Discover Maryland

Introduction

Maryland is a small Mid-Atlantic state built around the Chesapeake Bay, the largest estuary in the United States, which nearly bisects it into the Western Shore and Eastern Shore. It borders Pennsylvania, Delaware, Virginia and West Virginia, wraps around the U.S. capital on two sides, and packs the Appalachian mountains of the west, the bay's tidewater country and the Atlantic beaches of Ocean City Maryland into one of the nation's smallest states by area. Annapolis, on the bay, is the capital; Baltimore, its historic port, is the largest city. Nicknamed "America in Miniature" for that variety, Maryland was one of the original Thirteen Colonies, founded in 1634 by Cecil Calvert, 2nd Baron Baltimore, as a haven for English Catholics.

History runs deep here: the Battle of Baltimore in 1814, when the British bombardment of Fort McHenry inspired "The Star-Spangled Banner," and the Battle of Antietam in 1862, the bloodiest single day in American history. Harriet Tubman was born into slavery on Maryland's Eastern Shore and used it as a route on the Underground Railroad. The state gives the country the blue crab and the crab cake, Old Bay seasoning, and the Preakness Stakes, the second leg of horse racing's Triple Crown, run at Pimlico in Baltimore. Assateague Island's feral ponies, Deep Creek Lake in the western mountains, and the U.S. Naval Academy at Annapolis round out its range. This page covers Maryland as a whole; its seven city pages hold the detail.

Geography

12,407 square miles, the ninth-smallest state, split nearly in two by the Chesapeake Bay into a Western Shore and an Eastern Shore. Borders Pennsylvania, Delaware, Virginia and West Virginia, and wraps around the U.S. capital. Hoye Crest on Backbone Mountain, at 3,360 feet, is the highest point, in the Appalachian west; the bay itself runs about 200 miles from the Susquehanna River to the Atlantic.

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History

Algonquian peoples before European contact; the 1632 royal charter to the Calvert family and settlement in 1634 as a Catholic haven; the 1649 Act Concerning Religion; a slave-state economy built on tobacco; the Battle of Baltimore and "The Star-Spangled Banner" in 1814; the Battle of Antietam in 1862, the bloodiest day in American history; and Harriet Tubman's Eastern Shore roots and Underground Railroad work.

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Culture

A working Chesapeake Bay culture of watermen and crab houses; a divided Civil War legacy, a slave state that stayed loyal to the United States, giving the country both Harriet Tubman and "Maryland, My Maryland"; horse racing at the Preakness Stakes since 1873; and the nation's oldest railroad, the Baltimore & Ohio, tying the state to early American industry.

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Climate Patterns

A humid subtropical climate along the bay and coast, transitioning to cooler, more continental conditions in the Appalachian west. Summers are hot and humid, especially around Baltimore, the U.S. capital's corridor and the bay; winters are mild near the coast and colder and snowier in the mountains around Deep Creek Lake. Spring and fall are the most comfortable seasons statewide.

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Food & Traditional Cuisine

Blue crab and crab cakes above all, seasoned with Old Bay, the spice blend created in Baltimore in 1939. Steamed crabs by the bushel, oysters and rockfish from the Chesapeake, and Smith Island cake, Maryland's official state dessert, a towering many-layered cake from the bay's last car-free island.

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How many days do I need?

A long weekend covers Baltimore and Annapolis. A week allows time to add the Eastern Shore, Assateague Island, or western Maryland's mountains and battlefields.

Do I need a car?

Yes, for anywhere beyond Baltimore and Annapolis themselves. The Eastern Shore, Ocean City Maryland, Assateague Island and western Maryland have limited public transport.

What is Maryland known for?

The Chesapeake Bay, blue crabs and crab cakes, the U.S. Naval Academy at Annapolis, the Preakness Stakes, Fort McHenry and "The Star-Spangled Banner," and the Battle of Antietam.

When is the best time to visit?

April, May, September and October offer the mildest weather. July and August are hot and humid but peak season at Ocean City Maryland and Assateague's beaches.

How do I get to Assateague Island's ponies?

Drive to Assateague Island National Seashore, reachable by bridge from the gateway town near Ocean City Maryland; the Maryland herd lives within the National Seashore and is best viewed from a respectful distance, never fed.

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