from the Maryland DNR
The Maryland Department of Natural Resources (DNR) has secured grant funding through a partnership with Frostburg State University that advances the development and opening of Wills Mountain State Park in Allegany County.
The Appalachian Regional Commission (ARC), an economic development agency of the federal government and 13 state governments, recently approved a grant of $521,684 to Frostburg State University for the Wills Mountain State Park Comprehensive Planning Initiative project. With ARC’s investment, Frostburg State University, through its Frostburg Outdoor Recreation Economy Institute (FOREI), will work in partnership with DNR and the Maryland Park Service to complete the planning activities that will guide the development of Wills Mountain State Park for public access.
On Thursday, the department hosted a community gathering and stewardship celebration atop Wills Mountain in Cumberland to provide an update to local officials and other guests about the latest plans and funding for the park. The department also announced the purchase of an additional 195-acre forested property along the ridge and eastern slopes of Wills Mountain, which will be added to the park.
Preserving Wills Mountain for public use has been an effort 60 years in the making. The state purchased the first 51.69-acre parcel in 1966. Wills Mountain officially became a state park in 1998, when the Maryland Department of Natural Resources purchased about 305 of the current 823.38 acres.
Despite its designation as a state park, Wills Mountain has remained closed to the public for more than two decades because there has been no suitable location to construct an access road. The park is situated almost entirely along the mountain’s ridge and surrounded by private property.
To provide that access, DNR purchased the 48-acre site of the former Artmor Plastics plant in March 2024, adjacent to the park. The property includes an existing road up the mountain that, once repaired, will eventually enable the state to open Wills Mountain State Park to the public.
“For so many families, climbers, hikers, and residents of Allegany County, Wills Mountain is part of their personal and cultural history,” said Maryland Park Service Director Angela Crenshaw. “Today, we begin restoring that connection, carefully and deliberately.”
With a path toward public access now established, DNR is advancing the infrastructure improvements and resource protection efforts needed to prepare the park for visitors.
DNR’s Engineering and Construction team has taken steps to stabilize the road infrastructure to allow access for ongoing and upcoming planning and construction projects. DNR is working in partnership with the Maryland Environmental Service and the Maryland Department of the Environment to determine the extent of hazardous material remediation at the Artmor site. Once the necessary remediation is complete, DNR will begin demolition of the former plastics plant and develop the Artmor site to create parking and visitor services.
At the same time, protecting the mountain’s ecological resources remains central to the park’s development. DNR’s Wildlife and Heritage Service biologists have conducted extensive studies to document the plant and animal communities on the mountain and identify measures to protect their habitats. The sustainable management of Wills Mountain State Park will require carefully balancing public service and resource stewardship goals.
Wills Mountain is named after a prominent 18th-century Native American man named Will, and stands as a reminder that the story of westward expansion and early settlement rests upon much older Indigenous pathways. The park will also honor Shawnee and other Indigenous Peoples who used this area for movement, trade, and diplomacy and who continue to maintain relationships with the lands.
In the late 1800s and 1900s, the mountaintop was home to a hotel and tavern, then a textile plant, and most recently the Artmor Plastics plant that closed in 2013.
Wills Mountain State Park will be managed as part of the Rocky Gap State Park complex.
