Central Maryland
This region of Maryland contains both its capital, Annapolis, and its most populous city, Baltimore.
Cities
- 🌍 Aberdeen
- 🌍 Annapolis
- 🌍 Baltimore
- 🌍 Baltimore County (excluding Baltimore itself) — Mostly the densely populated suburbs of Baltimore.
- 🌍 Bel Air
- 🌍 Columbia
- 🌍 Edgewood
- 🌍 Ellicott City
- 🌍 Glen Burnie
- 🌍 Hanover
- 🌍 Havre de Grace
- 🌍 Linthicum Heights
- 🌍 Savage
- 🌍 Severna Park
- 🌍 Sykesville - Downtown Sykesville has a restored African-American schoolhouse. The scenery is pristine. The B&O railroad museum has information on the history of the town and the railroad. The Patapsco river has beautiful scenery.
- 🌍 Westminster - features old homes, and McDaniel college and the Carroll County farm museum, which is dedicated to rural life in the 1800s.
Other destinations
Get in
By plane
Baltimore-Washington International Airport (BWI IATA) is a major point of entry to the region, with the Southwest Airlines hub providing a lot of cheap flights from all over the country.
By car
The big highway running north-south is I-95, which runs up from D.C., past BWI, through Baltimore, and then up the coast through all the major East Coast cities.
Other important routes include I-70, which goes into Baltimore from Western Maryland; I-83, which runs north from Baltimore to York, Pennsylvania; I-97 between Baltimore and Annapolis; and US-50, connecting Annapolis to D.C.
By train
Amtrak is the major operator on the East Coast, and the Northeast Corridor, which runs between D.C. and New York, crosses the region, with notable stops (from south to north) at New Carrollton, BWI Airport, Baltimore, and Aberdeen.
By light rail
The MARC trains provide a light rail service between D.C. and the Delaware border, passing through the same stations as Amtrak, but with a few more stops, and lower passenger fares.
See
Sights in Central Maryland are concentrated in Baltimore and Annapolis. The biggest attractions are likely the Inner Harbor and the National Aquarium, the Annapolis State Capitol building, the Naval Academy (also in Annapolis), and more generally the Chesapeake Bay. There are plenty of other interesting attractions off the beaten path, though, like the National Cryptologic Museum in Fort Meade.
Do
- Medieval Times — located in the Arundel Mills Mall complex
- Merriweather Post Pavilion — large outdoor concert venue located in Columbia
- Historic Ellicott City — shopping, antiques and restaurants in downtown Ellicot City
Community Events and Festivals
- Maryland Renaissance Festival
- Wine in the Woods — Located in Columbia at Symphony Woods, this annual event features wineries from across the state, live entertainment, food vendors, arts & crafts and live demonstrations on wines and food.
State Parks
- Gunpowder Falls State Park, 2813 Jerusalem Road, Kingsville, ☏ +1 410-592-2897.
- Susquehanna State Park, 4122 Wilkinson Road, Havre de Grace.
- Rocks State Park, 3318 Rocks Chrome Hill Road, Jarrettsville, ☏ +1 410-557-7994.
- Palmer State Park, 3209 Forge Hill Road, Street, ☏ +1 410-557-7994.
- Patapsco Valley State Park, 8020 Baltimore National Pike, Ellicott City, ☏ +1 410-461-5005.
Buy
- Arundel Mills Mall — outlet mall
- Historic Savage Mill — antique shopping
Stay safe
The most problematic city in this area is definitely Baltimore, but there are small steps one can take to reduce the chance of trouble.
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