danny9948

My family (wife, mom and dad) are planning to visit my sister in Baltimore. 22nd - 29th May.

Any suggestions what areas of sightseeing we can visit? We are open to traveling/driving for about 4-5 hours ...

We like nature and nice greenery..

All suggestions are welcome..

zztopz

North of Frederick Maryland (which is about 45 minutes west of Balto.) are the Catoctin Mountains. There are 2 parks. One is run by the state and the other is Catoctin National Park. You can look it up at www.nps.gov You can drive past Camp David (which is where the President goes to "get-a-way" from it all) But I've heard that you shouldn't stop your car at the gates. You'll see barbed wire fences. They are extremely private there. It's a beautiful park.

soccerfm1

Check out Longwood Gardens http://www.longwoodgardens.org/ . The gardens and the property are beautiful. It was part of the Dupont property. This is about 1 1/2 hours from Baltimore. A very easy drive. Also the National Zoo in Washington DC or all of the Smithsonian is also a great place to spend the day. The suggestion in the prior post suggested Frederick but if you drive 2 hours further you can go to Deep Creek Lake which in far western MD but also is very beautiful with a few very nice State Parks nearby. In addition, Skyline Drive through VA is also a beautiful drive through the mountains.

Devonmcj

There are tons of places to go within 4-5 hours of Baltimore. One of the nicest things about Maryland is that we have such a diversity of geography, history, and activities available.

Zztopz and soccerfm1 gave you great suggestions. You might also want to take a look at the websites for the Maryland, Pennsylvania, Virginia, West Virginia, and Delaware State Parks to get some more ideas.

One of our favorite day trip destinations is Great Falls National Park on the Maryland side. The falls can be pretty awesome in the spring. The park offers a guided tour on a restored canal barge that will take you up through a few locks of the C&O Canal. You can take a leisurely stroll along the C&O, or a do a challenging hike on the Billy Goat trail.

BlueSwimmer

Or take a drive down to Annapolis to stroll around the colonial-era waterfront, visit some historic homes, have lunch.

Or keep going from Annapolis, over the Bay Bridge (for gorgeous sweeping views of the bay) and then either go up to Chestertown (very cute small town with a lovely wildlife reserve nearby) or south to St Michael's (another really cute little town).

Just don't attempt to cross the Bay Bridge eastbound on a Friday evening or Saturday daytime, or westbound on a Sunday, unless you have a lot of patience for sitting in traffic!

What about a day trip to Amish country in Pennsylvania?

Devonmcj

If you go to St Michaels, you can make reservations for a sailing tour on a Chesapeake Bay skipjack. Or you can drive from St Michaels to Bellevue and take the ferry that crosses the Tred-Avon River into Oxford. We like to get steamed crabs in Oxford.

Devonmcj

Also, Gettysburg, Antietam, Harpers Ferry, and Fort McHenry are all easy to reach from Baltimore (Ft McHenry is in Baltimore). A visit to any of those battlefields will make a great day trip.

danny9948

Looks like we are planning on visiting NY too...Where can I stay ? Any recommendations?