Seneca Creek State Park

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Seneca Creek State Park is a state-owned, public recreation area encompassing more than along 14 miles of Seneca Creek in its run to the Potomac River in Montgomery County, Maryland. The park features facilities for boating and fishing as well as trails for hiking, cycling, and horseback riding.HistoryThe General Assembly authorized funds for land purchase for Seneca Creek State Park in each year from 1965 to 1968. The park saw "Stage A" development when, in the 1966, the General Assembly authorized funds for camping and picnicking sites, roads, utilities, buildings, and other features. In 1975, Clopper Lake was created for recreational use and flood control by damming Long Draught Creek, a tributary of Seneca Creek.Activities and amenitiesClopper LakeThe developed portion of the state park centers on 90acre Clopper Lake and the Clopper Lake Day Use Area which is bounded by Clopper Road to the north, Longdraft Road to the east, Great Seneca Highway to the south, and Riffleford Road to the west in Gaithersburg. Clopper Lake averages a depth of, has shallow enclaves, is stocked with largemouth bass, tiger muskie, channel catfish, sunfish, bluegill, and pumpkinseed sunfish, and allows boating. TrailsThe park contains of trails, some in the CLDUA, and in the Schaeffer Farm Trails Area. Trails are used for hiking, mountain biking, horseback riding, and cross-country skiing. The Lake Shore Trail loops around Clopper Lake. The Seneca Creek Greenway Trail follows the entire length of Great Seneca Creek for from Route 355 to the Potomac River. KayakingSections of Seneca Creek can be travelled by kayak, especially south of Route 28, Darnestown Road, or further north during periods of high water. North of Route 28, it may be necessary to portage around trees down across the creek. Other usesThe park has picnicking facilities, a tire playground, a 27-hole disc golf course, and a restored 19th-century cabin. Hunting is permitted in several areas of the park. EventsSince 1995, the annual Winter Lights Festival has featured a drive-through holiday light show at year's end in the Clopper Lake Day Use Area.