Maryland is narrow enough that you can cross it in a morning and varied enough that the two ends have nothing in common. The riding splits into three separate trips: the Catoctin and South Mountain country around Thurmont, where Maryland Route 77 climbs and drops through Catoctin Mountain Park; far western Garrett and Allegany counties, where MD 135 crosses Backbone Mountain and old US 40 still goes over Town Hill instead of through it; and the Eastern Shore, where MD 213 runs 68 miles of flat, quiet two-lane along the Chesapeake Country Scenic Byway. Pick one per day. Trying to link all three in a weekend means spending most of it on I-70.
Why Maryland reads better on a map than it rides
The state is 200 miles wide and, in places, less than two miles top to bottom. That geography is the whole story. Western Maryland sits on the Appalachian Plateau with real elevation and real grades. The middle is ridge-and-valley country, where the Blue Ridge throws up South Mountain and Catoctin Mountain and the roads have to deal with them. Everything east of Baltimore is coastal plain, which means no corners at all, but also almost no traffic once you get across the Bay. Three landscapes, three completely different days of riding, and the through-traffic mostly stays on the interstate in between.
Top motorcycle roads in Maryland
| Road | Length | What it is | End to end |
|---|---|---|---|
| MD 77 (Foxville Road) | 20.74 miles | Sharp curves up South Mountain, then the Hunting Creek valley descent off Catoctin; two state byways overlap it | MD 64 in Smithsburg to MD 194 in Keymar |
| MD 135 (Maryland Highway) | 29.00 miles | Mountain Maryland Scenic Byway over Backbone Mountain; high point 2,969 feet, then grades to 9 percent | US 219 in Oakland to US 220 in McCoole |
| US 40 Scenic (National Pike) | 16.1 miles signed eastbound | The old National Road left in place over Town Hill and Sideling Hill, with no climbing lanes | Green Ridge State Forest to MD 144 near Hancock |
| MD 213 (Chesapeake Country Scenic Byway) | 68.25 miles | Eastern Shore two-lane through farm towns; a National Scenic Byway north of Centreville | Wye Mills to the Pennsylvania line at Fair Hill |
Open MD 77 over Catoctin in Google Maps — Smithsburg to Thurmont by way of Foxville, ready to push to your navigation before you leave.
MD 77 and the Catoctin crossing
Twenty and three-quarter miles from MD 64 in Smithsburg east to MD 194 in Keymar, and only about half of it is the part you came for. Heading east out of Smithsburg the road is called Foxville Road, and it starts working almost immediately, running through a set of sharp curves as it climbs South Mountain to its high point at the Washington–Frederick county line.
East of Foxville is the good stretch. MD 77 becomes the boundary between Cunningham Falls State Park on the south side and the National Park Service's Catoctin Mountain Park on the north, then follows the narrow Hunting Creek valley down off Catoctin Mountain in a long curving descent. It emerges just west of Thurmont, meets US 15 at a partial cloverleaf, and turns into Main Street. East of town it is farm road — Graceham, a one-lane railroad underpass, Owens Creek, the Loys Station Covered Bridge just off the route, then a truss bridge over the Monocacy River and a flat run to Keymar.
Two things shape how this road rides. It carries the Journey Through Hallowed Ground Byway and the Old Main Streets Scenic Byway, which means tourist traffic that is not in a hurry, especially near the park entrances on summer weekends. And Camp David sits inside Catoctin Mountain Park just off the highway, so law enforcement presence in the area is not unusual. Neither is a reason to skip it. Both are reasons to ride it early.
MD 135 over Backbone Mountain
The 29 miles between Oakland and McCoole are the most serious piece of pavement in the state. MD 135 leaves US 219 at Oakland, runs east through Mountain Lake Park and Deer Park on the plateau, then turns southeast at Altamont and climbs Backbone Mountain, topping out at a scenic overlook at 2,969 feet — the highest point on the road. From there it runs the ridgeline through Potomac-Garrett State Forest before the eastbound descent to Bloomington.
That descent is why the road has a reputation. Grades reach 9 percent, trucks are required to stop at three separate brake check locations and to hold 10 mph, and there is a runaway truck ramp on the way down. The state has been adding measures there for decades because the mountain has killed people. On two wheels the grade itself is manageable; what is not is arriving at it hot, behind a truck that is doing exactly what the signs tell it to do, on a road with no room to reconsider. Take the descent as slowly as the trucks do and it is one of the best roads in Maryland. Ride it the other direction — west out of Bloomington, climbing — and it is simply a great climb with nothing at stake.
The eastern end is industrial, through Luke and Westernport in the North Branch Potomac valley. The scenery is on the plateau and the ridge, not at the bottom.
US 40 Scenic, the National Road they never straightened
When I-68 was pushed through western Maryland, the old National Pike over Town Hill and Sideling Hill was left where it was and signed as US 40 Scenic — the only scenic-suffixed route in the entire U.S. Highway System. The officially maintained piece runs 9.50 miles in Allegany County, but the signed route is longer: 16.1 miles eastbound and 17.5 westbound, from Fifteen Mile Creek Road at the edge of Green Ridge State Forest east to MD 144 near Hancock. The mileage differs by direction because the westbound signage follows Mountain Road instead.
The climb of Town Hill is the section worth riding. It is curvy, it has no climbing lanes, and it passes through the Billmeyer Wildlife Management Area before dropping to Piney Grove. The Town Hill Overlook looks east across the valley toward Sideling Hill. Because the interstate absorbed all the through-traffic in the 1960s and 1980s, the old road is now almost empty — which is the entire appeal, and also the reason nobody is coming to help quickly if something goes wrong up there.
MD 213 and the Eastern Shore
Nobody rides the Eastern Shore for corners. MD 213 covers 68.25 miles from MD 662 at Wye Mills north to the Pennsylvania line near Fair Hill, mostly as two-lane undivided road through farmland and the towns of Centreville, Chestertown, Galena, Cecilton, Chesapeake City and Elkton. The state designates it the Chesapeake Country Scenic Byway from Wye Mills to Chesapeake City, and the portion north of MD 18 in Centreville carries National Scenic Byway status.
The signature moment is the Chesapeake City Bridge, a tied-arch span carrying MD 213 high over the Chesapeake and Delaware Canal, with ships underneath. North of there the byway designation changes to the Atlantic to Appalachians Scenic Byway. What this road gives you is distance without effort — long sight lines, small colonial-era towns, water on both sides of the peninsula and a pace that suits an evening better than a midday. It is the right ride when the mountains are socked in.
Fuel, season, and the things that go wrong here
Fuel. The Catoctin and Eastern Shore roads are never far from a pump. Garrett and Allegany counties are the exception — between Oakland and Westernport on MD 135, and along the whole US 40 Scenic corridor, plan on filling in Oakland, Frostburg or Hancock rather than assuming the next village has an open station on a Sunday.
Season. April through October in the mountains, longer on the Shore. MD 135 and US 40 Scenic sit high enough that shaded pavement holds ice into spring, and the plateau gets weather the Baltimore forecast does not mention. Late October is peak color on Catoctin and Backbone Mountain both.
Traffic pattern. Cunningham Falls and Catoctin Mountain Park fill up on summer weekends, and the queue backs onto MD 77. Deep Creek Lake traffic does the same thing to US 219 near Oakland. Weekday mornings are a completely different road.
Deer and farm equipment. Standard Appalachian and Eastern Shore hazards. Dawn and dusk in the Hunting Creek valley are the worst combination of low light and tree cover anywhere in this list.
Enforcement. Two-lane limits are typically 50 to 55 mph, and every village drops abruptly. Thurmont, Chestertown and Elkton are where the citations happen, not the mountain.
Gear notes for Maryland roads
The recurring problem in Maryland is not distance, it is that the character of the day changes three times. You can start in 50-degree fog on Backbone Mountain and be in humid 80s along the Potomac two hours later, and both ends of that swing act on your tires. Our tire pressure guide walks through how much temperature actually moves your numbers, and a valve-cap TPMS sensor reports the change live instead of leaving you to guess at the next stop. The second issue is navigation in the mountains. Route numbers change at unmarked junctions west of Hancock, and cell coverage in the Savage River drainage and the Hunting Creek valley is spotty enough that a streamed map will stall mid-turn. Downloading the area ahead of time and running it on a bar-mounted riding system keeps the phone in your jacket. The JADO S6 puts navigation and live tire data on one screen and keeps front and rear cameras recording, which is worth having on a road where a coal truck can be stopped at a brake check just past a blind crest. We build these, so weigh that accordingly.
FAQ
What is the best motorcycle road in Maryland?
MD 77 through Catoctin Mountain Park is the one most riders name, mainly because it packs a mountain climb, a park descent and a covered-bridge valley into about 20 miles within easy reach of Baltimore and Washington. For pure grade and elevation, MD 135 over Backbone Mountain is more demanding.
How long does it take to ride MD 135 over Backbone Mountain?
Allow about an hour for the 29 miles between Oakland and McCoole, and more if you are heading east. The descent has three truck brake check stops and grades up to 9 percent, so traffic in front of you will be moving slowly by design.
Can you ride Maryland's mountain roads year round?
They stay open, but April to October is the realistic window in Garrett and Allegany counties. Snow totals on the plateau are far higher than in the rest of the state, and shaded valley pavement holds ice long after the ridges have cleared.
Where should I base a Maryland weekend?
Thurmont or Frederick for the Catoctin roads, Oakland or Cumberland for the western mountains, Chestertown for the Eastern Shore. The three regions are far enough apart that moving between them costs half a riding day on the interstate.
Is US 40 Scenic worth the detour off I-68?
Yes, if you want the old road rather than the fast one. It is the only scenic-suffixed route in the U.S. Highway System, it climbs Town Hill with no climbing lanes, and traffic is close to nonexistent because the interstate took it all. Budget 30 to 40 minutes for the signed section and use the Town Hill Overlook.
