Maryland’s Newest State Park Opens Friday, Just Over the Ridge
Savage Highlands State Park opens August 28 in Garrett County on the former Savage River Lodge property, opening a door to 55,000 acres of Savage River State Forest.
Maryland has a new state park, and it is close enough that you could be hiking it before lunch.
Savage Highlands State Park officially opens Friday, August 28, on the former Savage River Lodge property in Garrett County. The state bought the place for roughly $8.7 million through Program Open Space, with the Board of Public Works signing off in 2024. A dedication ceremony was held Saturday, August 21.
What is out there
The property comes with a central lodge, 18 cabins, eight yurts and about 5.75 miles of trails. The part that should get your attention is what it borders: the 55,000-acre Savage River State Forest. This is not a small pocket park. It is a front door.
The park opens in phases. The initial phase is a limited number of yurts plus new backcountry campsites, and day use is welcome from the start. Early yurt rates run around $200 a night. Savage Highlands will be managed as part of the New Germany State Park complex.
Why this is a mountain-corridor story
The Savage River watershed sits in the same highland country that feeds the Casselman, and Grantsville and Frostburg are an easy run from Meyersdale or Salisbury. If you have been looking for somewhere new to walk that is not the same three trailheads, this is it.
Worth noting for the fall: 55,000 adjoining acres of state forest and a brand new set of backcountry sites is a combination that is going to be very hard to ignore once the leaves turn.
Sources: Maryland Department of Natural Resources, August 22, 2026; Deep Creek Times.