Rocky Gap State Park
Encyclopedia
Rocky Gap State Park is a 3,400 acre (13.76 km²) park in Allegany County, Maryland
. It is seven miles (11 km) east of Cumberland
on Interstate 68
(exit 50), and is about a two-hour drive from Washington, D.C.
, Baltimore and Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
. The park includes the man-made Lake Habeeb
, which covers 243 acre (0.98338698 km²) and sports white sand beaches, which is fed by Rocky Gap Run and Evitts Mountain
, named for the first European settler in Allegany County.
Amenities include the Rocky Gap Resort and Golf Course, developed in 1998 by the Maryland Economic Development Corporation, an agency created in 1984 that allows the State of Maryland the ability to directly own or develop property for economic development. The Rocky Gap Lodge is located on Lake Habeeb and features a 18-hole Jack Nicklaus
Signature Golf Course. A 220-room lakeside lodge provides conference rooms for meetings and conventions, and a full-service restaurant and lounge overlooks the lake.
In 2009 the state sought proposals to open a 750 slot-machine casino in the park. The only bidder was Empire Resorts
which did not pay the required $4.5 million licensing fee. Empire's contingent bid was based on Maryland altering its 67 percent tax on casinos -- one of the highest in the United States.
Rocky Gap provides a variety of hiking trails, including the four-mile (6 km) Lakeside Trail and the five-mile (8 km) Evitt's Homesite Trail climbs Evitts Mountain
amid streams with hemlock, mountain laurel and rhododendron growing nearby. The quarter-mile Touch of Nature Trail is a paved route to an accessible fishing dock.
Lake Habeeb is home to everything from panfish to large trophy trout and bass. Boats are allowed on Lake Habeeb 24 hours a day, seven days a week, and a fee is assessed; motorboats, however, are prohibited if they are gasoline powered. Electric motors are acceptable. The park also offers paddle boats, kayaks, and canoes for rent. Fish most commonly caught by anglers at Lake Habeeb include largemouth bass
, smallmouth bass
, black crappie, rainbow trout
, brown trout
, channel catfish
, bluegill
, redear sunfish
, and pumpkinseed
.
Rocky Gap is also served by the Volunteer Team, Inc., a group of Western Maryland and surrounding community citizens that participate in daily operations in the park. The Team has a website located at www.volunteerteam.org
The park provides a concert stage, which can be rented. In the past, this stage was used for the Rocky Gap Country Bluegrass Festival (1988-2001). The seating capacity of the amphitheater is 3,000, and the stage area is 42 feet (12.8 m) by 60 feet (18.3 m).
Allegany County, Maryland
Allegany County is a county located in the northwestern part of the US state of Maryland. It is part of the Cumberland, MD-WV Metropolitan Statistical Area. As of 2010, the population was 75,087. Its county seat is Cumberland...
. It is seven miles (11 km) east of Cumberland
Cumberland, Maryland
Cumberland is a city in the far western, Appalachian portion of Maryland, United States. It is the county seat of Allegany County, and the primary city of the Cumberland, MD-WV Metropolitan Statistical Area. At the 2010 census, the city had a population of 20,859, and the metropolitan area had a...
on Interstate 68
Interstate 68
Interstate 68 is a Interstate highway in the U.S. states of West Virginia and Maryland, connecting in Morgantown to in Hancock. is also Corridor E of the Appalachian Development Highway System. From 1965 until the freeway's construction was completed in 1991, it was designated as...
(exit 50), and is about a two-hour drive from Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
, Baltimore and Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Pittsburgh is the second-largest city in the US Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the county seat of Allegheny County. Regionally, it anchors the largest urban area of Appalachia and the Ohio River Valley, and nationally, it is the 22nd-largest urban area in the United States...
. The park includes the man-made Lake Habeeb
Lake Habeeb
Lake Habeeb is a reservoir of and is located in Allegany County, Maryland, United States. The lake is fed by Rocky Gap Run, and nestled against the east side of the southern tip of Evitts Mountain. Created in 1969 and made accessible to the public in 1974, it attains a maximum depth of near its...
, which covers 243 acre (0.98338698 km²) and sports white sand beaches, which is fed by Rocky Gap Run and Evitts Mountain
Evitts Mountain
Evitts Mountain is a stratigraphic ridge in the Ridge and Valley region of the Appalachian Mountains, located in Bedford County, Pennsylvania and Allegany County, Maryland-Geography:...
, named for the first European settler in Allegany County.
Amenities include the Rocky Gap Resort and Golf Course, developed in 1998 by the Maryland Economic Development Corporation, an agency created in 1984 that allows the State of Maryland the ability to directly own or develop property for economic development. The Rocky Gap Lodge is located on Lake Habeeb and features a 18-hole Jack Nicklaus
Jack Nicklaus
Jack William Nicklaus , nicknamed "The Golden Bear", is an American professional golfer. He won 18 career major championships on the PGA Tour over a span of 25 years and is widely regarded as one of the greatest professional golfers of all time. In addition to his 18 Majors, he was runner-up a...
Signature Golf Course. A 220-room lakeside lodge provides conference rooms for meetings and conventions, and a full-service restaurant and lounge overlooks the lake.
In 2009 the state sought proposals to open a 750 slot-machine casino in the park. The only bidder was Empire Resorts
Empire Resorts
Empire Resorts is a company that owns the Monticello Raceway racino in the Catskill Mountains from New York City.Headquartered in Monticello, New York, Empire is 78.6% owned by Kien Huat Realty Sdn Bhd of Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.-History:...
which did not pay the required $4.5 million licensing fee. Empire's contingent bid was based on Maryland altering its 67 percent tax on casinos -- one of the highest in the United States.
Recreation
Rocky Gap offers a range of year-round recreation such as swimming, camping, fishing, boating and hiking.Rocky Gap provides a variety of hiking trails, including the four-mile (6 km) Lakeside Trail and the five-mile (8 km) Evitt's Homesite Trail climbs Evitts Mountain
Evitts Mountain
Evitts Mountain is a stratigraphic ridge in the Ridge and Valley region of the Appalachian Mountains, located in Bedford County, Pennsylvania and Allegany County, Maryland-Geography:...
amid streams with hemlock, mountain laurel and rhododendron growing nearby. The quarter-mile Touch of Nature Trail is a paved route to an accessible fishing dock.
Lake Habeeb is home to everything from panfish to large trophy trout and bass. Boats are allowed on Lake Habeeb 24 hours a day, seven days a week, and a fee is assessed; motorboats, however, are prohibited if they are gasoline powered. Electric motors are acceptable. The park also offers paddle boats, kayaks, and canoes for rent. Fish most commonly caught by anglers at Lake Habeeb include largemouth bass
Largemouth bass
The largemouth bass is a species of black bass in the sunfish family native to North America . It is also known as widemouth bass, bigmouth, black bass, bucketmouth, Potter's fish, Florida bass, Florida largemouth, green bass, green trout, linesides, Oswego bass, southern largemouth...
, smallmouth bass
Smallmouth bass
The smallmouth bass is a species of freshwater fish in the sunfish family of the order Perciformes. It is the type species of its genus...
, black crappie, rainbow trout
Rainbow trout
The rainbow trout is a species of salmonid native to tributaries of the Pacific Ocean in Asia and North America. The steelhead is a sea run rainbow trout usually returning to freshwater to spawn after 2 to 3 years at sea. In other words, rainbow trout and steelhead trout are the same species....
, brown trout
Brown trout
The brown trout and the sea trout are fish of the same species....
, channel catfish
Channel catfish
Channel catfish, Ictalurus punctatus, is North America's most numerous catfish species. It is the official fish of Missouri, Iowa, Nebraska, Kansas, and Tennessee, and is informally referred to as a "channel cat". In the United States they are the most fished catfish species with approximately 8...
, bluegill
Bluegill
The Bluegill is a species of freshwater fish sometimes referred to as bream, brim, or copper nose. It is a member of the sunfish family Centrarchidae of the order Perciformes.-Range and distribution:...
, redear sunfish
Redear sunfish
The redear sunfish , also known as the shellcracker, Georgia bream, cherry gill, chinquapin, improved bream, rouge ear sunfish and sun perch, is native to the southeastern United States, but since it is a popular sport fish it has been introduced to bodies of water all over North America...
, and pumpkinseed
Pumpkinseed
The pumpkinseed sunfish is a freshwater fish of the sunfish family of order Perciformes. It is also referred to as "pond perch", "common sunfish", "punkys", and "sunny".-Range and distribution:...
.
Rocky Gap is also served by the Volunteer Team, Inc., a group of Western Maryland and surrounding community citizens that participate in daily operations in the park. The Team has a website located at www.volunteerteam.org
Amphitheater