2020-12-17 04:01:04
Wending its way through idyllic Southern Maryland small towns, pristine waterways and forests, and remarkable history, the Religious Freedom Byway makes for a truly inspiring adventure. Experience the beginning of America’s story of religious tolerance along this nearly 200-mile route. ST. CLEMENT’S ISLAND & ST. MARY’S CITY When two tiny ships, the Ark and the Dove, left England to brave the wild waters of the North Atlantic, they carried 140 souls who brought with them the fragile hopes and fledgling ideals that would grow to become the root of religious tolerance in the Americas. On March 25, 1634, 142 years before the United States would declare its independence and become a new nation, they landed on St. Clement’s Island and founded the Maryland Colony with shaky prospects at best. Now their brave experiment, four centuries in the making, has grown into the mighty oak of American freedom. Along the Religious Freedom Byway, you’ll discover those stories and write new ones of your own. St. Clement’s Island is only accessible by boat, but the Water Taxi makes for an easier journey than the colonists faced on the Ark and Dove. The St. Clement’s Island Museum offers an incredible window into American history along with gorgeous sunsets to boot. The Water Taxi leaves from Colton’s Point, home of the annual Potomac Jazz & Seafood Festival in July, a weekend-long extravaganza that is truly one of the region’s great parties. For unique Maryland events, visit the island on Maryland Day, March 25, or in October for the annual Blessing of the Fleet, an age-old tradition that brings watermen and their working boats to the island for a touch of luck and divine intervention in the year’s harvest. Speaking of that harvest, those first Maryland settlers relied on the bounty of the bay, and that bounty is still on full display at the region’s amazing seafood destinations like Ruddy Duck Seafood on nearby St. George’s Island, serving classic Southern Maryland seafood and outrageously delicious Caribbean-style cocktails with a 360-degree view of the Potomac. Consider a stay on the island at Camp Merryelande with its waterfront cottages nestled between the beach and the island’s pine forest. Continue South as the first colonists did to Historic St. Mary’s City, Maryland’s original capital and home of St. Mary’s College of Maryland. The beautiful, walkable college campus gives way to the reconstructed Colonial village with living historians recreating the daily life of Colonial Maryland. Make a pilgrimage to Church Point, a narrow split reaching out into the river, just as venerated for its beauty as its history. Board the reconstructed tall ship the Dove and, in spring, search for the gorgeous but elusive “Valley of the Daffodils”—ask a local (they’re pretty friendly folk) and you’ll find it. Continue on to Point Lookout State Park. Once home to a Civil War prisoner camp, it’s also a great spot for fishing. Drop a line from the shore or find a local head boat charter for a great day on the bay. Nearby Leonardtown is home to St. Francis Xavier Church, founded as a mission in 1640 after the conversion of Piscataway King Chitomacon. First Fridays in summer are a great time to visit Leonardtown with free concerts, waterfront fun, and, of course, great wine at the award-winning Port of Leonardtown Winery. MALLOWS BAY & PORT TOBACCO Continuing north, paddlers will want to detour to the truly unique Mallows Bay-Potomac River National Marine Sanctuary. More than 100 WWI-era steamships rest here in the largest ship graveyard in the Western Hemisphere. Kayaking Mallows Bay is an unforgettable experience. And don’t miss Port Tobacco Village with remarkable history at every turn. Beautiful brick St. Ignatius Catholic Church, established in 1641, is the oldest Catholic church in the nation. Visit Mount Carmel Monastery, America’s first religious community for women, and the restored Port Tobacco Courthouse, now a museum. Find more things to do along the Religious Freedom Byway at: visitmaryland.org/scenic-byways/religious-freedom-tour
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