From cities on the ocean and an island with wild horses to small cities rooted in centuries of American historical past, Maryland is geographically and culturally various. With Washington, D.C., a stone’s throw away, the legacy of the nation’s founding fathers will be keenly felt. For instance, the state is house to Fort McHenry, the place the nationwide anthem was impressed. Maryland’s ladies have additionally made their mark on historical past, with some risking all of it to do what was proper.

Threat-taking is one other high quality that defines Maryland, whether or not it was creating the nation’s first steam-powered railway, forging an essential canal system or fostering the artwork of self-taught artists. In terms of preserving Maryland’s wildlife and wetlands, no danger is taken: Refuges, parks and guarded areas are meant to maintain the state’s environmental sources viable and in a position to be loved for generations to come back.

No matter you are trying to do on this mid-Atlantic state, Maryland has a lot to maintain guests occupied. The perfect half? Most of the state’s museums, seashores, parks and establishments are free to the general public. Listed here are the highest issues to do in Maryland.

This Baltimore museum takes the thought of stuffy artwork and … stuffs it. The American Visionary Artwork Museum describes itself because the nation’s official nationwide museum for self-taught and intuitive artistry. Reveals fluctuate, however even the everlasting assortment will be described as colourful, eclectic and sudden. Combined mediums will seize your consideration from intricate woodcarvings to a group of robots to a 15-foot-high pink poodle sculpture named “Fifi.” Guests name the 4 flooring of collections thought-provoking, and a few even counsel that the presents within the museum store are underpriced, which is a rarity. Timed tickets are required for AVAM’s important exhibition, which lately was “Therapeutic and the Artwork of Compassion.”

Handle: 800 Key Freeway, Baltimore, MD 21230

The Nationwide Aquarium is an eye catching constructing with a neon wave positioned in Baltimore’s Inside Harbor. From sharks and jellies to octopuses and an Indo-Pacific coral reef, the aquarium options myriad creatures and habitats to admire and find out about. Award-winning displays embody faraway lands, comparable to “Amazon River Forest” and “Maryland: Mountains to Sea,” which stars the state’s personal various ecosystem. Past the true factor, youngsters can use all their senses to expertise facets of the aquarium on the 4D theater, which brings enjoyable movies like “Being a Dolphin” to life. Current guests advise to attempt to keep away from peak occasions as a few of the displays are small and the aquarium can get crowded. The family-friendly Nationwide Aquarium is open day-after-day.

Handle: 501 E. Pratt St., Baltimore, MD 21202

Greater than only a house on the Monopoly board, the B&O (Baltimore and Ohio) Railroad is the oldest railway within the nation, opened in 1827. Discontinued within the Nineteen Seventies, the Baltimore railroad station referred to as Mount Clare Station and Yard is now a museum containing the oldest and most complete American railroad assortment on the planet, in line with its web site. Galleries of the historic locomotives that kick-started American railroading are featured alongside “Thomas the Tank Engine” theme days for the youngsters and devoted sensory programming for neurodiverse guests. Guests give blended opinions on the museum’s seasonal choices, comparable to its holiday-themed Polar Categorical occasion, however recognize how massive the museum is and suggest spending further time on the displays within the roundhouse.

Handle: 901 W. Pratt St., Baltimore, MD 21223

“O say, are you able to see?” … “The Star-Spangled Banner,” initially a poem, was impressed in Maryland and guests who wish to join with the proverbial “rocket’s crimson glare” can accomplish that at quite a few the state’s historic websites. The 560-mile Star-Spangled Banner Nationwide Historic Path stretches throughout land and water from Virginia into Washington, D.C., and onward into Maryland. The 106-mile scenic route by way of central Maryland retraces the Warfare of 1812, which gave method to our nationwide anthem. The Maryland route begins at Sotterley Planation in Hollywood and hits quite a few websites alongside the best way, taking vacationers to Solomons Island, by way of Baltimore and onward to the Nice Chesapeake Bay Loop. Maybe an important amongst these websites is Fort McHenry Nationwide Monument and Historic Shrine in Baltimore. It was right here the place 25 hours of a British onslaught have been immortalized with the phrases “bombs bursting in air.” Regardless of the percentages, the defending American flag was raised victoriously the next morning, inspiring writer Francis Scott Key to pen “The Star-Spangled Banner.”

The Horse You Got here In On Saloon initially opened within the Fell’s Level neighborhood of Baltimore in 1775. Nonetheless in operation, “The Horse” is taken into account one of many oldest repeatedly working bars within the nation. Whereas it is price a look-in for this accolade alone, the bar’s historical past is much extra attention-grabbing than its age. It impressed the title of thriller author Martha Grimes’ ’90s best-selling detective novel. It is also fairly famously the final identified location of one other thriller writer, Edgar Allen Poe, earlier than he died. No matter attracts you in – and for a lot of, it is the signal – grabbing a drink right here is part of Baltimore (and nationwide) historical past. The every day completely happy hour specials aren’t too dangerous both. Current patrons admit that whereas drinks will be expensive, the ambiance – together with reside music – is price a go to.

Handle: 1626 Thames St., Baltimore, MD 21231

Elijah Bond lived in Baltimore within the late nineteenth century and first patented the Ouija board. Should you channeled Bond as we speak, you could be led to his one-of-a-kind gravesite in Baltimore’s Inexperienced Mount Cemetery. The reverse facet of his gravestone is, itself, a Ouija board. So what does this need to do with a 7-Eleven? After greater than a century, the origins of the mysterious board have scattered concerning the metropolis, and the placement of the place the title “Ouija” was coined (as soon as a boarding home the place Bond lived) is now a comfort retailer on 529 N. Charles St. See it for your self: a plaque to the appropriate simply inside the doorway marks the occult milestone.

Handle: 529 N. Charles St., Baltimore, MD 21201

Mother and father can discover a haven for youths on the Port Discovery Kids’s Museum, which is positioned close to the Nationwide Aquarium within the Inside Harbor. Interactive and interesting play areas and displays invite infants, toddlers and preschoolers to participate on this maritime-themed venue with 80,000 sq. toes of house. Mother and father say the amenities are clear and well-supervised and the Egyptian space is a standout. Well-liked sights embody the four-story SkyClimber (greatest for youths ages 5 and older); an enormous faux cargo ship, excellent for tiny role-playing; plentiful puzzles; occasional theater performances; and a water exercise room for these little ones who prefer to splash. If rain washes out your plans, shore as much as Port Discovery, which incorporates all-day entry plus any particular occasions within the worth of admission. In accordance with latest visiting households, 6 is a perfect age for youths spending a day right here. Tickets should be bought on-line upfront.

Handle: 35 Market Place, Baltimore, MD 21202

Oriole Park at Camden Yards is the house of Allure Metropolis’s Main League Baseball workforce, the Baltimore Orioles. Baltimore can also be the birthplace of Babe Ruth, one of many sport’s best gamers, and a bronze statue of his likeness greets followers on the entrance to the stadium. Signed to the then-Orioles in 1914, Ruth reportedly received his “Babe” nickname in his temporary time taking part in for the workforce. Much more of a becoming tie-in, Ruth’s father as soon as owned a constructing that housed a saloon on the primary flooring and the household on the second flooring; it was positioned on what’s now heart area of Oriole Park, which opened in 1992. Be a part of Baltimore’s rising baseball legacy with tickets to a sport at Camden Yards. Even latest guests who’re admittedly not enormous baseball followers mentioned the ballpark is gorgeous and the new canines exceed expectations.

Handle: 333 W. Camden St., Baltimore, MD 21201

George Peabody discovered success as an funding banker after a modest childhood and is taken into account a father of contemporary philanthropy, as a consequence of his beneficiant charitable donations of tens of millions all through his life within the mid-1800s. One in all his largest donations was to The Peabody Institute in Baltimore, the place a classy library was constructed. Typically referred to as “a cathedral of books,” the library is positioned in Baltimore’s Mount Vernon neighborhood and is a part of Johns Hopkins College. It incorporates about 300,000 volumes, from the 18th and nineteenth centuries, throughout 5 flooring of decorative forged iron balconies. The library is free to go to and open to the general public throughout choose hours.

Word: The library was closed to guests on the time of publication, solely open to Johns Hopkins College college students, college and employees. It’s anticipated to reopen to guests later in 2022.

Handle: 17 E. Mount Vernon Place, Baltimore, MD 21202

The Ministry of Brewing has a singular tackle homes of worship. The minds behind the now-taproom (as soon as St. Michael’s Church in Baltimore) envisioned it as a group assembly place as soon as once more – besides the drink of the day is an IPA or a brown ale, not Communion wine. This brewery affords in-house sodas and onerous ciders along with loads of beer brewed on-site. Guests to the Ministry of Brewing can get pleasure from an creative rotating faucet listing from a restored pew. The charitable environment aren’t all surface-level, although: The brewery’s founding members have a concentrate on training, with the intention to host Baltimore Metropolis highschool college students to show them lab abilities, and philanthropy through fundraising for Baltimore’s public faculty system.

Handle: 1900 E. Lombard St., Baltimore, MD 21231

Maryland’s solely oceanfront park is on Assateague Island, positioned between the Atlantic Ocean and Sinepuxent Bay in Berlin. Assateague is greatest identified for its inhabitants of feral horses, and seeing wild ponies operating alongside the shoreline is a particular sight. Different wildlife right here embody Sitka deer and greater than 200 species of birds, comparable to snowy owls and eagles. Guests to this distinctive place can get pleasure from 2 miles of ocean seashores with swimming or fishing, whereas the bayside affords loads of nice coves to discover through kayak or canoe. Together with its pure and unbridled magnificence, Assateague offers day-trippers a window into what Colonial life was like on Maryland’s coasts courtesy of the restored 18th-century Rackliffe Home. Positioned a half-mile from the island’s customer heart, Rackliffe Home affords trails and common museum visiting hours between mid-Might and October, which can also be tenting season on the island. Entry to the island is proscribed to protect its wildlife; reservations will be aggressive and can be found as much as a 12 months upfront.

Allegany County in western Maryland is house to Rocky Hole State Park, which boasts 3,000 acres of land with rugged mountains on all sides. A mile-long gorge feeds the 243-acre Lake Habeeb and, in line with the park’s web site, it incorporates the bluest water within the state. Different pure options of this state park embody a hemlock forest and a inhabitants of black bears. Rocky Hole On line casino and Resort is the place to remain if you wish to be close to the woods but in addition partake in a spherical of golf or a visit to the spa. Current guests to the park loved swimming within the lake, fishing and visiting the small on-site aviary.

Handle: 12900 Lake Shore Drive, Flintstone, MD 21530

The land the place Harriet Tubman lived – and labored – as an enslaved little one in Maryland is now a nationwide historic web site devoted to her heroic freedom-fighting legacy. The customer heart homes everlasting displays concerning the Underground Railroad community she operated to assist free slaves, a analysis library, a movie about Harriet Tubman and extra. Guests describe the museum as a labor of affection from the group and a lovely tribute to Tubman, notably the mural on the facet of the constructing. The park in Church Creek is open Tuesday by way of Sunday. For a a lot fuller image of Tubman’s formative years and work, the Harriet Tubman Byway is a self-guided scenic street journey of greater than 30 websites – together with the park – that additionally options murals, gardens and the farm the place she as soon as lived.

Handle: 4068 Golden Hill Street, Church Creek, MD 21622

The nostalgia of boardwalk amusements is in full impact in Ocean Metropolis, a well-regarded seaside resort city on the coast of northeast Maryland. The three miles of Ocean Metropolis’s boardwalk are filled with leisure, day and evening, throughout the spring and summer time seasons. With music, arcade video games, rides, memento retailers and the wafting odor of funnel cake, Fisher’s Popcorn and Thrasher’s French fries, a keep in Ocean Metropolis has all of the hallmarks of a household seaside trip, plus sudden websites just like the Ocean Metropolis Life-Saving Station Museum, devoted to a predecessor of as we speak’s Coast Guard. You’ll want to peek contained in the Trimper’s Rides pavilion the place you may discover a carousel greater than a century outdated. Handcarved in 1912, the carousel’s twin went to New York’s Coney Island however was destroyed in a fireplace, leaving simply this one. Have a journey – if you happen to dare: The carousel is supposedly haunted by Joanne Trimper, who was married to the supervisor of the amusement park till his dying in 2008.

Alongside the Miles River in St. Michaels, the Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum maintains a dozen exhibition buildings, a fleet of floating historic boats and a peaceable waterfront setting for friends to study concerning the Chesapeake Bay. Interactive displays embody shipyard excursions, in addition to artwork and object collections. A go to would not be full and not using a scenic boat journey on the bay in a vessel from 1920. What’s extra, festivals that includes sea glass, antiques or oysters are held right here all year long. Current guests to the museum mused that the displays weren’t boring, and lots of appreciated the data on learn how to construct a ship, the possibility to climb a lighthouse and the nautical reward store.

Handle: 213 N. Talbot St., St. Michaels, MD 21663

The Blackwater Nationwide Wildlife Refuge in Cambridge has many essential distinctions. Amongst them, it has been named a precedence wetland within the North American Waterfowl Administration Plan. Along with an abundance of birdlife, together with the biggest breeding inhabitants of American bald eagles on the East Coast north of Florida, Blackwater can also be house to the biggest pure inhabitants of the previously endangered Delmarva Peninsula fox squirrels. Guests can entry 20,000 of the refuge’s 32,000 acres. Climbing, biking and paddling are nice methods to expertise Blackwater, in addition to a 3.6-mile paved wildlife drive widespread with cyclists, birders and photographers. Whereas many of those actions could also be greatest skilled in spring or fall, winter affords its personal perks: The perfect time for viewing waterfowl at Blackwater is between mid-October and mid-March.

Annapolis, the capital of Maryland, is house to extra than simply the U.S. Naval Academy. Town of about 40,000 residents affords sights starting from an opera home to flee rooms. Beautiful waterfront walkways spotlight its inhabitants of yachts, and vacationers can get out on the water for nice views of town on any variety of boat excursions. However 8 miles from downtown, throughout the South River, vacationers will discover Historic London City and Gardens, a 23-acre park that includes a house from 1760 in addition to an ongoing archaeological excavation. A mile-long path takes guests by way of the Woodland Backyard, which boasts quite a lot of native and unique crops. Again within the coronary heart of Annapolis, there may be extra historical past to be discovered with the Kunta Kinte-Alex Haley Memorial. This sculpture pays homage to the writer of the story “Roots” and acknowledges the position of Annapolis in slavery. The finished memorial has stood alongside the water off of Primary Road, not too removed from the Asbury United Methodist Church, since 2006.

It could be inconceivable to consider Maryland and never consider crabs. And right here, crabs aren’t something with out Outdated Bay seasoning, an 18-spice recipe bought by Baltimore-based McCormick & Co. in 1990. The Maryland blue crab (which turns a red-orange when steamed) is the state crustacean, and half of the nation’s blue crabs hail from the Chesapeake Bay. Crab is available in many kinds – truffles, bisques, claws – however the conventional means is to get pleasure from this seafood is with a steamed crab feast. Quite a few eating places provide steamed crabs, which are sometimes served exterior in the summertime and early fall, though many eateries enable indoor eating as nicely. In Baltimore, attempt L.P. Steamers in Locus Level or Bo Brooks in Canton, each with views of the Inside Harbor. Different widespread spots to search out steamed crabs across the state embody Ocean Delight Seafood Restaurant in Baltimore County, Cantler’s Riverside Inn in Annapolis, Kentmorr Restaurant & Crab Home in Stevensville, Schultz’s Crab Home in Essex and Crab Bag in Ocean Metropolis.

Just like the B&O, the C&O – Chesapeake and Ohio Canal – contributed to early industrial and transportation efforts alongside the Potomac River Valley. It is come a great distance from being often called the “Grand Outdated Ditch,” first opened in 1831. These days, pleasure-seekers can discover 184.5 miles of the canal with bike trails and notable sights like Williamsport’s Conococheague Aqueduct or the Nice Falls, which affords views of Virginia for an entrance payment. The Maryland facet of the falls has a beautiful customer heart referred to as the Nice Falls Tavern, the place historic canal boat rides depart. Go by way of a lock and take heed to the tales from crew in interval clothes of what life was like dwelling and dealing alongside the canal within the 1870s. Boat rides are seasonal; examine the C&O web site for added particulars and schedules.

Town (and county) of Frederick is located lower than 60 miles from each Baltimore and Washington, D.C. Alongside scenic byways, vacationers will discover quirky museums, such because the Nationwide Museum of Civil Warfare Drugs, a number of golf programs and some artwork galleries. The parched can take their decide of wineries, breweries or distilleries – there are quite a few choices in and round Frederick. Eating places specializing in consolation meals, comparable to Brewer’s Alley, complement specialty retailers making chocolate truffles from scratch or promoting native fruit merchandise like jams and jellies. This small metropolis is off the charts with allure any time of 12 months, however Frederick’s annual occasions entice plenty of consideration and embody the nation’s solely high-wheel (aka penny-farthing) bike race every July, in addition to a nine-day truthful and carnival every September.

If you end up close to Boonsboro, about 20 miles northwest of Frederick, you’re within the neighborhood of Maryland’s solely identified pure caverns. The Crystal Grottoes is in its third era of enterprise and first opened to the general public in 1922. The must-see caverns boast spectacular rock formations and are price a tour to witness your self. Excursions run about 40 minutes lengthy and can be found Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Guests to the caverns say that whereas the cave is comparatively small, it has sufficient stellar formations in a pure setting that make a cease right here price it.

Handle: 19821 Shepherdstown Pike, Boonsboro, MD 21713

Should you’re not too squeamish, contemplate a go to to the Nationwide Museum of Well being and Drugs in Silver Spring for an uncommon day on the museum. Based in 1862 to check the results of warfare wounds and ailments on the physique, the institute has a historic assortment of human stays, together with the bullet that killed Abraham Lincoln, together with shards of his cranium. Different medical and historic oddities are on show in rotation, with concentrate on American army drugs, from wax molds and replications to the true factor – in jars. If it is any incentive to courageous the bodily shows, the Nationwide Museum of Well being and Drugs is free to the general public.

Handle: 2500 Linden Lane, Silver Spring, MD 20910

There are objectively not many issues cooler than NASA, so if you end up in Greenbelt, about 10 miles northeast of Washington, D.C., make a cease on the Goddard Area Flight Heart. The James Webb telescope – basically a contemporary, improved model of the Hubble Telescope, with extra readability – was inbuilt Maryland on the Goddard, which implies it is a web site burgeoning with lively house exploration. Self-guided excursions of the collections and displays will preserve your consideration; they embody a full-size rocket backyard with replicas of rockets from numerous missions. Free month-to-month experiments and mannequin rocket launches are enjoyable occasions for youths. A go to right here might spark an curiosity in a profession in engineering, astrophysics or earth science. The Goddard Area Flight Heart is free to go to. Even the landscaping is out of this world; the sycamore in entrance of the customer heart flew as a seed on Apollo 14 and is called a “moon tree.”

Handle: 8800 Greenbelt Street, Greenbelt, MD 20771

Fashioned 10 to twenty million years in the past, the Calvert Cliffs of southern Maryland as we speak reveal fossils of prehistoric sharks, whales and “seabirds the dimensions of airplanes,” in line with the park’s web site. These cliffs hint the shoreline of the Chesapeake Bay in Calvert County (round 50 miles south of Annapolis) for twenty-four miles and supply a surprising backdrop to sandy seashores and a recycled tire playground. A freshwater and tidal marshland gives fishing alternatives, plus there are 13 miles of scenic mountain climbing trails for guests to traverse. There’s a designated space to hunt for fossils on the seaside, and greater than 600 species have been recognized to date.

Handle: 10540 H.G. Trueman Street, Lusby, MD 20657

Maryland was house to greater than 120 coated bridges at one time. Solely six are left within the state, however they’re price a street journey. Half of the bridges are positioned in Frederick County: the Roddy Street Coated Bridge, circa 1856; the Loy’s Station Coated Bridge, inbuilt 1848 (with some authentic timber); and the Utica Mills Coated Bridge, initially inbuilt 1843. This daring crimson bridge needed to be rebuilt after it was washed out by the 1889 Johnstown Flood and it stands out among the many surrounding inexperienced fields. Maryland’s longest coated bridge is Gilpin’s Falls in Cecil County: It is 119 toes lengthy and was restored in 2010 after 150 years. The second coated bridge in Cecil County is Foxcatcher Farms, inbuilt 1860. Little Gunpowder Falls is the place you may discover the Jericho Coated Bridge in Kingsville in Baltimore County. Individuals consider the bridge is haunted as we speak primarily based on legends from the Civil Warfare period.

Seeking to develop your creative talent set? Glen Echo Park (positioned close to Bethesda and eight miles northwest of Washington, D.C.) affords a variety of hands-on lessons from glassblowing and pottery to puppetry, drawing and dance. Should you’re not fairly trying to get your arms soiled, the cultural heart additionally affords artwork galleries, performances, dances and a carousel for the youngsters (and younger at coronary heart). A supporter of arts of all types, Glen Echo hosts 13 resident artists and organizations in addition to a nature and aquatic life program. There may be all the time one thing taking place, whether or not it is a folklore competition or out of doors market.

Handle: 7300 Macarthur Blvd., Glen Echo, MD 20812