice, steep hills around Prettyboy Resevoir and a few "favorites" of mine that are closer to Baltimore. Piney Grove Road going north from Butler Road will put some pain in your legs. As you go west, you will find "better" climbs. Harp Hill Road and Hamburg Road are two popular climbs in Frederick County. "South Mountain," the ridge that separates Frederick and Washington Counties has good climbs from both sides. One of my favorites is along Route 77 from Thurmont. You also can detour from Route 77 onto Park Central Road for a nice climb if the President is not at Camp David; the Secret Service closes the road when the President is there.

If you want to find a climb that is of the caliber of the one you did, you will have to climb the Blue Ridge. Front Royal, the northern end of the Skyline Drive, is about a two hour drive from Baltimore. The first four or five miles of the Skyline Drive is a great climb.


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## TheLung

Thanks MarkS! That is exactly the answer I was looking for. I really appreciate it!
I grew up in Prettyboy Reservoir and use to climb alot of those hills on my bmx bike as a kid. Had to walk a bunch of em due to the grade. I often ride that area. I love it.

Here is a link to our usual route leaving from my buddy's house:
http://www.mapitpronto.com/index.cfm?fuseAction=gps.viewDBRide&rideId=954
I might do that loop this weekend if you are interested in joining.
Is that loop similar to what you ride in Pboy? Cotter Road pitches to 22% grade.... man that hill is steep.

I am excited to map the hills you mentioned. I did notice the Front Royal when i was mapping out skyline drive. Its only 119 miles from my house. That could be a fun day trip of climbing hell.


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## MarkS

TheLung said:


> Here is a link to our usual route leaving from my buddy's house:
> http://www.mapitpronto.com/index.cfm?fuseAction=gps.viewDBRide&rideId=954
> I might do that loop this weekend if you are interested in joining.
> Is that loop similar to what you ride in Pboy? Cotter Road pitches to 22% grade.... man that hill is steep.
> .


Thanks for the invite. But, you should be warned -- I am slow. I definitely cannot maintain a 16-17 mph average on the hills around Prettyboy. PM me later in the week when your plans are more definite. The circuit that you do looks like the route of a time trial that I did there about 5 years ago. When I ride around Prettyboy, I usually ride from home, which is in Owings Mills. So, I have an extra 20 miles before I get to the area. My usual route is to go from Mt. Carmel Road to Prettyboy Dam Road to Spooks Hill Road to Beckleysville Road to Middletown Road, cross the PA border and then head back on Gunpowder Road. I have done Cotter Road, but it is not one I normally ride.


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## MaskofPain

..... nice hills!


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## TheLung

MarkS said:


> Thanks for the invite. But, you should be warned -- I am slow. I definitely cannot maintain a 16-17 mph average on the hills around Prettyboy. PM me later in the week when your plans are more definite. The circuit that you do looks like the route of a time trial that I did there about 5 years ago. When I ride around Prettyboy, I usually ride from home, which is in Owings Mills. So, I have an extra 20 miles before I get to the area. My usual route is to go from Mt. Carmel Road to Prettyboy Dam Road to Spooks Hill Road to Beckleysville Road to Middletown Road, cross the PA border and then head back on Gunpowder Road. I have done Cotter Road, but it is not one I normally ride.


No worries about the speed. I was hammering on that loop. ah. I know the loop you do, we usually do it in reverse. I will PM you as the weekend gets closer. thanks again!


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## MB1

Sugarloaf is pretty close in but from Baltimore it might be just as easy to get to Frederick or Thurmont-lots of good climbing there too.

http://forums.roadbikereview.com/showthread.php?t=95376


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## rsatriale

*Civil War Century*

I suspect you already know this, but the Civil War Century has some wonderful climbs on it. The first 20 or so miles out of Thurmont is impressive.


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## TheLung

Well... didnt have enough time to drive up to prettyboy this weekend. 

However - I took MarkS's advice and hit the Piney Grove hill. I ended up riding with my buddy Brad - and he rode me off his wheel several times on this very hilly loop we did.
http://www.mapitpronto.com/?fuseAction=gps.viewDBRide&rideId=1287&x=47&y=8

That was the most climbing ive done in one loop in a long time. 
MarkS - that hill is MURDER.... thankgod its relatively short.


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## MarkS

TheLung said:


> Well... didnt have enough time to drive up to prettyboy this weekend.
> 
> However - I took MarkS's advice and hit the Piney Grove hill. I ended up riding with my buddy Brad - and he rode me off his wheel several times on this very hilly loop we did.
> http://www.mapitpronto.com/?fuseAction=gps.viewDBRide&rideId=1287&x=47&y=8
> 
> That was the most climbing ive done in one loop in a long time.
> MarkS - that hill is MURDER.... thankgod its relatively short.


Glad that you enjoyed Piney Grove. You rode on a lot of my favorite roads on Saturday. You know that you still are below the Mason Dixon Line when you are at the intersection of Dark Hollow and Old Quarter Roads. I have not been by the organic poultry farm on Yeoho Road since Thanksgiving. My guess is that the flocks have been harvested. Unfortunately, I spend Saturday doing errands; I spent Sunday morning on the CompuTrainer. I should have done errands on Sunday and rode outside on Saturday.


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## Rash Larue

*Running necklace climbs in Balto County*

Hey guys. I usually ride in north central Baltimore County, occasionally west over to Prettyboy, east to west Harford, and up to about Stewartstown in PA. There aren't any steady 4 mile climbs in that range, certainly nothing like the Civil War Century, but I'll often run "necklaces" in and out of the Gunpowder Valley -- eg, down and up Sparks, then down and up Glencoe, Corbett, Big Falls (closed right now), Bluemount, Hicks-Wilson, Wesley Chapel, Graystone, West Liberty, etc. I find it's fairly easy in this way to map out a 50 mile route with 5,000+ feet of ascent, which is more climbing per mile on average than the Civil War (7400 ft over 103 miles). In fact, after training in this way for my first Civil War this year, I found that ride easily manageable, even in the god-awful heat that day (95 by mid-afternoon). I do these rides most every Sunday morning from St James in Monkton, sometimes alone, sometimes with a buddy (usually not when the temps below about 35 at starting time, though!).


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