Every example I see seems to be for recursively getting files in subdirectories uses files only. What I'm trying to do is search a folder for a particular subdirectory named "xxx" then save that path to a variable so I can use it for other things.
Is this possible without looping through all the directories and comparing by name?
First of all, "No, it is not possible without looping through all the directories and comparing by name".
I believe your real question is "Is there an existing API which will handle looping through all the directories and comparing by name for me?"
Yes, there is. It's called Directory.Exists():
var xxxPath = Path.Combine(parentFolder, "xxx");
if (Directory.Exists(xxxPath))
savedPath = xxxPath;
Yes, I believe that the only available solution (short of third party libraries) is a recursive search for the directory via name comparison.