FAMILY FUN FAMILY FUN TIME Family-Friendly Museums The Maryland Science Center offers a mind-blowing look through the eye of the Hubble Space Telescope and features massive dinosaur skeletons. There’s even a simulated dino-dig so you can feel what it’s like to be a paleontologist. Port Discovery Children’s Museum is like a world unto itself with a fabulous water room, KidWorks, an enormous four-story jungle gym, a toddler room for tykes two and under, and even a kid-scale diner. Kid conductors and would-be firefighters will love the trains at the B&O Railroad Museum and The Fire Museum of Maryland. Camping & Outdoor Adventures Looking to ease into the outdoors? Start with a weekend at Yogi Bear’s Jellystone Park in Hagerstown. Cabins have screened porches and all the essentials of home, and the park’s 30 ✥ VISITMARYLAND.ORG | 1-877-333-4455 organized activities for the wee ones will let mom and dad get some down time. Looking to get a little closer to nature? Gunpowder State Park offers kid-friendly (flat!) hiking. Reserve a cabin at New Germany State Park and create a one-of-a-kind memory. Drop a line in Lake Habeeb at Rocky Gap State Park or at Cambridge’s Bill Burton Fishing Pier State Park just a few feet from Route 50, or pitch a tent at Assateague State Park where the sounds of crashing waves and the whinnies of the island’s famous wild beach horses will thrill children of all ages. Deep Creek Lake has great freshwater swimming beaches, as do the swimming holes at the Beaver Dam Swim Club and Cascade Lake. On the bay, North Point State Park, Hammerman Beach, Sandy Point and the aptly named Chesapeake Beach offer sand, sun and plenty of fun. Oh, and did we mention Ocean City? Between the emerald Atlantic Ocean and the iconic boardwalk lies a stretch of white sandy beach absolutely perfect for castle construction. Finally, after all that family fun, you deserve a reward, so head out on the awesome Ice Cream Trail. Fill up your passport by hitting all eight cow-to-cone creameries. If there was ever a good reason to get the family into the car, it’s knowing when they get out, there’s going to be ice cream. ✥ Beach Bonanza PHOTOS: ROBIN SHOTOLOA FOR THE MARYLAND SCIENCE CENTER; TERRAPIN ADVENTURES; MARYLAND DEPARTMENT OF NATURAL RESOURCES And don’t miss Baltimore’s National Aquarium: with dolphins, sharks and an immersive coral reef, this stunning facility at the Inner Harbor welcomes visitors to a world of water. Clockwise from Left to Right: Dino-Dig at The Maryland Science Center, Baltimore; Terrapin Adventures, Savage Mill; Hiking in Deep Creek Lake State Park; Canoeing on Deep Creek Lake
Maryland Official Visitors Guide 2017: Page 30
