Maryland National Parks

The cultural and natural resources of Maryland national parks offer retreats from the stresses and fast pace of urban life. Its peaceful seashores allow visitors time to sit and relax while watching for wild horses and crashing waves. Take a drive down urban scenic parkways or a walk along historic canals. Continue your walk through history to learn about major events of the Civil War or to visit the birth site of this nation's anthem. 

Visit These Maryland National Parks:

Antietam National Battlefield: 23,000 soldiers were killed, wounded or missing after twelve hours of savage combat on September 17, 1862. The Battle of Antietam ended the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia's first invasion into the North and led to Abraham Lincoln’s issuance of the preliminary Emancipation Proclamation.

Antietam Weather

Appalachian National Scenic Trail: The People's Path, and America's First National Scenic Trail   "The body of the Trail is provided by the lands it traverses, and its soul is in the living stewardship of the volunteers and workers of the Appalachian Trail community."

Assateague Island National Seashore: Want to live on the edge? Visit a place recreated each day by ocean wind and waves. Life on Assateague Island has adapted to an existence on the move. Explore sandy beaches, salt marshes, maritime forests and coastal bays. Rest, relax, recreate and enjoy some time on the edge of the continent.

Assateague Weather

Baltimore-Washington Parkway: Enjoy the scenic entryway into our Nation's Capital. Opened in 1954, the parkway is a 29-mile scenic highway that connects Baltimore, Maryland with Washington, D.C. It is a part of four parkways that welcome visitors and integrate a design to convey to citizens the importance of the capital city. The NPS manages the parkway from the D.C. boundary to Fort Meade, Maryland.

Captain John Smith Chesapeake National Historic Trail: Imagine a world of deep, ancient forests, strong, proud people and water teeming with life. Such was the Chesapeake that Captain John Smith and his fellow travelers encountered on their journeys through this "goodly bay" and its rivers. Follow in the wake of Smith's journeys on the Captain John Smith Chesapeake National Historic Trail, America's first national water trail.

Catoctin Mountain Park: On Catoctin Mountain you can read the story of early industry and its effects on the land. It is written in old stone fences, logging roads, and the forest that now covers the land.

Catoctin Mountain Weather     Catoctin Ratings

Chesapeake & Ohio Canal National Historical Park: The Chesapeake and Ohio Canal began as a dream of passage to western wealth. It operated as a conduit of eastern coal, suffered extensive and finally fatal flooding, and then resisted being paved as a highway.

Chesapeake Bay Gateways Network: First thoughts of the Chesapeake Bay often bring up images of crabs and oysters. But, as the largest estuary in North America, the Chesapeake Bay has touched and influenced much of the American story - early settlement, commerce, the military, transportation, recreation and more.

Clara Barton National Historic Site: In an era when women rarely ventured outside the sphere of family and home, this shy woman rose from a middle-class background to the ranks of American heroes. Her journey is one of determination, bottomless compassion, and an ability to seize opportunities that came her way.

Clara Barton Weather     Clara Barton Ratings

Fort Foote Park: Fort Foote constructed on Rozier's Bluff to strengthen the ring of fortifications that encircled Washington, D.C. Fort Foote helped protect Washington, D.C. with the thunderous powerful guns of its time.

Fort Foote Weather

Fort McHenry National Monument and Historic Shrine: "O say can you see, by the dawn's early light," a large red, white and blue banner? “Whose broad stripes and bright stars . . . were so gallantly streaming!” over the star-shaped Fort McHenry during the Battle of Baltimore, September 13-14, 1814. The valiant defense of the fort by 1,000 dedicated Americans inspired Francis Scott Key to write “The Star-Spangled Banner.”

Fort McHenry Weather

Fort Washington Park: Fort Washington has  stood as silent sentry defending the Nation's Capital, for over 180 years.  As technologies advanced so did Fort Washington.  Fort Washington is one of the few remaining Seacoast Forts in its original designs.

Fort Washington Weather

George Washington Memorial Parkway: The US National Park Service built the Mount Vernon Trail in 1973 so visitors could better enjoy the diverse natural and historic areas along the Potomac River. Today, this foresight is appreciated by thousands who enjoy the trail for its many recreational opportunities. Please help us care for this park – for your pleasure and for future generations.

Netherlands Carillon: Near the U.S. Marine Corps War Memorial stands a large bell tower, the Netherlands Carillon. This was a gift "From the People of the Netherlands to the People of the United States" in gratitude for American aid during and after World War II. The carillon symbolizes and is dedicated to the friendship between two countries and their common allegiance to the principles of freedom, justice, and democracy.

George Washington Parkway Weather      George Washington Parkway Ratings

Glen Echo Park: Begun in 1891 as an idealistic attempt to create a National Chautauqua Assembly "to promote liberal and practical education", the park became instead the area's premier amusement park from 1898-1968. Today, the park has come full circle, offering year-round educational activities, while two amusement-era destinations (the Spanish Ballroom and Dentzel Carousel) remain major attractions.

Glen Echo Park Weather     Glen Echo Ratings

Greenbelt Park: Camp or hike and discover Greenbelt Park in 2008. Make plans to visit Washington, D.C. and stay at Greenbelt Park's campground for only $16. The Greenbelt campground is known for its safety, affordability, peaceful surroundings, National Park Service hospitality and is open all year round.

Greenbelt Park Weather

Hampton National Historic Site: Hampton is the story of people -- enslaved African Americans, indentured servants, industrial and agricultural workers, and owners. It is also the story of the economic and moral changes that made this kind of life obsolete. When it was finished in 1790, Hampton was the largest house in the United States. Set among beautifully landscaped grounds and gardens, it remains a showplace today.

Hampton Weather

Harmony Hall: A two-and-one-half story eighteenth century Georgian country house of red brick set in Flemish bond. Sixty five acres of wooded areas surround the house. Broad Creek, a tributary of the Potomac River, is part of Harmony Hall's vast and varied agricultural, cultural and natural histories.

Harmony Hall Weather

Harpers Ferry National Historical Park: A visit to this quaint, historic community, at the confluence of the Potomac and Shenandoah Rivers, is like stepping into the past. Stroll the picturesque streets, visit exhibits and museums, or hike our trails and battlefields.

Monocacy National Battlefield: In the summer of 1864, General Jubal Early led Confederate forces towards Washington, D.C. and threatened to capture the capital city. On July 9, Union troops under General Lew Wallace met Early's forces here at Monocacy. At the park visitors can experience stories of the past in a landscape that has changed little since the 19th century.

Monocacy Weather

Oxon Cove Park & Oxon Hill Farm: Why dream about helping on a farm? Come join the fun. Feel the skin of a cow and the warmth of her fresh milk. Listen to chickens clucking and goats bleating. Smell the sweet aroma of horses and hay.

Piscataway Park: Two hundred years ago, George Washington described Mount Vernon by saying, "No estate in the United America is more pleasantly situated than this."

Piscataway Park Weather

Potomac Heritage National Scenic Trail: Linking the Potomac and upper Ohio river basins from Chesapeake Bay and Potomac tidewater to the Allegheny Highlands, this national scenic trail network lets you retrace – by foot, bicycle, horse, or boat – the corridor George Washington explored as essential to U.S. national development.

Suitland Parkway: Welcome to National Capital Parks-East! We invite you to journey to parks Beyond the Capital of Washington, D.C.  National Capital Parks-East is 13 park sites, parkways and statuary covering more than 8,000 acres of historic, cultural, and recreational parklands from Capitol Hill to the nearby Maryland suburbs.

Thomas Stone National Historic Site: When Thomas Stone signed the Declaration of Independence he literally wrote himself into American history. Immerse yourself in revolutionary history. Visit the restored house and stroll the 322 acres of Haberdeventure, a "dwelling place in the winds". Purchased in 1770 by Thomas Stone, this restored plantation home has been open to the public as a National Historic Site since 1997.

Thomas Stone Weather