Looking for kid-friendly adventures for the summer? Below is MidAtlanticDayTrips’ curated kid-friendly daytrip destinations for Summer 2019, pulling from places I’ve visited in Maryland, Virginia, Delaware, Pennsylvania, and Washington DC! Although there are some “obvious” destinations — the National Zoo comes to mind — I’ve looked for lesser known daytrips, such as the living history […]
kid-friendly
PVSP: Hiking the Cascade Falls Trail
Newt enjoyed playing in the stream. A beautiful June Sunday brought us out to a Maryland state park for an afternoon of hiking and exploring the Cascade Falls Trail, which is just a few miles away from my home in the Orange Grove Area of the Patapsco Valley State Park. In the heart of suburban […]
Invitation to Advocacy at the Pearl S Buck Historic House
Pearl S. Buck was a Pulitzer and Nobel Award-winning American author, a humanitarian, and an activist. You may not have read her novels — knowledge of her is fading with the years — but you’ll probably recognize the names of at least one of her works: The Good Earth. Drawing on her childhood spent […]
9 Great Hikes for Kids
The MidAtlantic states region offers numerous opportunities for hiking that will intrigue your kids without destroying their will to ever step into a forest again. The point of these daytrips is to have fun (actually, the point of ALL daytrips is to have fun!). Before you head out, though, a little preparation can go a […]
Cape Henlopen State Park
Cape Henlopen State Park offers lovely stretches of beaches, perfect for whiling away the afternoon or weekend! But if you’re like me, you start to get a bit restless after a bit, just sitting on the beach. That’s why Cape Henlopen State Park is such a great park to visit. There are bike trails, hiking […]
Face the Music at Martin Guitar Factory Tour
I love factory tours. It is interesting seeing things go from nothing to something, and the factory tour at C.F. Martin & Co. Guitars didn’t disappoint. What I didn’t realize was what a rich history the company has and how much of the process still is hand done. At this station, the wood is “candled” […]
Jamestown Settlement
Jamestown Settlement is a living history museum operated by the Commonwealth of Virginia. If you’re looking for a way to introduce kids to American history, start here. There’s plenty to see, and the history lessons are snuck in, presented in a variety of different ways, so there’s little chance anyone will get bored. It’s great […]
Westmoreland American Art Museum
I love going to art museums, but I especially love going to small, cozy art museums, such as the Westmoreland American Art Museum, located in Greensburg, PA. Jake (Prodigal Son), 2018, Paige Tibbe, oil on board. The Westmoreland Museum of American Art is a delightful art museum devoted to American art, with a particular concentration […]
Loggers Trail Hike Offers Surprises in Oregon Ridge Park
A former ore pit quarry, now covered by vegetation. Oregon Ridge Park is a 1,043-acre park in Cockeysville, Maryland. The park features walking and hiking trails, nature center, picnic and recreation areas. The Loggers Trail is a 2-mile loop trail around the park that takes you past some of the It’s an easy hike, although […]
9 Great Daytrips for the Under-6 Crowd
If you’re looking for some great daytrip destinations to start your younger kids on a lifetime road to discovery, consider exploring the nine great suggestions below. From living history museums that recreate George Washington’s childhood home to a sail on the Chesapeake Bay in a replica of an historic fishing boat, there’s so much to […]
Ferry Farm: A Living History Museum That’s Great for Kids
“I cannot tell a lie. I chopped down the cherry tree,” George Washington said as a kid, according to Parson Weems, the author of some of the best known stories about Washington’s childhood. Whether he actually chopped the tree down is debatable. But if it HAD happened, it would have happened at Ferry Farm, where […]
Government Island and the Capitol Quarries
Famous for the quarry from which the stones used to build the U.S. Government’s most famous buildings were sourced, Government Island is now a county park with a lovely, history-filled under 2-mile hike that you really shouldn’t miss. Although its referred to as Government Island, the park is really a peninsula. I love a great […]
Fabulous Fort Ligonier
Fort Ligonier is a French and Indian War-era British fortification that served as a staging area and a post of passage for fortifications further west, such as Fort Pitt. Native American and French forces attacked the fort just once during the French and Indian War. In the Battle of Fort Ligonier, also known as the […]
Picnicking on Bickle Knob
We stumbled across Bear Heaven Recreation Area on one of our ramblings in West Virginia. We had gotten into the habit of just driving down a forest service road, or turning down a random rural road just to see where it would take us. Somehow, we ended up northeast of Elkins on a dirt road […]
Newport News’ Celebration of Lights
Celebration in Lights is a two mile drive through holiday light displays in Newport News Park, featuring some creative and well done lights arrangements. Celebration in Lights, Virginia’s first drive-through holiday light event, opens for its 26th season. Newport News Park is transformed by over a million individual lights, creating animated holiday and fanciful scenes. […]