Maryland Activities with Kids

Adventure Park USA is the largest entertainment center for families in the state of Maryland. Open throughout the entire year, rain or shine, this massive indoor complex provides adults and kids alike with hours of fun, no matter what the weather may be outside. With a little bit of everything, ranging from the Hang ‘em high ropes course and the Rustler’s Ridge Rock Wall to West World laser tag to the Stampede Arcade, Adventure Park USA offers plenty of indoor fun.

As for outdoor entertainment, there’s the Wild Cat, the Wild West Express, the Sky-Coaster, miniature golf, and the Blazing Trail Go-Karts.

Adventure Park USA, 11113 West Baldwin Rd, Monrovia, MD 21770, Phone: 301-865-6800

The Babe Ruth Birthplace and Museum in Baltimore is home to several different exhibits focused on the life and career of the famous George Herman "Babe" Ruth, Baltimore native and the first sports celebrity in America. The “Ruthian Record: exhibit explores why Babe Ruth is one of the greatest baseball players of all time, including his record as a slugger, pitcher, and catcher. “Playing The Babe” highlights actors who have portrayed the “Great Bambino” on television and movies.

The “Babe: Husband, Father, Friend” exhibit focuses on the life of Babe Ruth and his relationships with his family and friends.

Babe Ruth Birthplace and Museum, 216 Emory St, Baltimore, MD 21230, Phone: 410-727-1539

The Baltimore and Ohio Railroad Museum in Maryland is home to the most comprehensive, most historic, and oldest American railroad collections anywhere in the world.

Dating back to the beginnings of the railroad in the United States, the museum collection includes historic buildings, rolling stock and locomotives, and small items that document how the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad impacted the development and growth of early railroading. The collection covers nearly every aspect of the railroad industry, and is representative of the first, last, and best of rolling stock and locomotives, as well as ones that are the only one of their kind left in existence.

Baltimore and Ohio Railroad Museum, 901 West Pratt St, Baltimore, MD 21223, Phone: 410-752-2490

The Baltimore Museum of Industry is located within the last surviving cannery in the city of Baltimore, Maryland, taking a proud look at the work world of “Charm City.”

This unique museum celebrates Baltimore’s industrial leadership during the 1800’s up through modern times through exhibits focusing on garment manufacturing, printing, canning, and seafood packing.

Visitors to the Baltimore Museum of Industry are welcome to explore antique delivery trucks, sit down at an antique desk with an old telephone, walk through the museum’s old-fashioned grocery store, and more. The metal shop displays artifacts in a timeline of Maryland’s industry history.

Baltimore Museum of Industry, 1415 Key Highway, Baltimore, MD 21230, Phone: 410-727-4808

The free to visit Bear Branch Nature Center in Westminster, Maryland has been a part of Carroll County for over twenty years, providing family-friendly and quality nature programs, a variety of outdoor activities, and festivals throughout the year.

The Bear Branch Nature Center consists of an observatory and planetarium, a bee hive for observation, a library; a Discovery Room designed for younger children with puppets, puzzles, and games; live animals, and educational hands-on exhibits.

Bear Branch Nature Center, 300 John Owings Rd, Westminster, MD 21158, Phone: 410-386-3580

Pirate Adventures on the Chesapeake is one of the most popular attractions for kids in the Washington, D.C. and Baltimore areas, and the state of Maryland in general. Pirate Adventures in Annapolis, Maryland is a destination for pirate dress up, sunken treasure, water cannons, face painting, and more. This family-friendly pirate cruise taps into the imagination of children, taking them on a real life adventure as they pretend to be pirates looking for sunken treasure. If you are planning a family vacation to Maryland from mid-April to October, Pirate Adventures is a great idea for a fun day on the water.

Pirate Adventures on the Chesapeake, 311 Third St, Annapolis, MD 21403, Phone: 410-263-0002

Now a preservation of the early transportation history of the United States, the C&O Canal first started as a dream for “passage to Western wealth.” The canal operated for almost one hundred years and served as a lifeline for the communities located along the region’s Potomac River as agricultural products, lumber, and coal floated to market down the waterway. The C&O Canal today continues as a path to discover recreational, natural, and historical treasures. Park Rangers guide boat rides and provide narration from the Visitor Center down the canal, pass historic buildings and through an 8-foot lift lock.

C&O Canal Boat Rides, 11710 MacArthur Blvd, Potomac, MD 20854, Phone: 301-767-3714

The Cabin John Regional Park provides something to do for nearly any sports lover. Located only minutes away from Washington, D.C., the park offers a wide variety of recreational activities, including ball games, indoor and outdoor tennis, Tai Chi, and ice skating year-round. Visitors can explore nature with several environmental nature programs, take a ride aboard the park’s model train, or simply spend an afternoon in the playground and picnic areas. The Adventure Playground is a particular favorite attraction in the Cabin John Regional Park for children. There are also biking and hiking trails and seven walk-in campgrounds available.

Cabin John Regional Park, 7400 Tuckerman Ln, Bethesda, MD 20817, Phone: 301-495-2595

The Calvert Marine Museum invites guests to explore how the maritime heritage, natural environment, and Prehistoric past come together to share the unique story of the area around Chesapeake Bay.

The Discovery Room contains fossils ranging from eight to twenty million years old that kids can search for. The touchscreen computer helps visitors identify their finds, and kids can even take fossils home. Children can also climb the Cove Point Lighthouse model to turn the light on or roleplay as the lighthouse keeper. Other exhibits include the boat shop, a touch tank, the Marsh Walk, and the Estuarine Biology Gallery.

Calvert Marine Museum, 14200 Solomons Island Rd, Solomons, MD 20688, Phone: 410-326-2042

The Catoctin Mountain Park offers an abundance of scenery, fly-fishing, camping, scenic drives, trails for hiking, historic buildings, wildflowers, and wildlife.

Visitors can also choose to spend the night in the park for even more fun inside one of the historic cabins of Camp Misty Mount. For the adventurous, Catoctin Mountain Park features more than twenty-five miles of hiking trails, traversing upper Maryland’s mountains. The diverse cultural resources found throughout the park provides a number of vignettes of the history of the country in a single location. Pets are allowed in outdoor areas as long as they are leashed.

Catoctin Mountain Park, 14707 Park Central Rd, Thurmont, MD 21788, Phone: 301-663-9388