Exploring Maryland’s Iconic Casselman Bridge State Park

“We build too many walls and not enough bridges.” — Isaac Newton Like Thomas Shoals Lighthouse outside of Annapolis, the Cassalman Bridge in western Maryland is an iconic Maryland image. Casselman Bridge once carried the National Road across Casselman River in Garrett County. It remains one of Maryland’s most picturesque places, instantly Facebook and Instagram […]

Maryland’s Best Kept Secret: A Cozy Cabin Hideaway at New Germany State Park

We just discovered Maryland’s “best kept secret,” renting a cabin at New Germany State Park.  Nestled between Big Savage Mountain and the Eastern Continental Divide, New Germany State Park offers 10 miles of hiking, a lake to swim or kayak on, and of course, 12 cabins.  This was our first stay at a state park […]

Maryland’s Beauty Spots — A Driving Tour to Green Ridge State Forest’s Scenic Overlooks

Come on a journey to seven of Maryland’s beauty spots, during a scenic drive that will take you through the country roads and byways of the Green Ridge State Forest, past forgotten family cemeteries and to some of the prettiest spots in western Maryland. Plan on at least three hours for this 44-mile scenic drive […]

Murder Mystery Aboard the Western Maryland Scenic Railroad

It was a dinner and the “Late, Late, Late Show” while riding our favorite scenic railroad through the mountains of Western Maryland, filled with comedic improvisation and interactive murder mystery fun! The conductor welcomes us aboard. We were seated at our table in one of the two “heritage” dining cars for the evening’s journey. The performance […]

Hiking Greenbriar State Park — Big Red and Rock Oak Fire Trails

Greenbrier State Park, just off  I-70, is another of Maryland’s lovely state parks, and offers public recreation on South Mountain, just 3 miles northeast of Boonsboro in Washington County. The state park offers camping, fishing, a boat ramp, hiking trails, and a 42-acre man-made lake with picnicking areas and a sand beach that is quite […]

C&O Canal: Paw Paw Tunnel to Lock 56

Our destination on this lovely, late summer Sunday morning was 20 miles of the C&O Canal between the Paw Paw Tunnel (mile marker 156.2) and Lock 56 (mile marker 136.2), which is the terminus of the Western Maryland Rail Trail, which we’ve biked several times. The Paw Paw Tunnel cuts 5 miles length off of […]

Western Maryland Rail Trail: West from Hancock

The Western Maryland Rail Trail (WMRT) still beckoned to us, even though we hadn’t liked the east-from-Hancock section of it very much (for that stretch, recommend sticking to the C&O Canal, which is further away from the highway and a little more pleasant, but read more about that here). The blurb about the western half […]

C&O Canal at Williamsport

Most of my blogs about the C&O Canal recently have been about biking the towpath — a great way to explore the canal, but sometimes you can see more if you slow down a bit and see it on foot. That’s what we did last Sunday. I hadn’t planned on going on a day trip […]

Biking Between Fort Frederick and Hancock: C&O Canal Towpath and Western Maryland Rail Trail

Our goal, that cold April Saturday, was to park at Fort Frederick State Park, ride up to Hancock on the C&O Canal towpath, grab lunch, ride back on the Western Maryland Rail Trail (WMRT), and then tour Fort Frederick. Check out last week’s post for the narrative about Fort Frederick.I’d read about the WMRT in […]