SIX New Weekend Trips to Adventure to from Baltimore, MD
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I've had so many people ask me how I travel so much in the past few years, especially during COVID-19. While it was never easy, it was definitely a priority of mine to go outside for my mental health. During this time, we learned how to travel weekend warrior style and go on shorter trips within a few hours from us in Baltimore, MD. So, I wanted to share with you six weekend trips from Baltimore, Maryland. Let's get into it!
Below are past trips I have taken via car from Baltimore, MD over the years. Please do your research to make sure rules or regulations still apply today. While there are plenty more options depending on your travel preference, my goal was to capture a variety of places for you to choose from with hikes, city life, adventuring, and other options for your interests. Some you should do in a weekend, some a long weekend, so take this with a grain of salt as well as your travel experience. With that, let's do it!
CATSKILLS MOUNTAINS, NY
WHERE WE STAYED : Getaway House Cabins
HOW LONG : Friday - Sunday
TIME OF YEAR : Fall / October
TIME OF TRANSPORTATION : 5 hours
ININERARY
On the first day, we got there pretty early and walked around the nostalgic town of Catskill. It's very small but has nice coffeeshops, bookstores, antiques and record stores so there's plenty to walk around and see. We went in the fall but it ended up being a warm sunny day. From town we headed to our cabins. We chose the East side site since that is where the town is and where Kaaterskill Falls is close to. The west side seemed to have other cool waterfalls and more hikes with swimming holes, but Kaaterskill is the popular one in town. We went pretty early Saturday, and since it was still the beginning of autumn we were pretty alone. We hung out at the cabin that afternoon, cooked some dinner and walked around the campsite.
After the hike to Kaaterskill Falls early Saturday, we stopped at a grocery story then we hung out by the campsite again to make a nice big breakfast. After a few hours of digesting, we then decided to go over to North-South Lake. It was a very sunny day for fall weather so we just hung out by the water and ate some snacks.
The last night we played some card games, made burgers, and hung out by the fire.
WHAT TO BRING (if you are staying in Catskill Getaway House)
Clothing necessary for the weather. Check out my blog on how to pack a gear list for any trip!
Food
Toiletry / Overnight staples
You can check out The Getaway House website here to see what they recommend to bring. They had all kitchen and toiletry items like generic shampoo & conditioner, pots and pans, toilet paper, towels etc. which is super helpful!
** NOT MY PHOTO
ASSATEAGUE ISLAND PARK, MD
WHERE WE STAYED : Assateague Island National Seashore Campgrounds
HOW LONG : Friday - Sunday
TIME OF YEAR : May-October
TIME OF TRANSPORTATION : 2 hours 45 minutes
INFORMATION
This location is more laidback in terms of adventure, and perfect if you just want a mini beach vacation, camping style. This is one of our favorite places to visit when it get's warmer out, although it books out quick!
At Assateague they also have day passes, RV spots, camper vans and cabins accessible! You can book at their website here. It used to be two-night minimum but recently I was able to book for one night. Try to be flexible when booking and keep looking at different dates. For tent camping, spots are roughly $30 a night.
Booking each season is from March 15th until November 15th. Booking for sites open six months in advance, but they book up as soon as they become available. I've been able to snag a Friday-Saturday pretty easily though last minute. The weekends are much harder, of course. Make sure to get an ocean drive-in spot. These are great options since you can just drive right up to your spot, set up camp and walk a few steps to the beach!
Be mindful, as well, this is sand you are camping on and not dirt, so bringing reliable sand tent stakes are a must. These stakes are a great option.
You can find out so much more information on what to expect, to do's and not to do's and more on the National Park website here! Please be kind and respect the wild horses. We are on THEIR home grounds, so keep your distance and admire from afar.
POCONO MOUNTAINS, PA
WHERE WE STAYED : AirBnb in Cresco, PA
HOW LONG : Friday - Sunday
TIME OF YEAR : January
TIME OF TRANSPORTATION : 3 hours
INFORMATION / ITINERARY
I decided to stay near Camelback Ski Resort since that's what I knew! So, growing up my family and I would visit here once a year and stay in an A-frame. I decided to venture there this year since we didn't have a yearly trip planned, and I had to get in some snowboard time ASAP. This is were I learned to snowboard after all! Now while it definitely isn't west coast conditions, it is still a fun weekend trip to take on a budget.
Since we were coming from the south, we stopped early Friday morning at Blue Mountain Resort. It's a smaller resort but perfect for an early Friday morning trip with less crowds. There's about six different ski resorts around the Pocono Mountains, so do your research before booking your accommodation.
We headed over at lunch time to Blue Mountain Drive in to get a bit more affordable food, since ski resorts hike up prices! Then we finished the drive up to Cresco area, checked in our Airbnb and headed into the hot tub and sauna.
I don't drink so you know your girl had some delicious Liquid Death and Celsius on deck!
For day two, Saturday, we headed to a nearby hike to start the morning. So, per usual, I made a mistake. If you know me this happens at least once per adventure. We planned to drive about 40 minutes to the very popular Bushkill falls trail, but it's closed in the winter months. Do you research before heading over! So instead we started the day but doing the Mount Wismer Loop listed on AllTrails, which was a very close drive from our airbnb. This has a cool viewpoint of the nearby lake. If you really want a challenge, go up the red trail.. HA. I wasn't the smartest and wore snow Vans up a steep and slippery mountainside. But we made it and the view was great! We went down the blue trail which was way easier.
From here we headed back and stopped at a local grocery store to grab snacks and dinner. We stuck with a typical pizza, since there wasn't too much to offer at this little ma and pa store. There are plenty of takeout options as well.
Our next adventure was driving 40 minutes to Hornbecks Creek Trail. We realized that most waterfall hikes were typically about 40 minutes away no matter what, ha! But luckily this waterfall trail was open in January. It was technically apart of Bushkill, too! This waterfall is pictured above. This hike was 3.7miles round trip, with pretty moderate terrain. I am not a huge avid hiker, but I found this pretty easy!
That afternoon we hung around the airbnb and relaxed before heading out the next day!
LAKE SHERWOOD, WV
WHERE WE STAYED : Campsite at Lake Sherwood
HOW LONG : Friday - Sunday
TIME OF YEAR : Spring, Summer
TIME OF TRANSPORTATION : 5 hours
INFORMATION / ITINERARY
This trip we would meet our friend from North Carolina here since it was about half way between us, and it was a really fun trip. You can camp right on the lake with some pretty sweet sunrise and sunset views. To book your site, go to their recreation site here. There you can also find more information about the area. We would spend the day renting a kayak or John boat and taking that for a spin around the lake to explore. There is also a lake trail loop hike that takes you around the whole lake for about 3.7 miles. Generally an easy hike since it's flat. There's also a nearby beach at the entry for people to come sun bath and go for a swim. We typically went in June so it was super nice and refreshing in the water!
Another option, which is way closer, is visiting Blackwater Falls State Park. Now, you might not think of West Virginia as a cool place to visit, but when it comes to variety in outdoor activity, WV is a great spot. Blackwater Falls State Park is roughly 3 hours and 30 minutes from Baltimore and has so many waterfalls and hikes. Blackwater falls and Albert falls are on my list to visit, as well as Pendleton Point Overlook for sunrise.
WATKINS GLEN, NY
WHERE WE STAYED : Lunas Loft Airbnb in Horseheads
HOW LONG : Thursday - Sunday
TIME OF YEAR : Fall
TIME OF TRANSPORTATION : 4 hours 30 minutes
INFORMATION / ITINERARY
So I actually went on this trip as a bachelorette weekend for my good friend! It was such a fun trip. The goal was to hit the waterfall hikes one day and then explore wineries and breweries the next.
On Friday, we headed to Watkins Glen State Park nice and early. This trail was one of my top five favorite hikes, so no wonder why it was so popular. It was pretty busy for it being a Friday morning. This trail has over 19 waterfalls! We started at the main entrance and walked the gorge trail until we got to the mile point bridge, then turned around. Seriously.. every step was a magical view!
That afternoon we spent the evening walking around downtown Watkins glen and grabbed some pizza at a local bar. They had plenty of food stops, a nice view of the lake, and cute stores to pop into.
The next day we drove up and down NY-414 on Seneca Lake (one of the Finger Lakes) and stopped at a few wineries and ended with a brewery. Even if you don't drink, the views are so pretty and plenty have mocktail options!
There was also a really cool waterfall called Hector Falls we passed if you are interested in checking that out!
We ended our trip hanging out at our place and going for a dip in the hot tub next to the fire.
HOCKING HILLS, OH
WHERE WE STAYED : Visiting friends in Columbus, Ohio
HOW LONG : Wednesday - Sunday
TIME OF YEAR : Fall
TIME OF TRANSPORTATION : 6 hours 30 minutes
INFORMATION / ITINERARY
This trip we joined some friends who live in Columbus Ohio and they showed us this state park! Only about an hour or so from Columbus, this area has a variety of natural areas. You can camp, rock climb, hike, swim and more! The two hikes we did are Old Mans Cave Upper Falls (first photo in this blog!) and Rockhouse Cave. We got a taste of cave features and waterfalls.
In Columbus we hopped around Downtown, University District and Victorian Village. There's so many delicious vegan places and antique shops like Dirty Franks and The Brass Hand!
If you are up for the long trip, definitely worth spending a few nights there.
I hope you enjoyed my six weekend warrior trips from Baltimore, Maryland! Truly you can take these trips from many locations around here, and there are so many more out there. I wanted to write this to give you a more palpable list to start from, then grow from there. Start with the easier trip, then the next, and the next, and before you know it you'll be taking a weekend trip to Iceland like we did here! Also, my goal was to share adventures that weren't your typical Ocean City trip or Deep Creek. Which are still fun places, of course.
As always, let me know if you took any of these trips and how they went, or if you want to know more weekend trips you can do on the east coast around Maryland.
