Thursday, December 12, 2024

Baltimore Festivals 2025



Baltimore Inner Harbor

Baltimore hosts several of Maryland's most popular festivals. The city is home to a number of venues, parks, and other facilities where enthusiasts can enjoy festivals.

Maryland officials recently announced the 2025 dates for Artscape, AFRAM, the Baltimore Caribbean Festival, and Charm City Live. 

“Starting in May, we will have not just one, but four spectacular events coming to Baltimore. Over the years Artscape, AFRAM, the Baltimore Caribbean Festival, and Charm City Live have become more than just fun for the whole family,” said Mayor Brandon M. Scott.

2025 Baltimore Festival dates:

Artscape will take place Memorial Day Weekend on Saturday, May 24, and Sunday, May 25, 2025. 

AFRAM will occur around the Juneteenth holiday on Saturday, June 21, and Sunday, June 22, 2025. 

The Baltimore Caribbean Festival will be held on Saturday, July 12, 2025, and Sunday, July 13, 2025. 

Charm City Live will be held on Saturday, September 20, 2025. 

More Information

Effective January 1, 2025, the City of Baltimore will be updating its public-facing special events calendar to help ease collaboration and planning efforts for events across Baltimore.

The updated calendar will include Non-Permit Dates so that external partners and the public can plan events around the availability of City services.


Saturday, May 11, 2024

Maryland Catfish Trail

blue catfish
Blue Catfish

The Maryland Office of Tourism Development recently announced the new Maryland Catfish Trail, a resource for conquering the invasive species challenge in the state's waterways.

Anglers can explore handpicked locations, including tributaries of the Chesapeake Bay, the Potomac River, Upper Bay, and Sassafras Rivers.

The Catfish Trail includes public access points, charters, and guides, and other aids to help anglers successfully target and catch invasive blue catfish.

The site also connects enthusiasts to restaurants and chefs statewide who are serving up responsibly sourced blue catfish cuisine. Restaurants and chefs across Maryland are creating inventive dishes featuring local blue catfish.

Anglers will find more about catching the invasive blue catfish on the Maryland DNR website, and the Fish and Hunt Maryland website. 

Tuesday, December 12, 2023

2024 Maryland First Day Hikes

The Maryland Department of Natural Resources (DNR) recently released an invitation to the public to participate in the 2024 Maryland First Day Hike.

Maryland State Parks will be offering First Weekend hike opportunities across the state from December 31, 2023 – January 2, 2024.

First Day Hikes are part of a nationwide initiative led by America’s State Parks that encourages all 50 states to offer outdoor hiking opportunities to kick off the year.

For 2024, Maryland State Parks will offer more than 60 hikes across 40 state parks. As in previous years, there are two types of hikes available:

Ranger-led hikes: These hikes are accompanied and include interpretation by one or more Park Rangers, have specific start times, and often require advance registration. 

Self-guided hikes: These hikes will be available throughout the weekend, on well marked trails. Park staff and volunteers may be available to help hikers get started but will not join them on the trail.

With nearly 50 ranger-led hikes and 15 self-guided hike options through the weekend, there is a wide variety of outdoor adventures and experiences for every level of hiker and walker throughout Maryland. 

2024 First Day Hike Highlights:


In Western Maryland, hikers can join a ranger-led First Day “Fitness Hike” at Rocky Gap State Park, for those looking to break a sweat to kick off the New Year, a ranger-led guided “First Day Hike through History” at South Mountain Battlefield State Park, and a  “Little Naturalist First Day Hike”, an easy 1-mile hike for children and their families, at New Germany State Park. 

In Central Maryland, the Torrey C. Brown Rail Trail will offer bicyclists a guided “First Day Bike” ride; hikers have a choice of either an early morning First Day Sunrise Hike or First Day Sunset Hike at North Point State Park, and a “Last Day Hike” or “Kids Countdown Hike” on New Year’s Eve at Patapsco Valley State Park. 

In Southern Maryland, hikers can bring their four-legged friends on a “Trails and Tails” ranger-led First Day Hike at Calvert Cliffs State Park, join the guided “Where One Goes Pleasantly” First Day Hike along Mattawoman Creek at Smallwood State Park; or kick off the year with a “First Day the Rosaryville Way” hike at Rosaryville State Park.

On Maryland’s Eastern Shore, hikers can bring their binoculars for a guided “First Day Bird Walk” or bring their own horse for a “New Year’s Day Ride” at Tuckahoe State Park, a “First Sunset Hike” at Janes Island State Park, a “First Day Family Hike” along the beach at Assateague State Park. “I Hiked” stickers will be available at select locations while supplies last. 

In addition to scheduled hikes, all Maryland’s state parks, state forests, and wildlife management areas will be open to all. Hikers should check the DNR website for information about public lands near them.

After taking part in a First Day Hike or visiting a state park, hikers are asked to complete an online survey to track their hikes and how many miles they covered.​ 

source: Maryland Department of Natural Resources

**2024 UPDATE**

A total of 4,248 people hiked about 10,691 miles during First Day Hikes in 40 different Maryland state parks on New Year’s weekend, according to Maryland Department of Natural Resources (DNR). 

Between Dec. 31, 2023 and Jan. 1, 2024, park rangers led 47 scheduled hikes and other programs with an additional 15 self-guided opportunities that were available on state public lands across Maryland.

Related Information

Things To Do in Maryland

Economic Impacts of Maryland State Parks

Wednesday, June 22, 2022

Places To Visit in Baltimore Maryland

baltimore maryland
Downtown Baltimore
Baltimore, Maryland is a historic port city with a vibrant culture and lots of places to see. Attractions and experiences around Baltimore include museums, tall ships and other vessels, boat cruises, art exhibits, food and drink, festivals, and much more. 

Educational and historical exhibits can be found at the Baltimore Aquarium, Maryland Science Center, World Trade Center of Baltimore, Fort McHenry, Maryland Science Center, National Great Blacks In Wax Museum, Reginald F. Lewis Museum of Maryland African American History, B&O Railroad Museum, tall ships, and others.

Named after Lord Baltimore in the Irish House of Lords, the city has a flourishing population of more than 650,000. Spanning over an area of 80.8 square miles, the city is a perfect mixture of the old with the new.

Many of the ethnic neighborhoods have been restored into modern shopping and dining locales but they still retain the old character.

Inner Harbor

Baltimore Inner Harbor
Baltimore Inner Harbor
Baltimore's world-renowned Inner Harbor is surrounded by historic neighborhoods where you will find city living at its best with unique shops and restaurants for every style and taste.

Baltimore enjoys a vibrant arts scene and embraces its history and influence on American culture.

At the top of the list of places to visit is the Inner harbor. Views of the waterfront are informative and inspiring.

The docks and streets surrounding the inner harbor include a mix of homes, hotels, museums, restaurants, shops, promenade, public spaces, and entertainment venues.

The Inner harbor is home to the Harborplace, an entertainment center and the National Aquarium, one of the largest aquariums in the world. Port Discovery Children's Museum, and the World Trade Center of Baltimore are also located around the basin.

Baltimore Tall Ships

Pride of Baltimore II
Pride of Baltimore II
The Pride of Baltimore II is one of America's most famous tall ships. The ship was commissioned in 1988 as a sailing memorial to her immediate predecessor.

The original Pride of Baltimore sank during a violent storm off Puerto Rico in 1986, taking her captain and three crew members down with her.

Both ships were built as reproductions of 1812-era topsail schooners. The Pride of Baltimore II has sailed nearly 200,000 miles, making port in 40 countries around the world.


Lifestyle

Baltimore Harbor Connector water taxi boat
Baltimore Harbor Connector
Baltimore does not experience the extremes of weather change that occur in other parts of USA. The weather is relatively mild and the best time to be here is from April to November.

The city is well connected by road, air, and sea. Washington DC is located about one hour south on Route 95. Baltimore Washington International Airport (BWI) is only a half-hour drive south of downtown.

Moving inside the city is easy and loads of options like light rail system are available. The Harbor Connector water taxi boats are a unique and interesting option for exploring the harbor area. It is a nice way to get around during the warmer months, and offers unique views of the Baltimore skyline.

Baltimore is also known as "Charm City" and other nicknames.


Baltimore Seafood

steamed maryland blue crabs
Baltimore is famous for its outstanding seafood. From the nearby Chesapeake Bay come blue crabs, oysters, striped bass, and other delicacies.
Other Maryland seafood comes the Atlantic coast, including sea scallops, lobsters, sea bass, and other fish.

A few of the most popular dishes include steamed crabs, crabcakes, oysters on the half shell, single fried oysters, fish and chips, and others.

Landmarks

Baltimore is home to scores of iconic landmarks. The city is known for its architecture and historic buildings. A few examples of unique and unusual landmarks include the Curtis Creek Ship Graveyard, Hanover Street Bridge, and many others.

Baltimore Places to Visit - Attractions

Baltimore Inner Harbor (baltimore.org)

Orioles Baseball (baltimore.orioles.mlb.com)

Ravens Football (www.baltimoreravens.com)

Merriweather Post Pavilion (www.merriweathermusic.com)

National Aquarium (www.aqua.org)

Baltimore Zoo (www.marylandzoo.org)

B&O Railroad Museum (www.borail.org)

Maryland Science Center (www.mdsci.org)