Maryland's newest state park officially opens Friday in Garrett County, and reservations are already live for four yurts and a handful of primitive campsites carved out of what used to be a private ski resort. Savage Highlands State Park, built on the former Savage River Lodge property about 10 miles west of Frostburg, gives the public free access to roughly 55,000 acres of surrounding woodlands, including Savage River State Forest, for the first time.
The park's origin traces back to September 2024, when Maryland's Board of Public Works approved spending $8.7 million to buy the 42-acre property from private owners Jan Russell and Mike Dreisbach, with an additional $870,000 set aside to stabilize structures, remove safety hazards and protect water quality, according to CNHI. Two independent appraisals commissioned ahead of that vote had valued the property at $6.8 million and $9.8 million, and the state landed near the midpoint. As reported by the Maryland Daily Record, the purchase money came from Program Open Space special funds, which are generated through a portion of Maryland's real estate transfer tax.
The property was previously Savage River Lodge, a privately held vacation resort featuring a rustic ski lodge with a restaurant, per the Daily Record's reporting. Buying it eliminated what had functioned as a private inholding completely surrounded by more than 700 acres of the Mt. Aetna Tract within Savage River State Forest, Maryland's largest state forest, according to Deep Creek Times.
What's Bookable Now, and What's Coming Later
Online bookings are currently open for four yurts and primitive campsites, with reservations available through the end of October, the Daily Record reports. The park has eight yurts total and 18 cabins, though the cabins will likely open for reservations next spring, per the same account. Primitive campsites run $20 per night and include a fire ring, picnic table and bear-proof storage container, while the yurts cost about $200 per night and currently come equipped with heated floors, woodstoves and small air-conditioning units.
The cabins themselves already have electricity and indoor plumbing left over from the property's resort days, and the state plans to add stoves to them. Two cabins are slated to get ADA-accessible additions that will provide a private ground-floor bedroom in each, the Daily Record notes. The park has about 5.75 miles of hiking trails, and the Maryland Park Service has implemented new trail designs on the property. The lodge building itself will open to day hikers and overnight campers, and its restaurant space is under consideration for use as a wedding venue or food service operation — though local resident Jonas Williams has said park rangers should not be the ones cooking in the lodge, according to the Daily Record.
State officials had originally told the Board of Public Works the property would open by fall 2025, but structural repairs, road improvements and ADA compliance work pushed the limited opening to late August 2026, according to the Maryland Daily Record. Maryland also hopes to repair the steep gravel road leading into the park, and plans call for closing the yurts and campsites over the winter.
State Officials Tout Affordability and Family Access
Maggie Leathers-Smith and Matt Smith became the first members of the general public to stay at Savage Highlands, having won a free stay through a random draw tied to the Miles for Maryland challenge, which requires participants to hike 250 miles this year. Senate President Bill Ferguson also stayed in one of the park's yurts on August 21, and said state park investments create powerful family connections, per the Daily Record. Angela Crenshaw said state ownership will let children and families experience the property together at an affordable price, while Comptroller Brooke Lierman said she did not need much convincing to support adding Savage Highlands to the state park system.
Public access to the park itself is free, and it's expected to serve as a hub for visitors heading into nearby state lands, including Savage River State Forest, New Germany State Park and Dan's Mountain Wildlife Management Area. The Maryland Park Service, which falls under Department of Natural Resources Secretary Josh Kurtz, oversees the new park's operations. Leashed pets are permitted in outdoor common areas and select cabins, though hunting is prohibited within the park's roughly 40-acre boundary even though it remains legal in the surrounding state forest, according to Deep Creek Times.
Part of a Broader Push to Expand Maryland's Parks
Savage Highlands' opening fits into a larger state effort to overhaul its park system after pandemic-era crowding. Maryland's state parks hit a peak of 21 million visitors in 2020, a surge that forced the state to temporarily close popular parks 292 times that year after they hit capacity, prompting Maryland to expand online registration requirements for daytime visitors at some popular sites. In response, the Maryland General Assembly passed the Great Maryland Outdoors Act in 2022, setting aside tens of millions of dollars for park acquisitions and improvements, according to the Sierra Club Maryland Chapter. The law authorized $70 million for maintenance, $80 million for land acquisitions and 100 new permanent Maryland Park Service positions.
Savage Highlands is one of several additions to the state's public lands portfolio in recent years. Maryland also opened Freedman's State Park in Montgomery County this year, accepted a donation of the Catoctin Furnace Cemetery at Cunningham Falls State Park in 2026, and has a planned 445-acre Wetipquin Creek State Park in Wicomico County in the works. The Chesapeake Bay Foundation separately donated Holly Beach Farm, a planned 293-acre natural resources management area in Anne Arundel County, in 2024.
Rates Draw Local Pushback
Not everyone is thrilled with how the new park has been priced. Published public feedback highlighted that nightly rates for the yurts and cabins at Savage Highlands, running $200 to $250 a night, are more than double what rustic cabins cost at nearby state parks like New Germany and Herrington Manor, according to a letter published by the Daily Record. Traditional Maryland state park cabins tend to offer rustic amenities, while the Savage Highlands units retain pre-existing resort features like heated floors and electricity — a distinction officials point to when explaining the price gap, even as some residents continue to question the state's handling of the project's cost and timeline.
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