The scenery around Aberdeen might be some of the most beautiful on the Eastern Seaboard, especially when the sun comes up over the bay.

The endearing little town of Havre de Grace is less than ten minutes away and a delight for its boardwalk, lighthouse and an assortment of museums steeped in the culture of the Chesapeake Bay.

Aberdeen meanwhile is the hometown of Orioles Hall of Famer, Cal Ripken, Jr., who purchased a Minor League baseball team for the city in 2002.

A big local employer is the Aberdeen Proving Ground, a U.S. Army Facility dating back to 1917, and with a story told by the Aberdeen Historical Museum.

1. Ripken Stadium

Source: U.S. Marshals Service / Flickr | CC BY

Aberdeen is the hometown of baseball Hall of Famer Cal Ripken, Jr, his brother Billy Ripken and their father Cal Ripken, Sr (1935-1999).

All three are practically synonymous with the Baltimore Orioles, as players or coach/general manager in Cal Ripken, Sr’s case.

In 2002 Cal Ripken, Jr purchased the Utica Blue Sox and relocated them to Aberdeen as the IronBirds, constructing the 6,000 Ripken Stadium in time for the 2002 season.

Playing in MiLB’s South Atlantic League, this is an affiliate of the Orioles, counting all stars like Manny Machado and Nick Markakis in its list of alumni.

The stadium was designed to evoke Camden Yards, down to a replica of the famous B&O Warehouse. Next to the stadium is a baseball park used by the Ripken Experience for youth players, with yet more replicas of MLB landmarks like Wrigley Field.

2. Downtown Aberdeen

Source: PROST German Restaurant / Facebook

Green and spacious, downtown Aberdeen springs to life for big public events like Second Saturday in summer, Christmas Street and Earth Day in spring.

The venue for any big outdoor gathering is Festival Park, which we’ll talk about next. If you’re taking a look around, downtown Aberdeen is gradually adding to its collection of local shops, services and restaurants.

For dining, the big trio is Scoops Corner Cafe & Deli (34 W. Bel Air Ave), Frank’s Pizza (37 W Bel Air Ave) and Prost German Restaurant (102 N Rogers St).

The latter is a real destination for the area, with an authentic menu that includes schnitzel, gulasch and a variety of German sausage, including Weisswurst, Knackwurst, Weisswurst and even the popular street-food, Currywurst. There’s also a long list of German beers on tap, from Lagers to Weissbier.

3. Festival Park

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Next to Aberdeen City Hall and city departments like the police and public library, Festival Park is an attractive town green for Aberdeen.

Edged by a tree-shaded path, the park has an expansive oval-shaped grassy space for outdoor events, with a large stage/pavilion at the southeastern end. Close to the pavilion is Aberdeen’s 9/11 memorial, with a piece of steel recovered from the World Trade Center.

On the north side there’s a series of tree-shaded picnic tables, as well as the park’s two children’s playgrounds.

Festival Park is the setting for numerous events all year, in particular Second Saturday, which we’ll talk about in more detail below. Parking shouldn’t be a problem, as there are spaces along all four sides.

4. Havre de Grace

Source: Christian Hinkle / shutterstock

Aberdeen is five minutes from one of the most scenic places in Maryland, with great seafood, intriguing history and a string of marinas along the shore.

On the little nub of land at the mouth of the Susquehanna River, Havre de Grace has a lot to offer.

If you’re here for the views, there’s a boardwalk promenade curling round from Tydings Park to the lighthouse at Concord Point.

There are five superb museums in Havre de Grace, and two to prioritize are the acclaimed Decoy Museum, celebrating a cherished Chesapeake Bay artform, and the Havre de Grace Maritime Museum, recording hundreds of years of local history, including a sacking during the War of 1812.

5. Concord Point Lighthouse

Source: Derek Jeffries / shutterstock

The symbol of Havre de Grace is a 36-foot lighthouse that has overlooked the mouth of the Susquehanna River since 1827.

This is the northernmost lighthouse on the Chesapeake Bay, and the second-oldest surviving lighthouse in Maryland. Concord Point is significant for being the site of a cannon battery that defended Havre de Grace during the attack by the British in the War of 1812.

The light was a navigation aid for 148 years until it was decommissioned in the 1970s, and, along with its quaint Keeper’s House, is now preserved as a visitor attraction along the Havre de grace promenade.

You can look around on weekends from April to October, and regular educational tours are given by volunteer keepers.

6. Aberdeen Second Saturdays

Source: mRGB / shutterstock

May through October, Festival Park is the place to be on the second Saturday of the month when there’s a schedule of events, beginning in the afternoon and continuing after dark.

Second Saturday begins with a farmers’ market, for local fresh produce and unique arts and crafts.

You’re encouraged to bring a picnic blanket or lawn chair, because the market is followed by live music at the pavilion.

Then at dusk you can settle down to a movie under the stars, presented by Horizon Cinemas, which also provides the popcorn.

7. Susquehanna State Park

Source: Eric Brouillette / shutterstock

A large patch of the lower Susquehanna River Valley is preserved as a Maryland State Park, no more than 15 minutes from Aberdeen.

Susquehanna State Park is on more than 2,750 acres, over rugged terrain littered with rocky outcroppings, under deep hardwood forest.

This is a thrilling place for active recreation, with some of the best mountain biking terrain in the state, hiking trails (15 miles), and fishing and boating on the riverbank.

There’s interesting history too, at sites like the Rock Run Grist Mill (1794), the 1804 Carter-Archer Mansion, where the mill-owner lived, the Susquehanna & Tidewater Canal (1836) and the Jersey Toll House (c. 1817).

The privately-run Steppingstone Farm Museum is also in the park boundaries and documents rural skills and livelihoods from the turn of the 20th century.

Finally, there’s a beautiful and shaded campground, with primitive and electric sites, and a well-maintained shower building.

8. Aberdeen Historical Museum

Source: SevenMaps / shutterstock

Also next to Festival Park in downtown Aberdeen, a cute one-story commercial building houses the local history museum.

Volunteer-run this is normally open Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays, and chronicling many aspects of Aberdeen’s past.

The main permanent exhibition delves into topics like the railroads, canning, prominent local people, historic businesses, sports and the century-long story of the Aberdeen Proving Ground.

One area of specialty is baseball, with a trove of memorabilia for the IronBirds and the Ripken family. In summer, the museum has special extended hours during Second Saturdays.

9. Bulle Rock Golf Course

Source: Mikael Damkier / shutterstock

Havre de Grace is home to a public golf course often ranked as the best in the state, just five minutes from downtown Aberdeen.

Opened in 1998, Bulle Rock was laid out by the celebrated course designer, Pete Dye (1925-2020) and hosted the Women’s PGA Championship for five years between 2005 and 2009.

The course has a magnificent hilltop setting, overlooking the Chesapeake Bay, on what used to be the Blenheim Stud Farm. The name comes from Bulle Rock, the first thoroughbred racehorse brought to America in the 18th century.

This is a long track, at 7,37 yards from the tips, and some notable holes are the 483-yard uphill 5th (par 4), 665-yard 11th (par 5) and 18th (par 3), with a fairway and green framed by water.

10. Lohr’s Orchard

Source: Africa Studio / shutterstock

This family farm has been in business since 1928, and relocated to its current spot a few minutes from Aberdeen in Churchville in 1974.

Lohr’s Orchard has a farm stand that stays open throughout the fruit and vegetable season, but also past Christmas.

In summer and fall you can visit to pick your own strawberries, peaches, cherries, apples and pumpkins, with a hayride included.

The farm stand sells excellent fresh produce, and partners with a number of local farms, offering cheeses, jams, jellies, ice cream, granola, craft sodas and much more.

Fresh pressed apple cider has been a Lohr’s specialty since the 1960s, and people travel for miles for the apple cider and pumpkin donuts.

11. Mount Felix Vineyard & Winery

Source: Mount Felix Vineyard & Winery / Facebook

On high ground with sweeping views of the Chesapeake Bay, Mount Felix Vineyard & Winery is based at a stunning brick manor house from the 1830s.

The setting is primed for making great wine, with fertile, well-drained soils, breezes off the bay and plentiful sunshine on the south-facing slopes.

Mount Felix produces a range of dry blends, like Mitchell’s Manor (Viognier/Chardonnay) and RedFish (Cabernet Sauvignon/Chambourcin/Merlot), as well as several sweet fruit wines. Visiting the tasting room, you can wander outside with your glass and enjoy the views.

12. Aberdeen Family Swim Center

Source: Elena Yakusheva / shutterstock

There’s a community pool, just off Paradise Rd in the north of Aberdeen. Perfect if you need ideas during the school summer break, the Aberdeen Family Swim Center is touted as the most affordable facility of its kind in the region.

The main attraction is an Olympic-size 50 meter pool, which has a large shallow area starting at 3 ft, so younger and less-experienced swimmers will feel safe.

For smaller children there’s a separate kiddie pool, and plenty of space on the sides for parents to relax. Season membership is available to non-residents, or you can pay a walk-in fee for a one-off visit.

13. Eagles on Main

Source: Ludo KOOS / shutterstock

In winter, Aberdeen’s shoreline becomes an important habitat for bald eagles, with hundreds of eagles recorded each year around the Aberdeen Proving Ground (APG).

This species has rebounded exponentially from just one nesting pair in the 1970s. Aside from the DDT ban 1972, the main cause is thought to be the absence of human development at the APG.

Aberdeen’s eagle connection is celebrated downtown with a scavenger hunt, ideal for families visiting downtown.

All around the center of the city there are ten rocks painted with bald eagles. To find them you have to solve a series of clues, and these can be downloaded from Aberdeen city website.

14. Horizon Cinemas Aberdeen

Source: photastic / shutterstock

Aberdeen’s local multiplex opened in a former supermarket at the Aberdeen MarketPlace in 2020.

Horizon is a Maryland-specific chain, with five locations when we made this list. The Aberdeen branch has eight screens, all with a choice of comfortable rocker or recliner seating, and high-end sound and picture quality.

There’s also a bar, which is something you don’t find at many movie theaters, and a range of hot food, from apps like mozzarella sticks, soft pretzels, nachos and chicken tenders, to flatbread pizza and treats like funnel cake fries.

15. Legends of the Fog

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One of the region’s top haunted attractions is out in Aberdeen’s countryside, open on weekend evenings throughout October and into early November.

Legends of the Fog is an indoor-outdoor experience, famous for its long haunted hayride, widely considered the best in the state and themed as an evacuation from zombie hordes.

Another annual feature is the haunted corn maze, which gets larger with each season, and the haunted house, packed with imaginatively conceived horrors, with 70 doors to open.

A new addition when we wrote this article was the Slaughterhouse, directly after the corn maze and inhabited by mutant butchers. On its final weekend, in early November, Legends of the Fog operates in almost total darkness, for an extra level of fear.

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The beauty of this place was not lost on Lafayette (1757-1834), who helped coin the town’s name, and in 1789 Havre de Grace was a vote away from becoming the first capital of the United States.

The downtown area is on a low hill that swoops down to a long line of marinas, and a scenic promenade leading to the second-oldest lighthouse in Maryland.

Havre de Grace is postcard-pretty, but also has a contingent of museums, and an animated downtown that will keep you under its spell for longer than you might expect.

1. Havre de Grace Promenade

Source: Christian Hinkle / shutterstock

For spellbinding views of the Chesapeake Bay and a riveting history lesson you can walk this stretch of boardwalk, arcing round from Tydings Park to Concord Point.

Havre de Grace Promenade is around ¾ of a mile in length, and is furnished with plenty of benches so you can idle for a while and make the most of the cooling breezes and dreamy scenery.

If you happen to make this walk in winter you stand a good chance of spotting bald eagles swooping overhead. Early birds meanwhile will be rewarded with a sunrise that will live long in the memory.

The boardwalk is almost like an outdoor museum, with interpretive signs charting the 1813 Raid on Havre de Grace in the War of 1812, and helping you identify waterfowl.

2. Concord Point Lighthouse

Source: Derek Jeffries / shutterstock

The Havre de Grace Promenade will bring you to the foot of the city’s emblematic landmark, an historic tower lighthouse at the very point where the Susquehanna River meets the bay.

Operating until 1975, the Concord Point Lighthouse dates to 1827, and is the northernmost lighthouse on the bay. Constructed from Port Deposit granite, this structure is 36 feet tall, and its beacon was originally illuminated with nine whale-oil lamps.

The Lighthouse Keeper’s House is a few steps away, and you can visit both buildings for self-guided tours on weekends from April to October. Concord Point is also significant as the site of one of the city’s batteries during the Raid on Havre de Grace in the War of 1812.

3. Downtown Havre de Grace

Source: Christian Hinkle / shutterstock

Havre de Grace’s historic city center is up the slope from the waterfront, and surprises you with occasional panoramas over the bay.

Mostly set along St John St, Washington St and their side streets, this is an easy neighborhood to enjoy on foot, and there’s an assortment of galleries, gift shops, antiques stores, quirky design boutiques and candy shops to catch your eye.

Every few steps you’ll find yourself in front of yet another inviting coffee shop, tea room, bakery, restaurant, wine bar or pub.

There’s something for all tastes, but, as you would hope, the scene is dominated by Chesapeake Bay seafood specialties like crab cake, soft shell crab or crab dip.

Downtown is framed by historic residential neighborhoods, and within a couple of blocks you’ll be on tree-lined streets admiring opulent 19th-century homes.

4. Susquehanna State Park

Source: Eric Brouillette / shutterstock

A rocky and densely forested stretch of the Susquehanna is waiting to be explored a short way upstream from Havre de Grace.

Susquehanna State Park encompasses more than 2,750 acres, with around 15 miles of trails, and some of the best terrain in the region for mountain biking. One especially scenic route is the Susquehanna Ridge Trail, with majestic vistas of the valley.

Preserved at the Rock Run Historic Area are a number of interesting sites, like the Rock Run Grist Mill (c. 1800), and a fragment of the Susquehanna and Tidewater Canal with accompanying toll house, and the Carter-Archer Mansion (1804), built for the mill’s owner.

The park’s river is a fishing hotspot, either from the banks or via the boat ramp, with perch, pike and bass often caught here.

5. Havre de Grace Decoy Museum

Source: Maryland Green Registry / Flickr | CC BY

Something that has been elevated to high art on the Chesapeake Bay is the production of lifelike wooden waterfowl decoys.

Originally intended as lures, coaxing waterfowl to within shooting distance, the best decoys are now highly sophisticated collector’s items, fetching thousands of dollars.

This skill is celebrated at the Havre de Grace Decoy Museum, founded in 1986 to preserve a unique facet of local culture. On the first floor you’ll get to know how the Susquehanna Flats and its waterfowl bounty became a magnet for hunters in the 19th century.

The second floor is the Carvers’ Gallery, filled with exceptional carvings by masters of the art like Steve and Lem Ward, Charlie Bryan, Paul Gibson, Evans McKinney and Bob Litzenberg.

6. Lock House Museum

Source: Rosemarie Mosteller / shutterstock

One intriguing piece of Havre de Grace’s 19th-century history is the Susquehanna and Tidewater Canal.

Constructed between Wrightsville, PA and Havre de Grace in the late 1830s, this 43-mile waterway provided an alternative shipping route to the difficult Susquehanna River.

For some 60 years, the canal brought coal, lumber, flint, slate and agricultural goods from Pennsylvania’s interior to the coast. Set in a preserved lock house from 1840, this museum tells the story of the canal, its industries, cargo and the intricate mechanics of its locks.

The two-story Greek Revival building is part of the museum’s appeal, serving as a residence for the lock tender, as well as an office for the canal’s toll collector.

7. Havre de Grace Maritime Museum

Source: Havre De Grace Maritime Museum, Inc. / Facebook

A necessary stop by Concord Point, the Havre de Grace Maritime Museum goes into depth on the region’s fascinating maritime heritage.

One permanent exhibit deals with the Underground Railroad in the Havre de Grace area, studying the role of the waterways and the people who worked on them in helping enslaved people escape via the free state of Pennsylvania.

Changing exhibits document many different aspects of the Chesapeake Bay, such as its famously productive fisheries, early 17th-century exploration, historic ice harvesting, the story of the Coast Guard, recreation, fluctuating waterfowl, shipbuilding, navigation and much more.

8. Havre de Grace Farmers’ Market

Source: Javani LLC / shutterstock

On Saturday mornings from May to mid-December, Havre de Grace hosts an acclaimed farmers’ market, for ultra-fresh fruit and vegetables, pasture-raised meats, cheeses, eggs, honey, baked treats, local wine, and a range of artisanal items like pottery or woodcarving.

The location is Hutchins Park, a scenic waterfront space directly southeast of the downtown area, and at any other time, you may stretch your legs here after a bite at one of the many eateries nearby.

This park also hosts Havre de Grace’s annual Independence Day concert, and is the perfect vantage point for the fireworks that follow.

9. Steppingstone Farm Museum

Source: Steppingstone Farm Museum / Facebook

A separate entity, this private museum in Susquehanna State Park is on a preserved farm, frozen in time at the turn of the 20th century.

This tract of land, known as the Land of Promise, has a history reaching back to 1684. In an ensemble of buildings you can discover the different skills and technology that were intrinsic to rural life in Maryland more than a century ago.

Around the stone-built farmhouse there’s a wheelwright, blacksmith, woodshop, cannery, machine barn, carriage barn, corn crib, orchard and barnyard. The museum also has a stage and field for annual events like the Folk and Bluegrass Festival in August.

10. Ripken Stadium

Source: U.S. Marshals Service / Flickr | CC BY

The beloved Oriole shortstop and hall of famer, Cal Ripken, Jr., “The Iron Man” was born in Havre de Grace and grew up next door in Aberdeen.

In 2001 Ripken purchased the Utica Blue Sox, and relocated them to his hometown, building the magnificent, 6,000-seat Ripken Stadium for their opening season in 2002.

When we compiled this list, the Aberdeen IronBirds, were playing in MiLB’s South Atlantic League, and are the High-A affiliate of the Orioles.

One famous former player is the multiple all-star Manny Machado. An ideal family outing in summer, Ripken Stadium has between-innings entertainment, Friday night fireworks, and a design evoking Camden Yards, including a replica of the B&O Warehouse looming over right field.

11. Havre de Grace Marine Center

Source: Jon Bilous / shutterstock

From Concord Park all the way up to the Thomas J. Hatem Memorial Bridge, the waterfront in Havre de Grace is an unbroken series of marinas, docks, piers and jetties.

Two of those marinas, in the north (Havre de Grace Marina) and center (Log Pond Marina), are managed by the Havre de Grace Marine Center, providing dock slips, moorings, a two-ton lift and a wide range of services, from washing to canvas repairs.

One service that will appeal to everyday visitors is kayak and SUP rentals, available from two to six hours, for the chance to see more of the Upper Chesapeake Bay at your own speed.

12. M/V Summer Breeze

Source: M/V Summer Breeze / Facebook

To get out onto the Chesapeake Bay, discover its nature firsthand and find out more about its long history, you can always take a cruise.

The most convenient option is M/V Summer Breeze, which is actually a pair of Trident USCG COI passenger vessels, 45 feet and 35 feet long.

May through October the company organizes a set schedule of public sightseeing tours, with a friendly, knowledgeable crew.

There’s always something interesting to check out on the estuary, from large commercial vessels to beautiful waterfowl. There are three cruises to pick from: Happy Hour Cruise, Signature Cruise (usually on weekends), and the Relaxation Sunset Cruise.

13. Millard Tydings Memorial Park

Source: Christian Hinkle / shutterstock

At the west end of the promenade this quiet park is posted on the slope overlooking the Havre de Grace Basin Marina and Park Island to the south.

As well as the promenade, Tydings Park has a system of interconnecting paths, with benches, sweeping views and no lack of tree cover.

There’s an adorable gazebo on the east side, as well as a children’s playground to the west, and a public boat ramp next to the marina.

Tydings Park is also the setting for one of Havre de Grace’s favorite eateries, The Promenade Grille, for burgers, Maryland crab cake and a wide selection of seafood platters.

14. Mount Felix Vineyard & Winery

Source: Mount Felix Vineyard & Winery / Facebook

Growing in the hills behind Havre de Grace is one of the largest plantings of Chambourcin grapes in the state.

This is Mount Felix Vineyard & Winery, which has a breathtaking location, at an historic brick mansion from the 1830s, with views of the Chesapeake Bay and Susquehanna River.

At the tasting room you’ll be invited to step outside and marvel at those views with a glass in hand.

This is an ideal spot for growing wine grapes, with gentle ocean breezes, fertile and well-drained soils, and consistent sunshine bathing the southeastern slopes.

The winery produces a selection of dry blends, most made with Chambourcin, along with a lineup of sweet fruit wines.

15. Bulle Rock Golf Course

Source: Mikael Damkier / shutterstock

Also posted on the high ground, just inland from Havre de Grace is the best public golf course in Maryland.

Designed by noted course architect Pete Dye, Bulle Rock Golf Course has won multiple awards since opening in 1998, and hosted the LPGA Championship from 2005 to 2009.

The combination of spectacular tee locations and first-class course conditions will make you feel like you’re playing a major.

The course is known for its length, with a front nine on open ground, exposed to the wind, and a back nine through tight corridors of pines.

Bulle Rock Golf Course is on land once occupied by the Blenheim Golf Course and is named for the first thoroughbred racehorse to be brought to America, in 1730.

The post 15 Best Things to Do in Havre de Grace (MD) appeared first on The Crazy Tourist.

Many of Elkton’s attractions are out in this pastoral countryside, where you can connect with rural life, picking your own fruit in summer, saddling up for horseback rides and taking part in all kinds of family fun in fall.

Due to its important position on the Elk River, Elkton saw action during the Revolutionary War and the War of 1812, when the town was defended by a pair of batteries, one at Elk Landing, where an historic property is open to visitors.

Elkton’s Main Street has a noteworthy community of small businesses, artists and restaurants, with regular events like First Friday bringing people downtown.

1. Milburn Orchards

Source: MdAgDept / Flickr | CC BY

Dating back to 1902 and now in its fourth and fifth generations, this traditional farm is the premier agritourism spot in the area. It would be impossible to list everything happening here, without destroying our word count.

But the headline is the Milburn’s Farm Market and Country Bake Shoppe, for a huge choice of local produce, cheeses, jams & jellies, butter, sauces, honey, dips, spreads, together with pies and other delectable baked goods made fresh.

Summer and fall is U-Pick season, when you can visit for cherries, blueberries, blackberries, peaches, raspberries, grapes and apples, with a ripening schedule published on the farm’s website, and hayrides to and from the orchards.

For kids there’s Milburn’s Big Backyard, featuring a playground, sand dig, tractor tire tower and petting zoo with barnyard animals.

2. Main Street

Source: David Wilson / Wikimedia | CC BY 2.0

From Bridge Street in the west to Cecil County Courthouse, Elkton’s main commercial artery is lined with an unbroken succession of local businesses.

In terms of shopping you’ve got clothing, flowers, jewelry, party supplies, handmade gifts and more, while the dining lineup is eclectic, running the gamut from pub food and pizza to Jamaican specialties.

There’s also more culture than meets the eye, thanks to the Cecil County Historical Society, studios (Art Space on Main), a gallery (The Palette & The Page), and the Showcase on Main performing arts theater.

The Elk River Brewing Co. meanwhile is a thriving brewpub, and one of a couple of destinations in Elton for craft beer.

Throw in First Friday, the Downtown Elkton Car Cruise (Second Saturday) and the cherished Elkton Fall Festival in September, and there’s plenty to look forward to downtown.

3. Elk Landing

Source: Smallbones / Wikimedia | CC BY-SA 3.0

The site of Elkton’s earliest settlement is a property by the confluence of Little and Big Elk Creek. In 2000 Elk Landing was purchased by a non-profit organization from the Hollingsworth Family, which had owned the land since 1735.

During the War of 1812, the property contained an earthen fort that participated in the successful defense of Elkton from a river attack in 1813.

In the last decades of the 20th century the historic buildings at Elk Landing had fallen into disrepair, and the Historic Elk Landing Foundation has overseen a long-term restoration.

You can visit the late 18th-century Hollingsworth House, which is presented as it was in the 19th century.

The museum room on the upper floor displays exciting archeological finds from the property, among them a letter from Thomas Jefferson to the Delaware Baptist Congregation.

To raise funds for ongoing restoration work, there’s Elk Landing the Defenders’ Festival, with local music, food trucks, craft beer and vendors every April.

4. Historical Society of Cecil County

Source: Historical Society of Cecil County / Facebook

Edging Elkton’s downtown commercial district on the east side is an ornate building with a mansard roof. Originally a bank and then a public library, the bulk of this structure dates to the mid-19th century.

Today it is home to the Cecil County Arts Council and the Historical Society of Cecil County. You can drop by (check opening times), to peruse the society’s extensive collection of artifacts, particularly strong for militaria and presented at the John F. DeWitt Military Museum here.

The Arts Council hosts The Market at 135, selling a trove of farm-fresh products and specialty foods from around Cecil County.

Framed by a rock wall, the Gardens at 135 are a joy, with edible flowers and herbs like spearmint, oregano, chives, rhubarb, sorrel, poppy and thyme planted along a path with bricks repurposed from the sidewalk in front of the Elkton Presbyterian Church.

At the back of the building is Rev Duke’s Log Cabin, believed to date to the late 18th century, and relocated to this spot from Bow Street.

5. Fair Hill Scottish Games

Source: Brian A Jackson / shutterstock

One of the region’s most unique and popular annual events takes place in May at the Cecil County Fairgrounds to the north of Elkton.

Running for more than 60 years, Fair Hill Scottish Games attracts male and female Highland Games competitors from around the world.

You’ll get to see incredible feats of strength in events like Stone Put, Caber Toss, Hammer Throw and Sheaf Toss.

The games are one aspect of a lively cultural celebration, with competitions for dancing, fiddling and piping & drumming, which soundtracks much of the event.

There’s also live traditional and modern Scottish music on stage, a marketplace with traditional food and crafts and live sheep dog demonstrations.

6. Gilpin’s Falls and Covered Bridge

Source: agilard / shutterstock

A few miles west of Elkton the North East Creek descends more than 100 feet in just a third of a mile.

In the 18th century the power of this fast-flowing stretch of river was harnessed by saw and corn mills, which were joined by a hydroelectric plant at the turn of the 20th century.

These were all shut down in the 1930s and the property has returned to nature since that time. At the beginning of your visit you’ll be met by the Gilpin’s Falls Covered Bridge, one of just six of its kind in Maryland and dating back to 1859.

The falls meanwhile are lined by massive igneous rocks, perfect for bouldering if you come prepared.

7. Plumpton Park Zoo

Source: Ric Jacyno / shutterstock

Slightly further afield, this zoo in Rising Sun is still within 20 minutes of Elkton, and deserves special mention for its humane practices and large team of volunteers.

A big proportion of the animals at Plumpton Park Zoo are rescued, and, at the time of writing, these included a variety of exotic birds, tortoises, tigers and domestic breeds like llamas, pigs and highland cattle.

A real bonus for smaller visitors is that you can purchase animal feed to give to many of the inhabitants, including the goats, sheep, mini-donkeys, alpacas and cavies.

The grounds of Plumpton Park Zoo are roamed by peacocks, and go back to colonial times. A holdover from that period is the Jeremiah Brown House and Mill Site, with architecture dating from the mid-18th century.

8. Elk Neck State Forest

Source: Sergey Mironov / shutterstock

Directly southwest of Elkton is a 3,500-acre parcel of public land, spread across four different tracts. Planted in the 1940s but never harvested, Elk Neck State Forest is at the north end of the peninsula of the same name, and is open to the public for a wide range of recreation.

You can head to this mixed hardwood and evergreen forest for hiking, horseback riding, mountain biking and hunting.

The forest also features a number of shooting ranges for shotgun, hand gun, rifle and bow. For nature lovers there’s a fabulous array of wildflowers all through the summer from as early April, while more than 140 bird species have been identified here.

For birdwatching there’s a tall observation tower close to the entrance of the Main Tract. From here you might see birds of prey like bald eagles (year round), osprey (March through November) and a host of different raptor species during their migration down the peninsula in fall.

9. Painted Horse Ranch

Source: Iancu Cristian / shutterstock

On Elkton’s northern outskirts, Painted Horse Ranch is a family-oriented facility managed by a non-profit organization.

Since 2007 the ranch has offered trail rides and lessons for riders of all abilities, from beginner to advanced, together with boarding and leasing services.

If you’d like to get out and enjoy northeastern Maryland you can take a one-hour trail ride, or opt for a half-day adventure, with lunch included.

Lessons are available for all ages, from 4 to seniors, and include important skills like tacking and grooming.

10. Holly Hall

Source: presmd / Flickr | CC BY-SA

Dubbed “The Grand Dame of Elkton” by Preservation Maryland, this elegant Federal-style mansion can be seen on foot, right next to the Big Elk Shopping Centre.

Built around the 1810s by James Sewall (1778-1842), who had been an officer in the War of 1812, the house was the Sewall family seat for decades.

The residence was named for the many holly trees growing on the property, and examples can still be seen today. Holly Hall was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1976, but when we wrote this list was still awaiting restoration.

There’s widespread political, private and public support to turn the mansion into an amenity for Cecil County.

11. Maryland Beer Company

Source: Maryland Beer Company, LLC / Facebook

Beer connoisseurs are spoiled in Elkton, as there’s another craft brewery a couple of minutes north of downtown on Bridge Street.

Maryland Beer Company is a small-batch brewery, with a 5 bbl brewhouse using 10 bbl unitanks, producing beers that are stocked at a slew of restaurants and liquor stores in the region.

There’s a friendly taproom attached, with 19 beers on tap at any time. Some of the stars when we wrote this article were Sneaky Pete (Dubbel), Wheat a Minute (Wheat Beer), Cloud Nein (IPA), Lady Oscuro (Stout), Chocolate Chessie (Porter) and Nuclear Blonde Ale.

Maryland Beer Company has a kitchen for shareable plates like chips and salsa, pita and hummus, soft pretzels, along with wings, hot dogs and chicken skewers. There are also specials all week, including happy hour on Thursdays.

12. Detwiler’s Farm Market

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Easy to miss off Route 213 in the south of Elkton is a family owned farm stand with a massive selection. Detwiler’s Farm Market has a bounty of locally-grown produce that changes with the seasons, from asparagus to pumpkins.

There’s much more to pique your interest, with plants and flowers, baked goods, preserves, sauces, jams, artisanal sodas, home decor, furniture, homemade candy, honey, kettle corn, granola, ice cream, farm-raised meats, Thanksgiving turkeys and tons more.

The market is open April to December, and has a small play area for children, as well as views of livestock such as turkeys in the neighboring fields.

13. Walnut Springs Farm

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Fifteen minutes out of Elkton there’s a berry farm, welcoming the public during the U-Pick season for half a century now.

Walnut Springs Farm is in a typically bucolic landscape, for a rewarding afternoon picking your own high-quality black raspberries and blueberries.

The berries are ripe for picking in a brief window in mid-summer, and opening hours fluctuate, so it’s worth keeping an eye on the farm’s Facebook page.

Usually the black raspberry and blueberry seasons overlap, running from around mid-June to early July.

14. Meadow Park

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On the east side of Elkton the banks of Big Elk Creek have been left undeveloped, with a mix of public parks, gardens and recreation areas.

The main public park here is the picturesque Meadow Park, where an enormous open field is bounded by mature hardwood trees.

The park is a recreation go-to for Elkton, with amenities for walking, jogging, bicycling, basketball, soccer, football, sand volleyball, tennis and fishing.

You’ll also find a number of pavilions and grills, a dog park and a playground. Meadow Park hosts Elkton’s Fourth of July Fireworks, starting at dusk.

15. Elkton Golf & Batting Center

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If you need ideas for a reasonably priced day out around Elkton, this spot rolls together a few attractions for active people.

The crowd-pleaser is the 18-hole miniature golf course, and the challenge comes from elevation changes and boundaries as opposed to crazy obstacles.

A 300-yard driving range is on hand if you want to practice your long game, with 30 hitting stations and a bucket of 115 balls costing as little as $10 when we wrote this list.

There’s also a set of batting cages, ranging from 35-70 MPH, along with slow and fast softball pitches.

The post 15 Best Things to Do in Elkton (MD) appeared first on The Crazy Tourist.

New Carrollton is mainly residential, but with a busy commercial corridor on its south side, along Annapolis Road (Route 450).

The eastern and northeastern Washington suburbs are easily reached from this town, and there’s a lot to see in neighboring communities like Greenbelt, College Park and Bladensburg.

Within 15 minutes you can discover a whole catalog of museums, historical sites, parks, arenas, stadiums, cultural venues and important landmarks.

1. NASA Goddard Visitor Center

Source: Nicole Glass Photography / shutterstock

Too close to pass up, the one of NASA’s major space laboratories is no more than a couple of miles from New Carrollton.

In short, the Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC) is the largest organization of scientists and engineers in the country devoted to expanding our understanding of the Earth, the Solar System, and the Universe through observations from space.

Among GSFC key missions are the Hubble Space Telescope and its successor, the James Webb Space Telescope, launched in 2021.

You can find out about these extraordinary operations at the visitor center, with interactive exhibits looking at communication in space, the sun, the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO), along with static displays of rockets from past missions on the grounds.

2. New Carrollton Community Day

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An annual tradition in New Carrollton that goes back decades is Community Day, which normally happens at Beckett Field in September.

Rain or shine, the event gathers together the city’s businesses, services and local organizations, and is attended by government figures like Lieutenant Governor of Maryland (Boyd Rutherford at the time of writing).

There’s also live music, fun contests like pie-eating, and many food vendors and crafters. Community Day offers plenty for children to get up to, with games, inflatables, rides, entertainers, a climbing wall, face painting and a petting zoo.

3. Greenbelt Park

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On New Carrollton’s north side is one of the largest expanses of parkland within the Capital Beltway.

Greenbelt Park’s origins reach back to the 1930s, and is one parcel of a literal greenbelt that was intended to surround the newly established city of the same name.

As it is, this national park is on almost 1,200 acres, either side of the Baltimore-Washington Parkway.

The visitor facilities are on the west side of the highway, with an affordable 172-site campground that is open all year, and an extensive trail system through the woods, including a 5.3-mile perimeter trail.

4. Annapolis Road

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Almost all of New Carollton’s commerce is concentrated in the very south of the town, at the intersection of Annapolis Road and the Capital Beltway.

The former is lined with shopping centers and dining establishments for miles to the east and west. In New Carrollton you’ve got branches for Lowe’s Home Improvement, K&G Fashion Superstore, Value City Furniture and Forman Mills.

Dining options are especially varied: You’ll come across a few regional and national chains like Mid Atlantic Seafood, Jersey Mike’s, Wendy’s and Bojangles, but there are also local spots for Salvadoran and West African food.

5. Bladensburg Waterfront Park

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At the head of the main branch of the Anacostia River there’s an attractive park managed by Prince George’s County.

At Bladensburg Waterfront Park you can explore the river in every sense, taking to the water in a rented kayak, canoe or rowboat, or embarking on an interpretive riverboat tour.

This stretch of river is the site of the Battle of Bladensburg (1814), a damaging defeat that led to the British burning of Washington.

There are interpretive signs throughout the park, while the trails connect to the Anacostia Tributary Trail System, heading along the river’s various branches and creeks for miles.

6. College Park Aviation Museum

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Just on the other side of Greenbelt Park from New Carrollton is the oldest continuously operating airport in the world.

College Park Airport was established in 1909 by the United States Army Signal Corps, as a place for aviation pioneer Wilbur Wright (1871-1948) to teach the world’s first military pilots to fly his Wright Type A biplane.

These early years of military flight are detailed at the College Park Aviation Museum, which has a small lineup of replica aircraft from that period.

There’s a 1910 Wright Model B, a 1911 Curtiss Model D and a 1912 Blèriot XI, to go with a variety of other aircraft including a 1932 Monocoupe 110 and 1936 Taylor J-2 “Cub”.

The museum recalls many of the “firsts” that took place at the airport, and preserves the exact 1924 Berliner Helicopter No. 5 that made the world’s first vertical flight here.

7. University of Maryland, College Park

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The largest university in Maryland and the DC area is a stone’s throw from New Carrollton, and has plenty to hold your interest, even if you’re not a prospective student.

For one thing, the sheer size of the campus can’t be overstated. This contains the gargantuan Clarice Smith Performing Arts Center, the largest single building ever constructed in Maryland, but also a world-class arts destination for music, dance and theatre performances.

The quad at McKeldin Mall is also gigantic, and the largest to be found at any university in the country. For collegiate sports, the Terrapins are in the Big Ten Conference, and have especially strong women’s and men’s basketball teams.

These teams play at the Xfinity Center, Maryland’s largest arena at 17,950, and famed for its steep west end, known as “The Wall”.

8. Murugan Temple of North America

Source: Murugan Temple of North America / Facebook

Serving the large Tamil population in the area, Lanham is the site of the first temple in the United States to be dedicated to the deity, Murugan (the god of war).

This magnificent Saivite Hindu complex was more than a decade in the planning, and finally being completed in 1999.

Worshippers from across the region, and even as far away as Canada, visit for major festivals, in which there’s a grand procession of Lord Murugan and Valli Devasena (his consort).

In normal circumstances the temple is welcoming to the public, and it’s worth timing your visit for lunch when you can head to the canteen, loved for its Tamil specialties like dosa and parotta.

9. Riversdale House Museum

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Close by in Riverdale Park is the historic property where the institution that would become UMD was established.

Once the centerpiece of a 740-acre plantation, Riversdale House was built between 1801 and 1807 for the Flemish émigré, Henri Joseph Stier, Baron de Stier, who had escaped the French Revolution.

Stier soon returned to Belgium, and his daughter Rosalie Stier Calvert (1888-1821) oversaw completion of Riversdale House and ran the plantation.

This aspect of Riversdale House’s history is recounted at the house museum, with the help of preserved correspondence that gives an insight into the day-to-day, and important and moving details about the enslaved people who lived and worked here.

Rosalie’s son, Charles Benedict Calvert (1808-1864), founded Maryland Agricultural College on part of the property in 1864. Look out for regular docent-guided tours, special events, education opportunities, and workshops all year round.

10. Greenbelt

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A few short minutes by car along the Capital Beltway and you’ll be in a town that looks like nowhere else in the DC area. Greenbelt was planned and built in the 1930s as an experimental cooperative community.

The townscape is laid out as a Utopian Garden City, with abundant green space and a swirl of quiet, pedestrian-friendly roads centered on the main community buildings and shopping area.

The Roosevelt Center here is one of the oldest purpose built shopping centers in the United States, and still has cooperative businesses like the Greenbelt Co-op Supermarket and Pharmacy, and the New Deal Cafe.

There’s simple but elegant Art Moderne architecture all around, and the foremost example is the Greenbelt Community Center (1937), clad with Social Realist art and housing an exhibit about the history of the city (amongst many other local amenities).

11. Old Greenbelt Theatre

Source: Old Greenbelt Theatre / Facebook

The only non-profit cinema in Prince George’s County is one of the linchpins of the Roosevelt Center in Greenbelt.

This Art Deco masterpiece opened in 1938, and was designed by the same architects as the Greenbelt Community Center.

As with almost all local cinemas of this scale, the Old Greenbelt Theatre hit hard times by the 1970s, but is now in the care of a non-profit organization and was given a thorough renovation in 2014-15.

Aside from the sumptuous decor, a wonderful feature is the 40’ CinemaScope screen, and as well as a 4K digital projector there’s also a pair of preserved Simplex XL 35mm projectors.

Come for first run movies, new art-house films, family screenings and a variety of special events throughout the year.

12. Buddy Attick Lake Park

Source: Lissandra Melo / shutterstock

This attractive public park is embedded in Greenbelt’s townscape and is connected via trails to places like Roosevelt Center.

From New Carrollton you can get to Buddy Attick Lake Park in less than ten minutes along the Capital Beltway. Much of the land is taken up by scenic lake, which has a multi-use trail along its wooded shores.

For amenities, there are separate play areas for children aged 2-5 and 5-12, a basketball court, a picnic area and grills for cookouts in summer.

If you’re here to do some fishing, bluegill, rainbow trout and largemouth bass are the species most commonly landed here.

13. Bladensburg Dueling Grounds

Source: Donald G. Hagner / Facebook

There’s exciting if dark history at a hollow on the north side of Fort Lincoln Cemetery. In the first half of the 19th century this place became the Bladensburg Dueling Grounds, the scene of more than 50 duels contested by the gentlemen of Washington, D.C..

The first of these took place in 1808, between U.S. Representative Barent Gardenier of New York, and U.S. Representative George W. Campbell, from Tennessee.

Gardenier was wounded but survived to be reelected. Many others were not so fortunate in the 60 years before the final duel was fought here just after the Civil War.

In 1838, the death of U.S. Representative from Maine Jonathan Cilley, a reluctant participant, caused an outcry. This led to a federal law prohibiting the giving or accepting challenges in the District of Columbia, even if the duel took place outside the district.

14. Beckett Field

Source: David Lee / shutterstock

The venue for New Carollton’s Community Day is a well-appointed park, conveniently close to where Annapolis Rd crossed the Capital Beltway.

As well as Community Day, Beckett Field hosts a number of other events like the Spring Festival in April, National Night Out in August, and a bike rodeo for smaller children in May, sponsored by the New Carrollton Police Department.

On an ordinary day, the park is a place for active recreation, with facilities for baseball/softball, basketball, soccer and football. If you want to relax for a bit you’ll find benches on the edges in the shade.

15. FedExField

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The newly renamed Washington Commanders play their home games at this 80,116-seat stadium that was constructed in 1997 and sits ten minutes away on the Capital Loop.

Before renovations in 2010, FedExField had the largest seating capacity in the NFL. But despite its impressive size, a mix of factors like transport issues and crazy concessions prices have made FedExField unpopular with fans.

The stadium has never received the affection of its predecessor, the Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium, and there are constant rumors of a future relocation.

Thanks also to the Burgundy and Gold’s long-term on-field difficulties, sellouts are increasingly rare, and if you want to experience some NFL action then tickets can be surprisingly cheap, especially later in the season.

Over the last 25+ years FedExField has staged numerous concerts, by the likes of The Rolling Stones, Beyoncé & Jay Z, Bruce Springsteen, Metallica and Guns N’ Roses.

The post 15 Best Things to Do in New Carrollton (MD) appeared first on The Crazy Tourist.

Harriet Tubman (c. 1822-1913), the best-known Underground Railroad “conductor” was born into slavery close to Cambridge. After escaping in 1849, she made many daring returns to the Eastern Shore to guide some 70 enslaved people to freedom.

You can visit numerous sites around Dorchester County on the Harriet Tubman Underground Railroad Byway, like the extraordinary visitor center for the Harriet Tubman Underground Railroad National Historical Park.

The national park is within the Blackwater National Wildlife Refuge, a huge marshy expanse on the route of an epic waterfowl migration in fall.

1. Harriet Tubman Underground Railroad National Historical Park

Source: tedeytan / Flickr | CC BY-SA

Coinciding with the 100th anniversary of Harriet Tubman’s death in 2013, 480 acres of the Blackwater National Wildlife Refuge were designated a National Historical Park.

The $22 million visitor center here opened in 2017, in a series of four buildings designed like barns, reminiscent of the places where Tubman slept during her expeditions.

Windows allow you to ponder a landscape that has changed little since Tubman’s time, and the buildings are clad with zinc, which will dull over time to signify the ongoing healing process that has occurred since the Civil War.

The main exhibition inside has interactive stations devoted to themes like the Underground Railroad, how Tubman’s efforts are relevant today, and Tubman’s family, faith and early years against the backdrop of the Choptank River.

2. Blackwater National Wildlife Refuge

Source: Francine K. Rattner / shutterstock

Cambridge is the gateway to a vast marshy region, touted as the “Everglades of the North”. At close to 29,000 acres the Blackwater National Wildlife Refuge has a variety of habitats, among them tidal wetlands, freshwater lakes, hardwood & evergreen forest, open fields and farmland.

The refuge was established in 1933 as a waterfowl sanctuary, and from late fall is the scene of an amazing migration of waterfowl, dominated by Canada geese, but also including swans, cranes and more than 20 duck species.

Bald eagles are also present here all year round. In summer there are fewer bird spotting opportunities, but this is the best time to explore the maze of waterways (insect repellent may be needed), with rentals available from companies like Blackwater Adventures.

3. Downtown Cambridge

Source: Ken Schulze / shutterstock

Along Race Street, Poplar Street and High Street, Cambridge’s historic center is packed with culture, museums, excellent dining and lots of intriguing little detours.

One of these is Christ Episcopal Church. Although the current Gothic Revival building is from 1883, there has been a church here since 1692, and no fewer than five Maryland governors are buried in the cemetery.

The brick-paved High Street is especially quaint, and eventually leads to the waterfront at its eastern end.

At 206 stands the fine Italianate Dorchester County Courthouse (1854), site of an escape by Harriet Tubman’s niece Kessiah and her two children from the slavery auction block here in 1850.

There are many clues to Cambridge’s maritime heritage, from the paintings of schooners in gallery windows to the displays for the craft of boatbuilding at the Richardson Maritime Museum.

Most of downtown Cambridge’s eateries are concentrated along Race Street and Poplar Street, where your choices include modern American, pizza, pub fare, breakfast food, Indian, BBQ, Mexican and steaks.

4. Harriet Tubman Museum and Education Center

Source: tedeytan / Flickr | CC BY-SA

You can stay on the Harriet Tubman trail downtown at this small but well-researched museum. With the help of detailed information boards and a short film, the Harriet Tubman Museum and Education Center tells her story.

You’ll find out about her childhood, her devout religious beliefs, the injury she suffered in her youth, her initial escape to Philadelphia in 1849 and the many returns she made to the Eastern Shore to rescue family and friends.

The museum made headlines in 2019 for an impressive and touching mural on an external wall. Depicting Tubman in a rowboat with an arm outstretched, the work was painted by Michael Rosato and commissioned by the Dorchester Center for the Arts.

5. Visitor Center at Sailwinds Park East

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Strategically placed by the Choptank River Bridge to welcome people traveling down the Delmarva Peninsula, there’s a visitor center for Dorchester County on the waterfront in Cambridge.

The Visitor Center at Sailwinds Park East is designed to catch your attention, sitting beneath a giant, sail-like canopy evoking a schooner.

This is a good resource for practical information and material like maps and brochures, but is also an attraction in its own right. Inside, there are exhibits about Cambridge and Dorchester County on two levels.

Outside is a fantastic lighthouse-themed playground, a fountain for the Grand National Waterfowl Association, a restful garden with native plants, an amphitheater for events, a beach area on the river and a stretch of boardwalk a mile long.

6. Richardson Maritime Museum

Source: eli.pousson / Flickr | CC BY-SA

Wooden boatbuilding is a skill with more than 300 years of history on the Eastern Shore, and there’s a museum in a fine old bank building on High Street in Cambridge that tells its story.

The Richardson Maritime Museum is named for celebrated local boatbuilder, James B. Richardson.

The main exhibit pays tribute to the region’s craftsmen with a comprehensive display of preserved boatbuilding tools, from planes to saws to bevels.

You can also check out an exceptional lineup of models for the many different sailboats on the Chesapeake Bay. Among them are pungys, bug eyes and skipjacks, the vessels of choice for oyster dredging, long a key source of income in Cambridge.

7. Heritage Museums and Gardens of Dorchester

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The headquarters of the Dorchester County Historical Society can be visited at a campus on a quiet residential street in Cambridge.

The showpiece here is the Meredith House, built around 1760 and displaying artifacts and home furnishings to give a sense of domestic life in the county down the years.

On the same site, the Neild Museum deals with rural life in Dorchester County, presenting a combined wheelwright and blacksmith shop, a stronghouse from the 1700s and formal herb gardens.

Other trades and aspects of local history can be explored at the Robbins Heritage Center, devoted to the canning industry, trapping, hunting, timbering, Native American history and the War of 1812 in Dorchester county.

8. Blackwater Adventures

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The extensive sheltered waters all around Cambridge are an outdoor playground, perfect for activities like paddling, jet skiing, fishing, powerboating and much more.

Blackwater Adventures, located at Hyatt Regency Chesapeake Bay Resort and the Blackwater National Wildlife Refuge, offers everything you could need to make the most of this unique environment.

You can rent kayaks, paddle boats, bicycles, catamarans and stand-up paddleboards, or something a bit more powerful. There are also step-on, step-off guided bus tours of the area, as well a wide choice of guided paddling and bicycle tours.

9. Harriet Tubman Birthplace Marker

Source: tedeytan / Flickr | CC BY-SA

In the Blackwater Wildlife Refuge you can take a moment to visit one purported site of Harriet Tubman’s birth.

Tubman’s exact year and place of birth have been difficult to pinpoint. In 2021 the location for her father Ben Ross’s cabin was believed to have been discovered, further west in Peter’s Neck.

But along Greenbrier Road to the east there’s a place in a verdant landscape where you can pull off the road and reflect.

A marker has been erected here, and is accompanied by an interpretive sign with details about Tubman’s early years, the experience of African Americans in mid-19th century Dorchester County and the origins of the Underground Railroad.

10. Spocott Windmill

Source: Jeffrey M. Frank / shutterstock

The only post mill in the whole of Maryland stands a few miles west of Cambridge by Gary Creek, and is part of an outdoor museum with an ensemble of historic buildings going back to the 19th century.

The original windmill, able to turn in any direction to meet the wind, was raised in 1852 and blown down in a blizzard in 1888.

The current Spocott Windmill is an accurate replica, built by Cambridge boat builder Jim Richardson, also known for the Richardson Maritime Museum.

Since then a number of old buildings have been relocated to this site, among them a doctor’s office, colonial cottage (c. 1800), country store and a one-room schoolhouse (c. 1868).

11. Long Wharf Park

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Keep going north on High Street and you’ll soon come to the Choptank riverfront, once the scene of bustling river trade, where oystermen brought their catch ashore.

Long Wharf Park fronts the Cambridge Yacht Basin, able to accommodate some surprisingly large boats.

A floating monument to the oyster industry, the skipjack Nathan of Dorchester is moored next to Long Wharf Park, and can be boarded for public sailing trips, charters and special events throughout the summer.

The park also hosts the Cambridge Farmers’ Market on Thursday afternoons, May through November.

12. Choptank River Lighthouse

Source: Ken Schulze / shutterstock

One of Cambridge’s favorite sights is a replica lighthouse that can be reached via a pier next to Long Wharf Park.

The Choptank River Lighthouse was built in 2012 and is a reproduction of an historic screwpile lighthouse positioned here until it was dismantled in 1964.

Funded for the most part by local residents, the new lighthouse was more than two decades in the making, and serves as a small museum that can be visited daily, May through October.

You can soak up the views, and browse exhibits recording the maritime heritage of Dorchester County.

13. Dorchester Center for the Arts

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Based on Cambridge’s Historic High Street there’s a dynamic community arts center run by a non-profit organization.

This was founded in 1970 and serves the entire Eastern Shore community with exceptional gallery shows and classes in a variety of media for all ages and levels.

Exhibitions at the Dorchester Center for the Arts usually run for a month at a time and feature work by local and regional artists.

As well as annual members’ and young people’s shows, exhibits have dealt with themes like art therapy, textiles, Harriet Tubman, model boats, African American quilts and more.

The gift shop deserves a mention as another place to pick up something unique and handmade on High Street.

14. Bill Burton Fishing Pier

Source: PaisleyPenguin / shutterstock

On both banks of the Choptank River, long stretches of the old Emerson C. Harrington Bridge have been preserved as a promenade and fishing pier.

The longest can be accessed across the river at Trappe, and is officially the Bill Burton Fishing Pier State Park.

The Emerson C. Harrington Bridge was dedicated by Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1935, and runs parallel to the modern crossing, which replaced it in 1987.

On the Cambridge side, the pier is half a mile long, and is a popular location for strolls, jogging, crabbing and fishing.

A few species commonly caught in the Choptank are striped bass, perch, croaker, catfish and sea trout. When we compiled this list the pier had been temporarily closed to the public.

15. Gerry Boyle Park

Source: Gerry Boyle Park at Great Marsh / Facebook

Another place where you can get down to the Choptank riverfront in Cambridge is this public park at the tip of Great Marsh Point.

Gerry Boyle Park has a boat ramp, two soft launch areas, a playground, pavilion, walking path, fishing areas and a small beach.

The setting is an attraction in its own right, and this is a breathtaking place to be at sunrise or sunset, or to watch Cambridge’s Fourth of July fireworks.

The park is also on the course of the grueling and internationally renowned triathlon races, Ironman Maryland in September, and Ironman 70.3 Eagleman in June.

The post 15 Best Things to Do in Cambridge (MD) appeared first on The Crazy Tourist.

Port Tobacco, now just a group of historic buildings on La Plata’s outskirts, was once the second-largest river port in Maryland, driven by a booming tobacco trade.

One planter was Thomas Stone, who was the youngest signatory of the United States Declaration of Independence in 1776.

Also around La Plata is the world’s oldest continuously occupied Jesuit Residence, in a magnificent hilltop setting at St. Thomas Manor.

Another place of real historical value is Mount Carmel Monastery, the site of the oldest Catholic monastery in the original 13 colonies, and re-established a Carmelite community in the 1930s.

1. Thomas Stone National Historic Site

Source: Zack Frank / shutterstock

The home of Thomas Stone (1743-1787), one of the 56 signatories of the United States Declaration of Independence, is less than ten minutes west of La Plata. This is Haberadventure, built by Stone in the Georgian style in 1771.

A planter, lawyer and politician, Thomas Stone was the youngest signer. He gave up the law to care for his ailing wife, Margaret, and passed away just four months after she died.

Stone’s descendants continued to reside at Haberadventure until 1936, and The National Park Service purchased this property in 1978.

On a guided tour you’ll get a clearer picture of Stone’s career, as well as the unique motivations that led to him co-signing the Declaration of Independence.

Walking trails lead off to the family cemetery, as well as historic outbuildings like a horse barn, corn crib and tobacco barn.

2. Port Tobacco

Source: J Cardamone / shutterstock

Long before La Plata, Charles County’s first county seat was Port Tobacco, first settled in 1634.

By the turn of the 18th century this was a chaotic riverport bolstered by a booming tobacco trade and easy access to both the Chesapeake Bay and the Atlantic.

During the Civil War, Port Tobacco was known as a hotbed for Confederate sympathizers, and the hunt for John Wilkes Booth brought investigators to this town.

Things soon went south for the town when the river silted up, and this process was accelerated in the 1870s when Port Tobacco was bypassed by the Baltimore and Potomac Railroad in favor of La Plata.

Today there’s a National Historic District made up of a few 18th and 19th-century buildings, along with the reconstructed courthouse, which we’ll talk about later.

One historic residence on what used to be the town square is Stag Hall (c. 1766), a fine frame house, open for tours Thursday to Sunday, April through December.

3. St. Thomas Manor

Source: Steve Heap / shutterstock

Crowning a hill with an awe-inspiring view of the Port Tobacco River is the oldest continuously active Roman Catholic parish in the United States.

The settlement at Chapel Point was founded in 1641 by Andrew White (1579-1656), an English Jesuit missionary, and this became an active parish in 1662.

St. Thomas Manor here was built in 1741, making it the oldest Georgian building in Maryland, and the oldest continuously occupied Jesuit residence in the world.

When John Carroll (1735-1815) was consecrated as Bishop in 1790, this also became the first Roman Catholic See in the former 13 British colonies.

There are interpretive boards and markers outside, while tours are given of the manor and church on an informal basis.

You can find the grave of a Confederate spy in the adjoining cemetery, and a rare example of preserved quarters for enslaved people on the property. If you’re just stopping by, try to come at sunset when the panoramas are magical.

4. Port Tobacco Courthouse

Source: Steve Heap / shutterstock

The original Port Tobacco Courthouse was built in 1819 but burned down in 1895 in suspicious circumstances. In 1972 a brick-for-brick replica of this Federal landmark was built on the site to serve as a local history museum.

This building is HQ for the Society for the Restoration of Port Tobacco, and opens to the public during the summer.

Inside are museum exhibits studying different aspects of Port Tobacco’s history like the 17th and 18th-century tobacco trade and the Civil War, all enriched with archaeological discoveries made in the area.

5. Marie’s Diner

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The star of La Plata’s food scene is this unpretentious diner, serving homestyle, breakfast, lunch, dinner and dessert.

As a mark of its food and famous warm service, Marie’s Diner is almost always hopping, and operates a waitlist at busier times.

The menu is vast, but there are a few strong points to check out. In the morning, the sausage gravy or chipped beef breakfast is a go-to.

Later, given the proximity to the Chesapeake Bay, you’re duty-bound to try one of the seafood specialties, like the special recipe 5 oz crab cakes. Honorable mention for the scrapple, corn fritters, cover-the-plate pancakes and daily delights in the bakery case.

6. Gilbert Run Park

Source: Philip Patrick / shutterstock

This popular Charles County park is eight miles east of La Plata on Route 6, encompassing the 69-acre Wheatley Lake.

In summer the lake is a boating hotspot whether you bring your own vessel or rent a kayak, canoe, pedal boat or row boat from the park office.

For fishing, there’s a pier on the southwest shore, and trout, catfish, bluegill and largemouth bass are a few of the varieties caught here.

The lake’s shores are covered with forest, which can be seen along a 2.5-mile nature trail. Gilbert Run Park is also a prime spot for parties and family reunions, with five pavilions dotted around the lakeshore and available for rental.

Last but not least the children’s playground is one of the best in the area, and even comes with a zipline.

7. Port Tobacco River Park

Source: L. McDonald / shutterstock

Adding to the abundance of wonderful outdoor spaces around La Plata, there’s Port Tobacco River Park.

This is special for its wildlife viewing opportunities, as there’s a pair of nesting bald eagles here that can even be seen on YouTube via the Eagle Cam.

The park’s three miles of trails are furnished with observation platforms and lots of interpretive signs about its wildlife, from nesting great herons to a wide array of turtles. You can also bring a picnic for an alfresco meal at the pavilion, surrounded by nature.

8. Mount Carmel Monastery

Source: Pubdog (talk) / Wikimedia | Public domain

The site of the oldest Catholic monastery in the original 13 colonies is on La Plata’s northwestern margins, by the College of Southern Maryland campus.

On the National Register of Historic Places since 1973, Mount Carmel Monastery was originally founded in 1790 by a group of discalced Carmelite nuns.

That community was closed down in 1831 and relocated to Baltimore, but the monastery was re-established in 1933 and continues to welcome visitors.

You can take a look around the restored 200-year-old buildings, visit the chapel, admire the grounds and get a sense of daily life for the ten members of this community.

9. Tilghman Lake Park

Source: Sergey Nivens / shutterstock

Less than five minutes from the center of La Plata is an unfrequented park, sitting around a little lake inhabited by waterfowl and otters.

Tilghman Lake is fringed by a large stand of pine trees, with a paved walking trail along the shore that has exercise stations along the way.

There’s a floating dock if you’re here for some catch & release fishing, and lots of places near the water where you can unwind, whether you bring a picnic or use one of the grills for a cookout.

If you’re planning a special occasion, there’s also a pavilion that can be rented via La Plata Town Hall.

10. Port Tobacco Players

Source: Matusciac Alexandru / shutterstock

A pillar of the arts in Southern Maryland, La Plata has a community theater group with a history reaching back to 1947.

Unusually for this kind of organization, the Port Tobacco Players have their own home, at a charming and newly renovated former movie theater from the 1940s.

The group puts on six productions a season, running the gamut from Shakespeare to musicals and family-friendly shows.

For an idea of what to expect, the varied list of recent productions includes Little Shop of Horrors, Macbeth, The Importance of Being Earnest, Disney’s Beauty and the Beast, Guys and Dolls and Calendar Girls.

11. Chapel Point State Park

Source: krossbow / Flickr | CC BY

The state park next to St. Thomas Manor was purchased from the Jesuits in the 1970s, and has more than 600 acres of woods and waterfront along the east bank of the Port Tobacco River.

The park is undeveloped, and the few amenities tend to be primitive. In essence, this is a peaceful and unspoiled backdrop for hiking, picnics (no tables) and activities on the river.

There’s a small beach area if you’d like a swim, along with a ramp for boating and kayaking (car-topping vessels only), and fishing areas.

12. Laurel Springs Regional Park

Source: David Lee / shutterstock

This park by La Plata High School has been designed for active recreation and is loaded with sports facilities.

Well served by parking lots, Laurel Springs Regional Park has a complex of baseball fields, a softball field and soccer/football fields, complemented by a concession stand that is open on game days.

This entire space is encircled by the multi-use Laurel Springs Trail, which heads off to Tilghman Lake Park, a few hundred feet to the southeast. A real highlight for families is the playground, which has state-of-the-art, all-abilities equipment.

13. La Plata Train Station Museum

Source: Doug Kerr from Albany, NY, United States / Wikimedia | CC BY-SA 2.0

Given that La Plata developed around this former Baltimore and Potomac Railroad station, it’s fitting that the building should now be home to the Charles County Historical Society.

The station was completed in 1873 and today is the sole surviving station building on the old Pope’s Creek Line.

With a view to becoming a full-fledged attraction, the museum has irregular hours, but the station is worth seeing from the outside for a moment.

If you do get to go inside there’s a growing collection of photographs and artifacts relating to the Pope’s Creek Line, as well as life in La Plata over the last 150 years.

14. Fun Haven Golf

Source: Andrey Armyagov / shutterstock

This family attraction sits next to Turkey Hill Park a little way north of La Plata on the Crain Highway.

Something that everyone will love at Fun Haven Golf is the miniature golf course, with 18 holes embedded in flowing gardens, with plenty of shade and decorative elements like a gazebo and miniature lighthouse.

The course will appeal to golfers working on their short game as much as families on a day out. There’s also a driving range, with large buckets priced at $10 (when we wrote this list), and club rentals for as little as $1.

Added to that are batting cages for a range of speeds, though these were temporarily closed at the time of writing.

15. Charles County Fair

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The biggest annual event around La Plata is this old-school county fair over four days in September.

A century-old tradition, the Charles County Fair is known for its amazing variety of exhibitors, in categories as varied as livestock, flowers, quilts, arts and crafts and more.

Across the four days there’s a carnival midway with rides and games, along with a kiddie midway for littler fair-goers.

You’ve also got four stages of live entertainment, tons of demonstrations, fun contests like pig racing, and a wide choice of food, including Chesapeake Bay crab cakes.

The post 15 Best Things to Do in La Plata (MD) appeared first on The Crazy Tourist.

Artsy downtown Bel Air packs history, cultural venues, a veteran farmers’ market, lively events, and an ever-growing network of hiking and biking trails to help you get around without a car.

The founder of modern gynecology, Howard Atwood Kelly, built his mansion in Bel Air, and this sumptuous residence in manicured grounds is open to the public for free.

On a more complicated note, Bel Air is also the birthplace of John Wilkes Booth. His childhood home, Tudor Manor, is preserved as a museum, shedding light on the Booth theatrical family.

1. Liriodendron Mansion

Source: presmd / Flickr | CC BY-SA

The brilliant physician and founding professor of the Johns Hopkins Hospital, Howard Atwood Kelly (1858-1943) built his summer residence in Bel Air in 1898.

Kelly is remembered for establishing gynecology as a specialty through pathological research and innovative surgical approaches to gynecological diseases.

Resting in more than 100 acres of beautiful parkland, the main Palladian mansion is open to the public for free on Wednesdays and Sundays, with an art gallery to peruse on the 2nd floor.

Liriodendron sets the scene for numerous events and activities, including concerts, weddings, private parties, corporate meetings and a calendar of free community events.

The estate goes back further to 1835, with a cluster of outbuildings including a cottage, Georgian house, two ice houses, a corn crib, bank barn and carriage house.

One of that pair of ice houses is a museum space with an exhibit for Native American prehistory. You can get onto the property via the Ma & Pa Heritage Trail, connecting with downtown Bel Air.

2. Downtown Bel Air

Source: atibody / shutterstock

For a city of just over 10,000 people, Bel Air’s tree-lined downtown area punches above its weight, with historic landmarks, unique shops, cosmopolitan dining, cultural venues, public art and big events.

First Fridays brings the community together for a monthly block party, while the MD State BBQ Bash is a competitive culinary festival bringing tens of thousands of people downtown in October.

New works of public art have cropped up across the center of Bel Air in the last few years, and the city has published a self-guided art walk with more than 20 stops, and lots of places to shop and dine along the route

3. Ma & Pa Heritage Trail

Source: Aberdeen Proving Ground / Flickr | CC BY

In Harford County, the old corridor of the Maryland and Pennsylvania Railroad (Ma & Pa) has been turned into a constantly growing trail network with two main segments.

The Bel Air stretch is 3.3 miles long, running from Williams St (a block west of Main St), past the Liriodendron Mansion to Heavenly Waters Park.

This is a convenient and safe way to encounter the woods and streams on Bel Air’s west side, without having to negotiate busy roads.

Before long, the Ma & Pa Heritage Trail will be hooked up to the Flaston Link and Forest Hill Trail to form an unbroken, eight-mile trail between downtown Bel Air, Fallston and Forest Hill.

4. Bel Air Armory

Source: Jerrye & Roy Klotz, MD / Wikimedia | CC BY-SA 3.0

The most striking sight along Main Street is this National Guard armory, built in 1915 from local Port Deposit granite.

As with other armories in the region from this period, this building was designed to resemble a Medieval castle, with decorative arrow loops, a pair of hexagonal towers and crenellations.

The armory was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1985, and is now a hall for arts, entertainment and community events in Bel Air.

The former garages to the rear have been converted into the Armory Marketplace, incubating exciting local businesses. Outside is Armory Park, with delightful gardens, seating and a stage area for performances.

5. Harford Artists’ Gallery

Source: Monkey Business Images / shutterstock

Founded in 1967, the non-profit Harford Artists’ Association (HAA) has over 280 members working in a wide array of disciplines. Their art can be seen throughout downtown Bel Air, at businesses like Independent Brewing Company.

The main gallery for the association can be found at the Armory Marketplace, and this is a dynamic space, staging themed exhibitions on a bi-monthly basis.

If you want something unique to take home, there’s sure to be a piece that catches your eye. The Harford Artists’ Gallery is also the setting for various HAA events and workshops for a range of skills, from watercolors to acrylic pour painting.

6. Rockfield Park

Source: Town of Bel Air Government / Facebook

This public park a short way east of Main St along Churchville Rd has a lot going for it. In the northwest corner is the idyllic Rockfield Manor, built in the early 1920s and now rented out for weddings and other special events.

Rockfield Park is the stage for a number of community celebrations in spring and summer, like National Kite Day in April and activities for the Fourth of July.

In summer families are sure to love the park’s 5,000-square-foot Chesapeake Sensory Plaza, an innovative water play area along a 60-foot channel system, equipped with educational panels about the Chesapeake Bay Watershed.

The year-round playground here is also fantastic, with a lot of interactive elements, sandboxes and castle-like climbing structures.

For a moment of repose, the park’s Horticultural Gardens has a sequence of spaces, like a Xeriscape Garden and Butterfly & Hummingbird Garden, along a looping path.

7. Tudor Hall

Source: presmd / Flickr | CC BY-SA

This historic Gothic Revival house just out of town was built in the early 1850s as a country retreat for the famed English Shakespearean actor, Junius Brutus Booth (1796-1852).

He had settled on this property in 1822, and Tudor Hall was to be a grand replacement for the log cabin that had long served as his home.

Booth, Sr. died before Tudor Hall was completed, but for four years up to 1856 this building was a home for his son, John Wilkes Booth (1835-1865), who was born on the property.

The building is preserved as an historic house museum, with an interesting background on the Booths, a complex family known for their eccentricity long before John Wilkes Booth’s infamous deed.

8. Independent Brewing Company

Source: Independent Brewing Company / Facebook

At the north end of Main Street, within walking distance of the trailhead for the Ma & Heritage Trail sits the county’s premier brewery.

Independent Brewing Company has a spacious, bicycle-friendly patio area. Inside you’ve got 26 taps for small-batch craft ales and cider, on a constant rotation and brewed with locally sourced ingredients where possible.

There’s something for all tastes, whether you prefer hoppy IPAs (Bad Hombre, Hippie Cartel), malty dark beers (Blacklisted, Cereal Killer), crisp lagers (Nachos Before Muchachos, Take me to Your Litre).

In terms of soft drinks you’ve got homemade root beer on tap, and craft sodas made with cane sugar by the bottle.

Food-wise, a new food truck stops by each day, for local crab cakes, pizza, souvlaki, hot dogs, tacos, cheese steaks, BBQ and much more.

9. Hays House Museum

Source: Jerrye & Roy Klotz, MD / Wikimedia | CC BY-SA 3.0

At the very south end of downtown Bel Air there’s a compact Federal-style house built around 1788.

In 1811 the Hays House was purchased by the attorney and entrepreneur, Thomas A. Hays, who made enlargements shortly after.

His family would remain here for the best part of 150 years and the residence took on their name. The building was relocated to its present site in 1960 and is now open to the public on a limited schedule, from March to mid-December.

Outside, the weatherboard and shutters are original, while the interior has been restored to its late 18th-century appearance, complete with authentic woodwork.

10. Bel Air Farmers’ Market

Source: Matej Kastelic / shutterstock

Bel Air has had an outdoor, producer-only market since the 1970s, and it continues to go from strength to strength.

On an average week there are more than 50 vendors in the District Court parking lot, offering seasonal fruit and vegetables, herbs, plants, fresh-cut flowers, pasture-raised meats, cheeses, olive oil, baked goods, salsas, honey, eggs, jams, local wine, organic skincare products, pet treats and a lot more besides.

The Bel Air Farmers’ Market takes place on Saturday mornings through December 17th, and there’s always a selection of prepared and hot food available, like pizza baked in a wood-burning oven.

11. Alecraft Brewery

Source: AleCraft Brewery / Facebook

Beer aficionados are spoiled for choice in Bel Air, as there’s another small-batch brewery on Main Street just south of downtown.

Alecraft Brewery was founded as a supply shop 2013 by two avid home brewers, and has expanded over the last decade, becoming a microbrewery and moving into the front of Preston’s Stationery Building in 2017.

The brewery has a rotating choice of ten artisan brews and ales. A few on tap when we compiled this list were Le Renard (American IPA), Bourbon Barrel Crucible (Belgian Tripel), Cassiopeia (Amber Lager) and Royal Roast (Oatmeal Stout), The taproom is open Tuesday to Sunday, and you can order a flight if you can’t make a decision.

Alecraft has partnered with Birds Nest BBQ next door, delivering anything from wings to sandwiches to baby back ribs and BBQ platters at the drop of a hat.

12. APG Federal Credit Union Arena

Source: Brocreative / shutterstock

The largest indoor event facility in northeastern Maryland is on the campus of Harford Community College, on the east side of Bel Air.

Completed in 2012 at a cost of $26.7 million, this is a modern expansion of the old Susquehanna Center (1968), doubling the capacity to 2,552 for sports events.

The arena is home court for Harford Community College’s men’s and women’s basketball teams, as well as its women’s volleyball team (NJCAA).

You can come to watch the Fighting Owls in action, while the arena also hosts concerts, student events, conferences and trade shows.

13. Bynum Run Park

Source: Chris Burkins Photography / shutterstock

On Rockfield Park’s east side is the smaller Bynum Run Park, set around a pretty pond.

The pond’s green banks are partially shaded by trees and have a paved trail with plenty of places to settle down with a book or enjoy the peace.

The banks are also flocked by ducks, swans and geese, and you’ll see spot turtles around the water’s edge. A popular family activity is feeding the waterfowl (healthy snacks like oats, corn, rice and other grains).

There’s a small pier by the parking lot for fishing, and largemouth bass, smallmouth bass and black bullhead are often caught in these waters.

14. Historical Society of Harford County

Source: presmd / Flickr | CC BY-SA

Responsible for Hays House, Bel Air is the home of the oldest county historical society in Maryland.

This was established in 1885 and has assembled massive collections over the last 140 years, comprising photography, artifacts, documents, artwork, textiles and county records going back to the 1600s.

The society spent decades hopping around Bel Air from one location to the next, eventually settling at the New Deal-era former Post Office building in 1938.

When we wrote this article the main building was temporarily closed to the public for building work, but there are usually worthwhile exhibits sourced from that rich inventory and accompanied by a gift shop.

15. Bel Air Festival for the Arts

Source: mRGB / shutterstock

On the third Sunday in September, one of the biggest one-day events in Harford County takes place in Bel Air’s Shamrock Park.

The Bel Air Festival for the Arts has been running for more than 55 years, bringing hundreds of artisans and craftspeople to the city.

You can browse some of the best hand-made crafts, photography and fine art on the East Coast, but there’s also a day-long feast of live entertainment at the bandshell stage and roving entertainers in the crowd.

A shuttle bus runs from the MVA Parking Lot on Route 24 to the festival site.

The post 15 Best Things to Do in Bel Air (MD) appeared first on The Crazy Tourist.

UMD is a recurring feature in this list, for its Big 10 sports, culture and a stunning campus with the largest quad in the country at McKeldin Mall.

There’s a little more to College Park, thanks to the oldest continually operated airport in the world, where Wilbur Wright instructed the first military pilots at the very dawn of powered flight.

There’s a museum recording this fascinating chapter of history, while you can stay on the aviation theme at the nearby Goddard Space Flight Center, where the James Webb Space Telescope was developed.

1. The University of Maryland, College Park (UMD)

Source: Yginger Lee / shutterstock

Founded close by at Riversdale in 1856, College Park is home to the main campus for the largest university in both the state and the Washington metro area. More than 41,000 students are enrolled at UMD, and this institution has an endowment of $1.1 billion.

A visit should top your list of things to do in College Park, and you can begin at Turner Hall, housing the visitor center. From here can take a student-led guided campus tour of course, or pick up a map to see the main landmarks.

These include Rossborough Inn (1812), Memorial Chapel (1952), the Jim Henson Sculpture for the famous alumnus, and the sweeping, nine-acre expanse of the McKeldin Mall.

Sports-wise, the Maryland Terrapins have picked up 44 national championships in their time.

The men’s and women’s basketball teams are especially successful, while the football team, playing at the 54,000-capacity Maryland Stadium, has produced 17 first-round NFL draft picks and has claimed 9 ACC championships (third most).

2. College Park Aviation Museum

Source: Alejandro Guzmani / shutterstock

On the National Register of Historic Places, College Park Airport was built in 1909 by the United States Army Signal Corps, serving as a training facility for Wilbur Wright (1871-1948) to teach a pair of military officers to fly the government’s first airplane.

There’s a museum documenting this important moment in early aviation. The permanent exhibition touches on the “firsts” that took place at this airport, combining interactives with ten full-size aircraft.

These include faithful reproductions of the 1910 Wright Model B purchased for this airfield, the 1911 Curtiss Model D, made by the main competitor to the Wrights, and the 1912 Blèriot XI, of the kind that made the first heavier-than-air crossing of the English Channel in 1909.

Exhibits also go into detail on the history of civilian aviation, and the hair-raising training undergone by the first military pilots at this airfield in the years before WWI.

3. Xfinity Center

Source: Yginger Lee / shutterstock

On the UMD campus there’s an indoor arena that wouldn’t look out of place in the NBA or WNBA.

This is the Xfinity Center, opened in 2002 with a capacity of 17,950 (highest in Maryland), and is home court for the men’s and women’s basketball teams.

Both are highly competitive, but the women’s team are perennial contenders under coach Brenda Freese.

Since she took over in 2002, the Terrapins have made 17 NCAA tournament appearances, going all the way in 2006 and reaching ten NCAA Sweet Sixteens.

Still a force to be reckoned with, the men were formidable under Gary Williams between 1989 and 2011, and were tournament champions in 2002, also reaching the Final Four the season before.

The arena’s layout is worth a mention, with its intimidating, steeply pitched seating on the west side, behind the visiting team’s second half basket and dubbed “The Wall”.

4. Clarice Smith Performing Arts Center

Source: 18percentgrey / shutterstock

Opposite Capital One Field on the UMD campus is the labyrinth of ten interconnecting buildings that make up the Clarice Smith Performing Arts Center.

Completed in 2001, the complex was the largest building ever constructed by the State of Maryland, taking up 17 acres of land.

Among the key spaces are a 650-seat proscenium theater, a 300-seat recital hall, a 200-seat dance studio, scores of rehearsal rooms, a performing arts library and the lofty 1,200 seat concert hall.

For the wider community, The Clarice is a world-class, multi-disciplinary performing arts destination, with free and ticketed shows for classical music, opera, jazz, dance, theater and much more.

5. NASA Goddard Visitor Center

Source: Nicole Glass Photography / shutterstock

The important NASA space research laboratory, the Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC), is just a few minutes east of College Park in Greenbelt.

This became the agency’s first space flight center when it opened in 1959, and its most recent operation was the James Webb Space Telescope, launched in 2021 to study the history of the universe.

You can head to the free Visitor Center for a window on the GSFC’s thrilling, groundbreaking work in numerous fields, including astrophysics, planetary science, communications, heliophysics, engineering and technology.

There are permanent exhibits for Webb, as well as its predecessor, Hubble, the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO), rockets from Goddard’s history and the challenges of communicating with NASA spacecraft traveling further into the solar system than ever.

6. Riversdale House Museum

Source: krossbow / Flickr | CC BY

Next door in Riversdale you can visit a grand Georgian/Federal mansion from the beginning of the 19th century, where the predecessor of University of Maryland, College Park was later founded in 1864.

The house, a National Historic Landmark, was once at the heart of a 740-acre plantation using enslaved laborers, founded by Flemish expat Henri Joseph Stier, Baron de Stier, who had fled the French Revolution.

The building was designed after Stier’s Belgian residence, the Château du Mick, but he returned to Belgium before the mansion was completed, leaving his daughter Rosalie Stier Calvert (1778-1821) and her husband George Calvert in charge.

Rosalie’s correspondence is the main source of interpretation for the museum, which details the lives of the couple, their enslaved and free workforce and their important descendants, including U.S. Representative and UMD founder Charles Benedict Calvert (1808-1864).

7. Downtown College Park/Route 1

Source: Ilovecollegepark / Wikimedia | CC0

College Park’s campus-adjacent downtown area is scattered with eateries and nightspots, many of which have been around for decades.

A few notables are Marathon Deli, Ledo Pizza, Cornerstone Grill & Loft and RJ Bentley’s. Follow Baltimore Ave (Route 1) north or south and you’ll come to several other worthwhile commercial districts underpinned by local businesses.

Hyattsville to the south is a must, and has long been known for its arts scene and progressive spirit, with studios, street festivals and a slew of inviting independent businesses in its historic downtown area.

Go north along Route 1, and you’ll be in the Lower Midtown area, with a mix of big box stores and long-running establishments like Mamma Lucia’s (Italian) and Azteca Cantina (Mexican).

8. Greenbelt Park

Source: Joao Kermadec / shutterstock

College Park is bordered to the east by almost 1,200 acres of forested park in the care of the National Park Service.

Designated in 1950, Greenbelt Park is divided in two by the Baltimore-Washington Parkway, with the majority of the facilities on the west side, close to College Park.

You can amble or ride through this pristine urban forest along a continuous 5.3-mile hiking and equestrian trail, part of a 9-mile system with numerous shorter nature trails.

Greenbelt Park is also known for its affordable camping, with a 172-site campground open and staffed all year round.

9. University of Maryland Art Gallery

Source: guruXOX / shutterstock

There’s yet more culture on the UMD campus at the university’s flagship art museum, established in 1965.

The Art Gallery has a collection extending to 4,500 works, specializing in Maryland Artists, South American Art, East Asian Art, African Art and more.

There are masterpieces in the collection by the likes of Andy Warhol, Rembrandt, van Rijn, John Baldessari, Honoré Daumier, Maurice de Vlaminck, Lee Krasner and Paul Reed.

Typically the gallery stages around five exhibitions a year, and you can sample the university’s emerging talent at the annual MFA Thesis Exhibition in spring.

10. Lake Artemesia

Source: Sharad Kambale / shutterstock

This 38-acre body of water came about in the 1970s following sand and gravel excavation for the Washington Metro, running down the west side.

As part of the process, a natural area was developed around the former quarry and today this is a serene place for passive and active recreation, a stone’s throw from the UMD campus.

A 1.35-mile hiker-biker trail surrounds the lake, and this links with the wider Anacostia Tributary Trail System, as we’ll mention a little later.

There’s a birding trail with regular guided walks by the Audubon Society, while rainbow trout, largemouth bass and bluegill are regularly caught in the lake.

11. Paint Branch Trail

Source: AStolnik / Shutterstock

You can traverse a big slice of College Park on foot or by bike along this paved trail through the wooded Paint Branch valley.

This begins at Lake Artemesia, traveling along the eastern edge of the UMD main campus as far as Cherry Hill Neighborhood Park in the north.

In all the trail is nine miles out and back, linking a sequence of public parks, with woods, open spaces and plentiful wildfowl on the way.

This route is also a small component of the sprawling Anacostia Tributary Trail System, while close to Lake Artemesia you can also connect with the Trolley Trail, on the right of way of the old Streetcar 82 (more later).

12. Ellen Linson Splash Park

Source: Elena Yakusheva / shutterstock

A brief walk from College Park Station on Campus Drive, there’s a small but well-appointed public pool, open in the summer months.

The main pool has a series of interconnected areas, combining a lap pool, kids’ pool with a small slide and obstacles, and a zero-depth area for toddlers to play in.

There’s also a little splash park just next to the main pool, as well as a range of other amenities, including sun loungers, a picnic area, basketball court, showers, a vending area and a locker room.

On Saturday mornings, May to November, there’s a farmers’ market in the parking lot, for local fresh produce, plants, baked goods and more.

13. Streetcar 82 Brewing Co.

Source: Streetcar 82 Brewing Co. / Facebook

Nearby, bohemian Hyattsville has a booming craft beverage scene, whether you have a nose for artisanal beer, spirits or even mead.

In a converted auto garage you’ll find Streetcar 82 Brewing Co., named for the streetcar line that ran from near Washington Union Station as far as College Park for 70 years up to 1958.

The three founders all have deep roots in the area and graduated from Gallaudet University, opening the brewery as a way of contributing to the community.

There were 12 beers on tap when we compiled this article. Although the tap list is updated almost weekly, a few brews to look out for are The Colonel (Pilsner), The Garage (Hazy IPA), Livin’ the Hy-Life (Coffee Stout), Sunny Dutchman (Farmhouse Ale) and the special, barrel-aged Imperial Irish Ale, Unified Red.

14. Herbert Wells Ice Rink

Source: hedgehog94 / shutterstock

For a fun activity in winter there’s an NHL size rink in the same complex as the Ellen Linson Splash Park, open October through March.

The Herbert Wells Ice rink is partially enclosed, and has an indoor warming room and a room catering to birthday parties.

Throughout the season there’s a schedule of regular public skating sessions, freestyle sessions, skating lessons (private and group) and pick-up hockey for all ages.

The rink is home ice for the Wells Warriors Youth Ice Hockey Teams and Herbert Wells Ice Rink Figure Skating Teams. The rink can be rented by the hour, while skate rentals are as little as $2 for residents and non-residents.

15. Paint Branch Golf Complex

Source: Kati Finell / shutterstock

Just north of the UMD campus, on the river of the same name, there’s an excellent facility for people who want to learn the game of golf or hone their skills.

The main feature at Paint Branch Golf Complex is an immaculate nine-hole, par 33 course, perfect for younger or less experienced players, as well as those who want to work on their short game and iron play.

This is complemented by a driving range and short game practice area. If you’d like some professional help to take your game to the next level there’s a year-round indoor Performance Center, with four training rooms and PGA instructors offering private and group lessons.

The post 15 Best Things to Do in College Park (MD) appeared first on The Crazy Tourist.

Between 2018 and 2022 the city was the venue for the roving National Folk Festival, which has helped bring about a cultural and physical renewal of the city’s downtown area.

This is perfect for an idle visit, strolling along the Wicomico riverfront, doing some shopping, grabbing some food and maybe catching some live music in the evening.

Salisbury is also the setting for some unusual events, like the Sea Gull Century, a famous 100-mile bicycle ride known across the country, and Delmarva Bike Week, the largest motorcycle rally on the East Coast.

1. The Salisbury Zoological Park

Source: DejaVuDesigns / shutterstock

A joy for families in Salisbury is this small but beautifully presented zoo specializing in animals from North and South America and Australia.

Free to visit, The Salisbury Zoological Park first opened in 1954 and was transformed in the 1970s with groundbreaking enclosures that mimic the species natural habitats.

Some of the animals you can expect to see here include American alligators, wallabies, jaguars, two-toed sloths, North American river otters, llamas, ocelots, capybaras and cotton-top tamarins.

The zoo can be found within the lovely City Park, set on both banks of the east prong of the Wicomico River.

2. Ward Museum of Wildfowl Art

Source: Linda Harms / shutterstock

In an appropriate setting on picturesque Schumaker Pond there’s a museum with the largest collection of wildfowl art in the world.

These works vary from historic duck lures to contemporary, hyper-realistic decoys, to carvings by Lem (1897–1984) and Steve Ward (1895–1976) from Crisfield, MD.

The brothers are credited with elevating the craft of decoy making into an artform, and today their carvings regularly fetch upwards of $100,000 at auction.

At the permanent exhibit you can trace the brothers’ progress, discover the decoy carving traditions of North America, and see some of the winners from the annual Ward World Championship Carving Competition, which is the museum’s premier annual event in April.

3. Downtown Salisbury

Source: Alexanderstock23 / shutterstock

Allow plenty of time for a wander around downtown Salisbury, which is rich with history and public art, and also stages regular public events like 3rd Friday.

You can traverse this area on foot with no trouble, and can make your way along the banks of the Wicomico via the picturesque Salisbury Riverwalk.

Much of the local commerce is found along Main Street and interesting Division Street, where you’ll happen upon antique shops, galleries and an eclectic choice of bars and restaurants, whether you want sushi, Maryland-style crab and oysters, pub food, Mexican, pizza or easygoing American grub.

The Downtown Salisbury visitor center is on Division Street, and has leaflets for self-guided art and architecture tours, which are also available online as pdfs.

4. Delmarva Shorebirds

Source: MDGovpics / Flickr | CC BY

Maryland’s Eastern Shore has produced a rare amount of baseball talent, from Harold Baines to early 20th-century legends like Judy Johnson, Home Run Baker and Jimmie Foxx.

It’s only right that the region should have a professional team, and this arrived in 1996 when the Albany Polecats relocated to Salisbury.

Playing at the 5,200-capacity Perdue Stadium, the Delmarva Shorebirds are the Low-A East affiliate of the Baltimore Orioles, and have claimed two league titles in their time.

Perdue Stadium is a nostalgic treat, with a three-level brick concourse and the Eastern Shore hall of fame for historians of America’s pastime.

If the game isn’t entertaining enough there are all kinds of activities and contests between innings, as well special promotion nights and post-game fireworks.

5. Poplar Hill Mansion

Source: Lee Cannon / Flickr | CC BY-SA

There are plenty of opportunities to dip into Salisbury’s long rich history, and one is this historic house museum in a grand Federal residence begun in 1795.

After a delay and change of owner, Poplar Hill Mansion was finally completed by Dr. John Huston in 1805.

Complete with furnishings from the turn of the 19th century, the museum studies the lives of the people who lived here at that time. Medical history is prominent, as Dr. John Huston was Salisbury’s first surgeon, so Poplar Hill was essentially the city’s first hospital.

You’ll also find out about the 18 enslaved people who lived and worked at Poplar Hill; the names of two, Levin Huston and Solomon Huston, are known today.

6. Pemberton Historical Park

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Just down the Wicomico River there’s 262 acres of pristine nature, owned by the county and set on a former plantation.

Pemberton Historical Park is set around the hall of the same name, built by one of Salisbury’s founders (more below).

There’s a building at the parking lot where you can pick up an informative brochure, with trail guides, event listings and details about the park’s habitats and wildlife.

There are 4.5 miles of trails running through or next to a tapestry of ecosystems, including meadows, hardwood forest, upland pines, ponds and tidal and freshwater wetlands.

Among the many events there’s Music & Arts on Fridays in May, with live music, food and a range of art & craft vendors.

7. Pemberton Hall

Source: presmd / Flickr | CC BY-SA

The beautiful old house at the center of Pemberton Historical Park is the oldest surviving dwelling in the Salisbury area, and is open for tours.

Built in 1741 by Col. Isaac Handy (d. 1762), Pemberton Hall is composed of Flemish bond brick with glazed headers, under a gambrel roof.

The interior has many interesting original appointments, including paneling, balustrade, cabinet and pilasters.

In the upper story there’s an unusual passage allowing private access to each chamber, while the southeast chamber has a rare drop tester frame in the ceiling for hanging bed linens.

The house was derelict by the 1960s, when the Pemberton Hall Foundation intervened, restoring the building and decorating it with period appropriate furnishings.

On a tour you can learn about some of the interesting characters who have resided here, like the Southern sympathizer Allison Parsons, who would fire a cannon here after receiving news of each Confederate victory in the Civil War.

8. Salisbury University Art Galleries (SUAG)

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In Salisbury you can experience world-class contemporary art thanks to the University Art Galleries (SUAG), which has three locations, two on campus and one downtown.

SUAG maintains the university’s considerable art collection, composed of 1,4000 items including painting, sculpture, prints, folk art and photographs.

First off, The University Gallery can be found at Fulton Hall, and holds exhibitions for renowned national and international artists, along with regular faculty and student exhibitions.

Also on campus, The Electronic Gallery is at the Teacher Education & Technology Center, and is dedicated to new media art. Then there’s the Downtown Campus, tying the university to the community with exciting year-round programming.

9. Evolution Craft Brewing

Source: Evolution Craft Brewing Company / Facebook

This trailblazing craft brewery was founded 2009, and relocated to a former ice factory in Salisbury in 2012, incorporating a tasting room and full-service restaurant. Evolution’s beers use traditional ale templates, but are constantly improved to give them their own personality.

A few of the year-round brews are Primal Pale Ale, Delmarva Pure Pils, Exile Red Ale, Lucky 7 Porter and Stalker Hefeweizen, and there’s always a choice of exciting specialty beers on tap.

Food-wise, you’ve got an eclectic choice of handhelds, shareable bites and plates, designed to complement those beers. Given the location the crab dip, crab cake and fresh local oysters are a must.

10. Sea Gull Century

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One annual event that gains national attention in Salisbury is this long-distance bicycle ride around the Lower Eastern Shore, beginning and ending on the Salisbury University campus.

Named among the top ten rides in America by Bicycling magazine, the Sea Gull Century takes place on a Saturday in early October and attracts thousands of riders, for the gorgeous scenery, challenge and sense of togetherness.

The first ride took place in 1988, and today is made possible through the dedication of hundreds of volunteers.

You can choose from three routes: The Assateague Century (100 miles), Snow Hill Century (100 miles) and the Princess Anne Metric (65 miles). The main century takes you out to Assateague Island on the coast, famed for its herds of wild Chincoteague ponies.

11. Wicomico County Fair

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Wicomico County has a close-knit farming community, and this is celebrated with a fair that goes back eight decades. It all goes down on the third weekend of August, and the venue is WinterPlace Park, just past Shorebirds Stadium.

There’s a lot going on at the fair, but for a taster you’ve got a schedule of live music, tractor pulls, demonstrations, a 5k run, carnival rides and amusements, livestock exhibits, tractor pulls, all kinds of competitions, fireworks and lots of local vendors.

There are also some quirky attractions that have been around for years, like the five-foot frying pan, if you’re in the mood for some fried chicken.

12. Wicomico Civic Center

Source: Twinsterphoto / shutterstock

On the east side of City Park is a multipurpose arena with a total 40,000 square feet of space for conventions, concerts, sports events, comedy shows, Broadway productions, dog shows, festivals and much more.

The Wicomico Civic Center opened in 1980 after its predecessor burned down, and came through a long-term program of renovations in 2017.

There are around 400 events at the center every year, with a capacity of crowds of up to 6,000 for concerts. Among the prestigious list of past performers are Bob Dylan, Willie Nelson, David Lee Roth, Linda Ronstadt, Trace Adkins and Kelsea Ballerini.

13. Nutters Crossing Golf Club

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On lush, gently sloping terrain in the south of Salisbury there’s a highly-rated, not to mention challenging, public golf course to check out.

Nutters Crossing has very distinct front and back nines. The front side is open and relatively straight for big drives, while things get a lot more technical on the wooded back side.

Water comes into play on 12 holes, and is almost ever-present on the back nine, while the course is laced with more than 50 bunkers.

At the heart of an affluent residential community, there’s an upscale feel to the course, epitomized by the brick Colonial-style clubhouse.

14. Coco’s Funhouse

Source: CoCo's Funhouse / Facebook

A stone’s throw from Salisbury Zoological Park is an attraction perfect for parents with toddlers or smaller children.

Coco’s Funhouse combines a variety of attractions across 7,500 square feet, including giant inflatables, a huge soft play jungle gym, an interactive floor, foam blocks and an arcade.

For birthday inspiration there are two party rooms here, while the Play Café has a menu of comfort food like wings, sliders, tacos, hot dogs and battered shrimp.

There are open bounce sessions daily, and all kinds of specials throughout the week, like Toddler Thursdays and Family Fridays.

15. Delmarva Bike Week

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For a week in mid-September the Delmarva Peninsula is taken over by the largest motorcycle rally on the east coast, bringing some 150,000 bikers to the lower Eastern Shore.

Salisbury hosts Delmarva Bike Week, which coincides with the Ocean City BikeFest, and there’s plenty going on in both cities.

Delmarva Bike Week’s HQ in Salisbury is usually Shorebirds Stadium, with vendors, food, beverages, motorcycle demos, stunt shows and a bill of live music across five days. There’s always free bike parking during the event.

The post 15 Best Things to Do in Salisbury (MD) appeared first on The Crazy Tourist.

Inspired by Utopian collectivist ideals, in which town businesses were owned and managed cooperatively by residents, this Garden City is rare for surviving relatively unchanged. Even a couple of the cooperatives remain at one of the earliest planned shopping centers in America.

With a thoughtful layout intended for pedestrians, a progressive spirit, and crisp Streamline Moderne architecture, Greenbelt is at once historic and futuristic.

When President Roosevelt visited Greenbelt he declared the city to be “an experiment that ought to be copied by every community in the United States.” While that dream didn’t come to pass, Greenbelt remains an optimistic blueprint for what a community can be.

1. NASA GSFC Visitor Center

Source: Nicole Glass Photography / shutterstock

Greenbelt is the home of a key NASA space research laboratory, serving as the agency’s first and oldest space center.

The Goddard Space Flight Center was established in 1958, and has managed operations for numerous NASA and international missions including the Hubble Space Telescope (launched 1990), and the development of its successor, the James Webb Space Telescope (launched 2021).

You can explore these epochal projects at the free visitor center, giving you thrilling details about what Webb means for our understanding of the universe.

Other exhibits deal with space communications, earth as seen from space, the awe-inspiring surface of the sun and moon exploration. Outside, the Goddard Rocket Garden shows off exciting artifacts from Goddard’s history.

2. Roosevelt Center

Source: Payton Chung / Flickr | CC BY

At the center of Greenbelt’s swirling street plan is one of the country’s first planned shopping centers.

Opened in 1937, the Roosevelt Center was designed to be within easy, walkable reach of all of the community’s inhabitants, with unique underpasses running beneath Crescent Rd. Initially the center included a gas station, grocery store, variety store, barber shop, drugstore, tobacco shop, beauty shop, movie theater and valet shop.

Several of these businesses remain, including the elegant Old Greenbelt Theatre, which has recently been restored. Remarkably, a couple continue to be run as cooperative businesses, including the CO-OP Supermarket & Pharmacy and the New Deal Cafe.

The Roosevelt Center serves as the anchor for activities during the Greenbelt Labor Day Festival.

3. Greenbelt Historic District

Source: Anacostia Trails Heritage Area / Flickr | CC BY

You don’t need to be a student of architecture or urban planning to be enthralled by Greenbelt’s center, which looks like few cities in the United States.

For some context, there’s reams of information about the Greenbelt Historic District, as well as an excellent self-guided walking tour published by the Greenbelt Museum.

This walk takes in 18 points of interest, many of which are mentioned in this article. Along with the Roosevelt Center and Greenbelt Community Center you can take a closer look at Greenbelt’s many peculiarities.

There’s the unconventional street plan, pedestrian underpasses beneath Crescent Road, as well as the hundreds of original housing units, all of which are still owned cooperatively after being purchased when the town was sold in the early 1950s.

4. Greenbelt Community Center

Source: Payton Chung from DCA, USA / Wikimedia | CC BY 2.0

A striking Streamline Moderne/Art Deco landmark and necessary stop on any tour is the Greenbelt Community Center (1937), which was an elementary school up to 1991 and is now a community facility.

The old gymnasium and classrooms now contain public event rooms, city departments, artist studios, a nursery and Greenbelt Access Television.

Outside, between the angular fluted buttresses is a series of bas-relief panels by Lenore Thomas Straus, depicting the Preamble to the United States Constitution. On the first floor, the Greenbelt Museum uses the center for its main temporary exhibit.

5. Old Greenbelt Theatre

Source: Old Greenbelt Theatre / Facebook

An entertainment veteran at the Roosevelt Center is this sleek, single-screen movie theater that opened in 1938.

The Old Greenbelt Theatre has been in the care of the non-profit Friends of Greenbelt Theatre since 2015, and was recently given a facelift, adding new technology while keeping its Art Deco character.

The 368-seat auditorium is a special place to catch a classic movie or new release, mixing vintage with the modern.

There’s a 40’ CinemaScope screen and two Simplex XL 35mm projectors, with a Christie 4K digital projector and a Dolby Digital 7.1 sound system.

6. Buddy Attick Lake Park

Source: Lissandra Melo / shutterstock

An abiding joy of Greenbelt’s layout is the way recreation space merges with residential and commercial areas.

This is true for Buddy Attick Lake Park, accessed via the system of paved trails that reaches across the city. Buddy Attick Lake Park is just over 100 acres, about a quarter of which is made up of a lake for birdwatching, fishing and boating.

There’s a 1.3-mile trail around the shore, mostly lined with beautiful mature trees. Facilities include picnic pavilions with grills, benches and tables, a playground with equipment for younger and older children, a tot lot and a basketball court.

The park is named for beloved resident Albert S. “Buddy” Attick, who served as Director of Public Works and whose family lived in the area before it was purchased by the federal government.

7. Greenbelt Museum

Source: Rebeccagale / Wikimedia | CC BY-SA 4.0

If your interest is piqued by Greenbelt’s story you can find out more at this museum based at one of the historic housing units near the Community Center.

At the time of writing, the main temporary exhibit covered the career of Social Realist sculptor Lenore Thomas Straus (1909-1988), whose WPA-funded work can be seen at the Community Center and the Roosevelt Center.

Past exhibits have looked at various aspects of local life, like recreation, fashion, gardening and home decor in the 1930s and 1940s.

You can also take a tour of the original historic home, preserved as it was in the late-1930s, while the museum also conducts regular walking tours of the Greenbelt Historic District.

8. Greenbelt Park

Source: Lissandra Melo / shutterstock

True to its name, Greenbelt was originally intended to be wrapped in an enormous green belt for recreation, and a large remnant of this is preserved in the southwest of the city.

Designated in 1950, Greenbelt Park encompasses 1,176 acres and is managed by the National Park Service. What you’ll encounter here is a relaxing wooded environment for camping, just ten miles from Washington, D.C’s famous landmarks.

As well as 172 campsites, complemented by showers and bathroom facilities, there’s a main 5.3-mile hiking and equestrian trail, with several shorter trails branching off it.

The park hosts free campfire programs in spring and fall, covering the history of local features like the Baltimore-Washington Parkway, College Park Aviation Museum and Greenbelt.

9. College Park

Source: Alejandro Guzmani / shutterstock

On Greenbelt’s western flank, College Park is the home city for the University of Maryland (UMD).

The vast campus converges on McKeldin Mall, the largest quad in the United States, while the men’s and women’s basketball teams often go deep in the NCAA tournament.

Another intriguing facet to College Park is the country’s oldest continuously operating airport. This was founded in 1909 as a facility for flight pioneer Wilbur Wright (1871-1948) to train the first ever military pilots.

That momentous history is recorded at the College Park Aviation Museum, which has full-size reproductions of the early planes flown at the airport and demonstrates the incredible development of powered flight, from shaky machines to combat capability just a few years later in WWI.

10. New Deal Cafe

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A mainstay at the Roosevelt Center is the aptly named New Deal Cafe, which opened in 1995 and is almost unique in the country for being a consumers’ cooperative.

This award-winning restaurant, coffee house and music venue is owned by 200+ member patrons, and is often described as “Greenbelt’s community living room”.

There’s live music almost every night of the week, and monthly exhibitions showcasing local artists. Naturally, you don’t have to be a member to dine or enjoy the cafe’s cultural offerings.

The menu has a contemporary American accent, and is dominated by plant-based options like spicy BBQ tofu, spinach lasagna and vegan mac & cheese, along with craft beer on tap.

11. Patuxent Research Refuge

Source: Keri Delaney / shutterstock

One of the largest forested areas in the mid-Atlantic region is only 15 minutes from Greenbelt by car.

The Patuxent Research Refuge is on 13,000 acres, protecting woods, wetlands and meadows. The refuge is particularly valuable as a haven for migrating waterfowl in spring and fall.

In Greenbelt you’re closest to the South Tract, which contains the National Wildlife Visitor Center, with compelling interpretive displays about the past, present and future of wildlife conservation, as well as educational films and a bookstore and nature shop.

The center is served by five miles of trails, one circling the beautiful Cash Lake close by. Further north along the Baltimore-Washington Pkwy you can reach the less visited North Tract, with 20+ miles of trails for hiking, biking and horseback riding.

12. Schrom Hills Recreation Center

Source: David Lee / shutterstock

An ideal place to be active in Greenbelt is this attractive neighborhood park close to the Greenway shopping center.

For a brief rundown of the many facilities at the Schrom Hills Recreation Center there are baseball/softball fields, a soccer field, a basketball court, an exercise trail and a bike trail.

The park also has two separate playgrounds, for kids aged 2-5 and 5-12 respectively, along with a rentable pavilion, grills and picnic tables.

For the curious, Schrom Hills is home to one of Prince George’s County’s Champion Trees, a majestic Longleaf Pine standing more than 50 feet in height.

13. Lake Artemesia

Source: Sharad Kambale / shutterstock

Close to College Park Airport is a lake surrounded by serene natural space, created during the 1970s following sand quarrying for the Washington Metro’s Green Line, which runs down the west side.

The lake is a little under 40 acres, and on its wooded shores there’s a multi-use trail, a special birding trail, fishing piers and planted gardens including a butterfly garden.

The lake is stocked with trout, bluegill and largemouth bass, and the surrounding hiker-biker trails are a small component of the massive Anacostia Tributary Trail System.

From here you can make your way along the Northeast Branch of the Anacostia River to the south, or head northwest along the Paint Branch Trail.

14. Beltway Plaza Mall

Source: VGstockstudio / shutterstock

This enclosed mall in Greenbelt was developed in the early 1970s around a branch of the S. Klein department store, and took on its current form a few years later when S. Klein closed.

A few of the national stores at Beltway Plaza Mall are Target, Marshalls, Burlington, TJ Maxx, Footlocker and Gamestop, while there’s a slew of locally owned shops and services between the anchors.

For entertainment you’ve got the AMC Academy 8, with comfy recliners at all the screens. In terms of food, the chains here include Boston Market, Subway, Wendy’s, Dunkin, Jersey Mike’s, Baskin Robbins and Popeye’s.

15. Greenbelt Labor Day Festival

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Given Greenbelt’s origins, it makes sense that the big date in the social calendar should be a Labor Day festival.

This got started in 1955 as a way of raising money to build a youth center. Now, some 70 years later, the Greenbelt Labor Day Festival is planned by one of the largest all-volunteer organizations in the state.

Mostly set around the Roosevelt Center, there’s a massive range of activities over four days, beginning on Friday.

For a summary you’ve got a carnival midway, all kinds of sports tournaments, an art show, a pet show, a bike ride, live music, exhibits by the Greenbelt Museum and Goddard Space Flight Center, a craft fair, diverse food vendors and of course the vibrant Annual Greenbelt Labor Day Parade from 10am on the Monday.

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