Savage River & Georges Creek

River and coal country in the far west: from Grantsville the route takes New Germany Road past New Germany State Park, follows Savage River Road down through Savage River State Forest and past the reservoir to Bloomington, rides MD-135 to Westernport, climbs the Georges Creek valley on MD-36 through Lonaconing and Midland to Frostburg, and returns to Grantsville on US-40 Alternate. It's 61 miles. Savage River Road was closed at Bear Pen Run from June 8 to August 3, 2026, and the county hasn't posted a reopening notice: call Garrett County Roads before you go.

From Grantsville the route heads south on New Germany Road to New Germany State Park, whose 13-acre lake took its present size when the Civilian Conservation Corps built a bigger dam in the 1930s. The park sits next to Savage River State Forest, about 54,000 acres, the largest state forest in Maryland. Savage River Road follows the river down through the forest, under the trees, past the Savage River Reservoir, whose 184-foot dam was finished in 1952, and down to Bloomington. Parts of this road are a lane and a half wide, so don't ride it in a long tight line.

Savage River Road was closed at Bear Pen Run from June 8 to August 3, 2026, to replace a culvert with a bridge, and the county never posted a reopening notice; it has also closed after floods in recent years. Check with Garrett County Roads before you go. From Bloomington the route rides MD-135 to Westernport, across the river from West Virginia, then climbs the Georges Creek valley on MD-36, old coal country, through Lonaconing, where an iron furnace fired with coke first went into blast in 1839, and Midland to Frostburg, and returns west on US-40 Alternate. There are no services between Grantsville and Bloomington.