Ocean City Boardwalk Rave-Review Experiences for Every Season Plan your next Maryland vacation around these top-reviewed places and events, from festivals where oysters are shucked at record speed to the only mountaintop recirculating white-water course in the world. Winter Maryland’s elevation swings from sea level to more than 3,300 feet, creating a winter season in which mountain towns and shoreline communities are both in play. Quiet trails, historical streets glittering with holiday finery and fewer crowds make this a great time to explore. With its twinkling harbor lights and crisp Chesapeake Bay air, Christmas in St. Michaels feels like stepping into a vintage postcard. The Candlelight Tour of Homes gives you a peek inside beautifully decorated 18th-century captains’ houses and waterfront estates. Shops along Talbot Street stock woodcrafted maps, handmade ornaments and luxury clothing perfect for gifting. The morning holiday parade rolls past brick storefronts dressed in evergreen, and in the evening, watermen ceremoniously haul Santa by boat. Head west to Wisp Resort in McHenry , where skiers praise the slopes as well as the off-mountain extras: night tubing under the lights, marshmallowy hot cocoa in the lodge and evenings chatting by the firepits. With resort events every month during the season, it’s easy to stretch your trip into a full week in the mountains. More on p. 86 For a quieter pace, Zigbone Farm Retreat in Sabillasville will warm you up with wellness weekends featuring yoga, art workshops and hearty farm-to-table meals. Cozy cabins built with reclaimed materials and powered in part by solar energy sit among mountainside pastures, where friendly goats and sheep roam. The farm’s seasonal retreat calendar makes it easy to return in spring or fall for hands-on novel-and poetry-writing classes. Wisp Resort 14 DESTINATION MARYLAND
Maryland Official Visitors Guide 2026 Maryland Official Visitors Guide: Page 14
