Maryland has a lot of beautiful scenes you can enjoy from the comfort of your car. With the pandemic keeping everyone inside, road trips are one of the few ways to travel safely. As long as you keep away from crowded places and follow cover protocols when using public restrooms, you can get out of the house without a worry.
There are so many great trips you can make inside Maryland that you don’t even need to leave the state. You can use this opportunity to see more of our beautiful state and even get some outdoor activities in. Instead of using hotels, you can camp out in the beautiful outdoors under the stars. So where can you go?
The Single Tank Trip
If you want to make a trip on a really tight budget, this is the road trip for you. This is a trip you can make along the eastern shore of Maryland. This is an excellent weekend trip you can make with friends without any planning. Since you’ll be traveling for only 154 miles, if you don’t spend too long at each spot, you can finish the trip in four or five hours.
This means you can make this trip on a rare day-off too. You start off at Oakland, which is a scenic railroad town. Next, you head to see the Youghiogheny River in Swallow Falls State Park before going to Deep Creek Lake. Ride the Mountain Coaster at Wisp Resort before moving to Dan’s Rock for some of the best views in Maryland. The second half of the trip covers Cumberland, Rocky Gap State Park, Sideling Hill, and Hancock. It ends in Williamsport, the perfect cozy town to finish the journey.
The Food Trip
Explore Maryland’s iconic foods from your car, starting with crab cakes and Berger cookies in Lexington market in Baltimore. Check out Thames Street Oyster there before moving to Tall Timbers to try the stuffed ham. Next, you head to Annapolis to try the steamed crabs in Cantler’s Riverside Inn and head to Ocean City for Thrasher’s fries.
You’ll also want to find Fisher’s Popcorn on the Boardwalk. End the trip at Smith Island Baking Company and their ten-layer cake at West Chesapeake Avenue Crisfield. This is a 353-mile trip, which takes approximately 8 hours. This could easily take two days, so make sure you schedule enough time to fit all that food in!
Naturally Wonderful Maryland
If you have time to take an extended vacation, this is the perfect trip for you. Spanning 647 miles, you start in Swallow Falls State Park and then go on to Dan’s Rock. Soak in the views and head to the Crystal Grottoes Caverns and Cunningham Falls State Park. They have a campground in the State Park if you need to stop for the night, or you can also head to Patapsco Valley State Park before pausing.
Next, spend the day hiking along the Billy Goat Trail close to Arlington before you head to the Calvert Cliffs State Park, which offers excellent hiking trails as well. Your next three stops are Calvert Cliffs State Park, Rocks State Park, and Elk Neck State Park. End your trip on the beach at Assateague State Park, where you might even catch a glance of wild horses along the coast!
The Two Best Vehicles To Do Road Trips In
Modified Vans
If you’re looking to make long road trips and have the flexibility to work remotely, you could consider modifying a van to fit a bed and heading out to explore the outdoors. This is a more permanent option if you’d like to start traveling more. This is an easy and cheap way to start going on extensive road trips without having to pay for accommodation. The initial investment could be a little high, but you should be able to manage with a bit of elbow grease.
Dodge Charger
If you’re thinking of upgrading your car and you make a lot of road trips, you can’t go wrong with a Dodge Charger. The inbuilt safety protocols are some of the best in class. So even if you’re in unfamiliar territory, you have the backup from all-speed traction, multistage airbags, and adaptive cruise control. You should be able to find a reliable Dodge Charger for sale near you if you do your research. Consider a used car if a new vehicle is not an investment option right now.