Central Maryland

This region of Maryland contains both its capital, Annapolis, and its most populous city, Baltimore.

Cities

• 1 Aberdeen
• 2 Annapolis
• 3 Baltimore
  • 4 Baltimore County (excluding Baltimore itself) — Mostly the densely populated suburbs of Baltimore.
• 5 Bel Air
• 6 Columbia
• 7 Edgewood
• 8 Ellicott City
• 9 Glen Burnie
• 10 Hanover
• 11 Havre de Grace
• 12 Savage
• 13 Severna Park
• 14 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.
• 15 Westminster - features old homes, and McDaniel college and the Carroll County farm museum, which is dedicated to rural life in the 1800s.

Other destinations

• 1 Patapsco Valley State Park

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.

The MARC trains provide a commuter 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. (updated Feb 2024)

• Susquehanna State Park, 4122 Wilkinson Road, Havre de Grace. (updated Feb 2024)

• Rocks State Park, 3318 Rocks Chrome Hill Road, Jarrettsville, ☏ +1 410-557-7994. (updated Feb 2024)

• Palmer State Park, 3209 Forge Hill Road, Street, ☏ +1 410-557-7994. (updated Feb 2024)

• Patapsco Valley State Park, 8020 Baltimore National Pike, Ellicott City, ☏ +1 410-461-5005. (updated Feb 2024)

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.