The Falls are named after Samuel Gilpin, who bought the land in 1735 and used the power of the Falls for his saw and corn mills. After Samuel died in 1767, the mill property remained in operation by his family until the 1860s. In 1895, a gentleman named William Warburton bought the area surrounding the Falls and converted part of the site into a power plant. William sold the area to the Conowingo Power Company in 1926 and they proceeded to shut down the plant and mills in 1930. There has been no real change to the property since then, however, the mills are no longer there. The retaining ponds and the race courses at the bottom of the Falls are the only surviving parts of the former mills. If you look around that area you will find structural foundations to barns, stone walls, and a spring house. At the top of the Falls, there is another retaining pond and a race that empties into a large pipe.

Every square inch of this place is fascinating and thrilling. I feel like every time I go, I manage to find something new to marvel at or take photos of. I have been 3 times and honestly, I have just barely scratched the surface here. My last visit in September was the hardest one. I wanted to grab long exposure shots so that meant hauling a large bulky tripod over the boulders and setting up on some rocks just barely big enough for the tripod. About halfway down the Falls I discovered a downed tree. After climbing over the tree and setting up for shots of the water and creek, I realized the tree was home to a nest of hornets that were very curious as to why I was in their space. They buzzed around me until I left and were making their presence known but none of them were interested in attacking me.

You can access Gilpin’s Falls several ways. The main entrance is up by the covered bridge on Maryland Route 272 or you can hike down the nature trails located behind Cecil College. I prefer doing the first one as it more fun. To do that route you will need to park in the gravel lot that runs parallel to the shoulder of the road and walk around the pond on the south side. Make a couple of steps onto the retaining wall and from there you can either climb down the boulders to get to the bottom or you can continue to the race and take the pipeline down. There is also an unpaved path next to the pipe that you could take but that way isn’t as fun. If you decide to go the way behind Cecil College, then you just have to locate the trailhead behind the baseball field and head down. Eventually you will reach the North East Creek and from there you go upstream to reach the old mill sites.

This is not a place for children due to the fast-moving water and sharp drops. Please only climb down the boulders if you have proper hiking equipment on and are experienced. Due to the sharp descent of the water, it tends to get dark there early, so I suggest getting there around noon. That way you have plenty of time to explore in the sunlight. It’s not necessary to go with a companion but I do recommend taking someone along to share the experience with.