Beach Bonanza Deep Creek Lake has great freshwater swimming beaches, as do the swimming holes at the Beaver Dam Swim Club in Cockeysville and Cascade Lake in Hampstead. 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. Opposite page: National Aquarium, Baltimore; Left to Right: SUPERMAN hypercoaster at Six Flags America, Upper Marlboro; Scottish Highland Creamery, Oxford Top Places for Tiny Tarzans and Junior Janes Go Out and Play Tighten those family ties at Upward Enterprises in Frederick and Go Ape in Sandy Spring—both are world-class zip line courses. Or try the Flying Squirrel Canopy Tour and the Chipmunk Challenge Course at Wisp Resort and Terrapin Adventures in Savage Mill. Family-Friendly Museums The Maryland Science Center in Baltimore offers a mind-blowing look through the eye of the Hubble Space Telescope and features massive dinosaur skeletons. There’s even a dino-dig so you can feel what it’s like to be a paleontologist. Also in Baltimore, 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 displays at The Fire Museum of Maryland. 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 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 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 where the locals may offer advice on how to catch “the big one,” 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. Finally, after all that family fun, you deserve a reward, so head out on the awesome Ice Cream Trail. Fill up your Trail passport, available to download at marylandsbest.net, by hitting all nine 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. ✥ High-Flying Fun If you’re feeling the need for speed, Maryland is your top gun vacation destination. PHOTO: SIX FLAGS AMERICA; MARK SANDLIN; TIM ERVIN, NPS VOLUNTEER In 2018, see the U.S. Navy’s Blue Angels over Annapolis May 23-25 and at Pax River Air Expo June 2-3. See if you’ve got “the right stuff” flying an actual F-14 Tomcat simulator at Patuxent River Naval Air Museum in St. Mary’s. The U.S. Air Force Thunderbirds will be pushing the envelope at the Ocean City Air Show June 16-17 and searing the skies over Fort McHenry for Maryland Fleet Week & Air Show Baltimore October 3-8. View from the Ocean City boardwalk and other Eastern Shore vantage points, when rockets launch from NASA’s facility at Wallops Island. Explore the first 50 years of flight at the College Park and Hagerstown Aviation Museums. Experience the dawn of the jet-age at Baltimore County’s Glenn L. Martin Maryland Aviation Museum. Or slip into a kid-sized space suit at NASA’s Goddard Visitor Center in Greenbelt. Top it all off with a breathtaking helicopter tour of Baltimore’s soaring skyline or the historic streets of Annapolis aboard one of Charm City Helicopters’ luxury choppers. Air show over Fort McHenry DESTINATION MARYLAND ✥ 25
Maryland Official Visitors Guide 2018 Maryland Official Visitors Guide: Page 25
