Family Getaway: Rocky Gap Resort

It’s tough not to want to try everything and then go for seconds when you see the extensive menu of activities at and around Rocky Gap Lodge & Golf Resort, l located within 3200 acres of state parkland in Western Maryland just outside Cumberland.

 

From the moment you enter the lobby of this casual family-friendly resort, you feel drawn right back outside, as you’re greeted by a wall of windows showcasing the resort’s manicured backyard, Lake Habeeb and the forested mountains of Rocky Gap State Park beyond. The state’s only Jack Nicklaus golf course snakes around the side and front of the resort.

 

We arrived on a Friday afternoon, in time for my duo, ages 2 and 4, to participate in a kite-decorating craft followed by a successful test-flight. Western Maryland Adventures, the resort’s partner company, runs a one-stop-shop activity central in the lobby where you can find out what’s happening for the day or even make a special request —such as the 80-year-grandfather who wanted to try rappelling. “I can’t even explain the sparkle in his eye and the radiating beam around his face,” recalls Shelley Miller, founder of Western Maryland Adventures, who is passionate about fulfilling people’s dreams.

 

The line-up of kids’ recreational, nature and craft options peaks during the summer to six hours daily and runs on weekends year-round. Children, 5 and up, can be dropped off; younger kids need to be chaperoned. Several days each week during the summer, “Little Explorers” (ages 2 to 5) can be dropped off for their own program. There are Kids’ Night Out programs with such themes as mad science and magic kids, for ages 5 to 12, giving mom and dad a few hours to enjoy dinner on their own.

 

Children can also enroll in the Hook, Line & Sinker fishing program. Their parents can join them or take a class of their own and get a license. “The lake is stocked every year by the state with the thought that anybody should be able to throw a line and catch a fish easily,” shares general manager, Tim Grambley. 

 

After kite flying, we headed out on the lake in a paddle-boat. Other options include canoes and kayaks. Western Maryland Adventures can also arrange for a rafting, kayaking or guided fishing trip down the nearby rapids.

 

After a few minutes recharging in our lake view suite — which included a comfortable bedroom and a sitting room with a pull-out couch for the kids — we headed downstairs to Signatures, a casual restaurant with pizza, burgers and other typical bistro fare. There is also a dining room with a more extensive menu as well as more choices in nearby Cumberland.

 

“It’s a really idyllic spot to spend family quality time,” describes Karen Wyle, just before leaving the resort’s family campfire with marshmallow roasting with her husband and their 6-year-old daughter to head to bingo. “You don’t have to mortgage the ranch to come here.” She and her family made the drive from Northern Virginia. “I wanted a spot that would allow us to unwind from the city that would be family oriented.”

 

On Saturday morning, we feasted at the breakfast buffet in the main restaurant. The water views almost make you feel like you’re on a cruise ship. The chefs use many local ingredients including farm fresh eggs.

Filled with eggs, bacon, fruit, French toast (and yes, the list goes on), we walked over to the state park’s onsite aviary, where our sightings included the red-tailed hawk, great horned owl, and a black vulture. You can also sign up for the special Scales and Tales programs to learn more about the birds and other wildlife found around the park. 

Several walking trails of varying levels leave right from the lodge, including the just over four and a half mile partially paved loop around the lake. 

 

My family also wanted to get a taste of an activity called geocaching, billed as “high-tech treasure hunting” and played worldwide. Holding a hand-held GPS, participants try to navigate their way to 30 caches or boxes holding little trinkets, such as a key-chain, hidden throughout the state park. Players can choose from different levels of difficulty. The idea is once you find a cache, to take a trinket and leave one behind. We were able to get within a few feet of one cache, hidden in the woods, but lunch hunger pangs from my 2-year-old won out over continuing to search. Caching connoisseurs will sometimes attach “travel bugs” with barcodes to their trinkets and track online how far their trinkets travel.

 

 “We’ve sent out families that have included three generations. We’ve seen the teenagers look as if you’ve dragged them away from the couch and the TV and the computer… and when they get back, they want to look up their zip code and see how many caches are hidden in their neighborhood,” says Miller.

 

After grabbing a quick lunch, the kids played with sand toys down at the small beach by the resort side of the lake. On the state park side, located just a short walk away, there is a roped off lakefront, life guarded swim area.

 

We drove over to Greenridge Horse Ranch to take our kids for their first horseback ride. The ranch offers special “buddy saddles,” which enabled my husband and I to take our kids on our horses. Our guides were incredibly accommodating and even allowed me to switch horses, after my first one took to trying to eat grass at every turn. The ride was so relaxing that our 2-year-old fell fast asleep toward the end of the trip and ended up getting carried back to the ranch by one of the guides. The ranch is also home to an interesting bunch of animals including an emu, several llamas and pigs, two donkeys and many chickens. 

 

We needed to shift gears from our original plans for a Saturday night out checking out nearby Cumberland to a quiet one in the room. Both kids could barely stay awake after our action-packed day. I should have taken the advice from Miller to leave some time for downtime…. And I had kidded myself into thinking we could squeeze in a bike ride that day.

 

On Sunday, before returning home to Baltimore and to our far less elaborate breakfast-style, we returned to the breakfast buffet again for a satisfying meal.

 

We headed over to the pool, which can transform from indoor to outdoor with its retractable walls and ceiling, after breakfast and met up with a group of lucky girls who had been invited by a friend for a sleepover at the resort. You won’t believe the names of one of the party guests and the 7-year-old birthday girl — Hannah and Montana. No link to the singer.

 

We stopped for an early lunch in nearby downtown Cumberland and paid a visit to Queen City Creamery, a 1940s style soda shop where you’ll want to save room for the award-winning frozen custard in such flavors as Blueberry Muffin, Cake Batter, and Death by Chocolate with brownie pieces, chocolate chips and chocolate sauce. Needless to say, the kids barely touched their hot dogs and devoured dessert.

 

For bargain shoppers out there, you’ll pass the Hagerstown Prime Outlets on the way to and from Rocky Gap. Without question, we could easily make a return trip and fill a weekend without repeating any of the activities we tried out the first time.   

Special rates start at $110 per night. Visit rockygapresort.com for more information including a list of area attractions.  

 

 

 

Kite Decorating (kids keep kites)	$15
Paddle-Boating	$20 per hour/$15 for 30 min.
Evening Campfire	free marshmallows, s’mores packs available for purchase
Aviary Entry	free, special programs are fee based & vary
Geocaching	$40 GPS rental full day/$25 half day/$10 per hour
Horseback Riding	$65 for 3-mile ride (90 min.) $35 for a “buddy saddle”
Fishing Equipment	$25 full day/$15 half day
Bike Rentals	$30 half day/$10 per hour 4 bikes, $36 per hour
Bingo	$5 per person
Scavenger Hunt	$10 per person/$30 for 4 people