It's a Leap Year! So, we've put together 29 things you can do in Allegany County, the Mountain Side of Maryland with your extra calendar day.
1. Read a book about Mountain Maryland
Visit one of Mountain Maryland’s independent bookstores to check out books about Mountain Maryland or by Mountain Maryland based authors. Check out our recommendations for you.
2. Go Thrifting and Antiquing
Our Mountain Maryland thrift and vintage stores are eager to help you experiment with styles and outfit your life with a unique flair. Check out some of our favorite places for vintage, antiques, and second-hand items.
3. Visit the NEW Coal Miners Memorial
The Coal Miners Memorial is a new immersive memorial honoring more than 700 miners who lost their lives in the region’s coal mines from 1838 to 2007. Located near the Frostburg Depot and Great Allegheny Switchback, you'll have the opportunity to explore the memorial during your 90-minute layover on the Western Maryland Scenic Railroad or on your way up to Frostburg from the Great Allegheny Passage.
4. Take a Hike
Take advantage of Mountain Maryland’s access to nearly 70,000 acres of public land for a remote walk-through nature to help you shed what no longer serves you and invite all the possibilities of the new year. Learn more about the Best Places for Winter Hikes.
5. Hop on a Bike
With access to two world-class trails, the Great Allegheny Passage and the C&O Canal Towpath, and ideal road riding conditions with low traffic, you will love the routes available here in Mountain Maryland. Routes will take you into rural areas that showcase the natural beauty of our region.
6. Escape Room
Check out the Exit Strategy Escape Rooms to look for clues, open locks, decipher messages, solve puzzles all while trying to complete your mission and beat the clock. Enjoy two different themed rooms - “The Untouchables” speakeasy theme and the “Through the Looking Glass” wonderland theme.
7. Explore the Tunnels of Emmanuel Episcopal Church
Explore the original tunnels of Fort Cumberland, located beneath Cumberland’s Emmanuel Episcopal Church, which were also rumored to be a means of transport on the Underground Railroad.
8. Hit the Coffee Donut Trail
Whether you're a fan of yeast-raised or cake donuts or traditional coffee blends to the more decadent, the Donut and Go - a Coffee and Donut Trail will provide you with the perfect morning combo of a sugar rush and sustained buzz as you venture out to explore the mountainside.
9. Lift Your Spirits on the Mountain Maryland Tap and Pour Tour
The Mountain Maryland Tap and Pour Tour features a wide range of wineries, breweries, distilleries, tasting rooms and taprooms where you can raise a glass and imbibe in your favorite spirit. Our trail system was also recently named one of the 'Best Spirit Trails' in the Blue Ridge by Blue Ridge Outdoors Magazine. Learn more.
10. Engage with History at the Crossroads of America Exhibit
Allegany Museum’s “Crossroads of America” exhibition traces the history of human movement through Cumberland and Allegany County. The museum’s newest exhibition space highlights the evolution of transportation from about 1750 to 1900. Space includes scale models of canal boats and trains, a fully restored 1825 Conestoga wagon, a Paleoindian hut, a model of Fort Cumberland, models of what George Washington looked like when he visited our area in the 1750s, and in 1794, and displays about the National Road, the C&O canal, and the railroads. The Allegany Museum was recently names #2 on USA Today's 10Best Small Town Museums in the US.
11. Visit George Washington’s Headquarters
Stop by Riverside Park in Cumberland, MD, to see George Washington’s Headquarters, used during his service in the French and Indian War and again, later, when he stopped here to gather troops to put down the Whiskey Rebellion.
12. Visit the National Road Monument
While you’re in Riverside Park, stop by the National Road Monument, which marks Mile “0,” or the beginning, of the National Road. The National Road was the first federally‐funded interstate built in the United States.
13. Explore the Historic Hotel Gunter’s Basement
Hotel Gunter is a historic hotel, built to house travelers on the National Road, in the heart of downtown Frostburg. Explore the basement floor, which features a replica coal mine, old railcar tracks used to bring coal from the mine to the basement boiler, a jail cell that housed convicts for traveling bounty hunters, and a speakeasy that operated during Prohibition.
14. Visit the Brownsville Monument
Visit the Brownsville Monument on Frostburg State University’s Upper Quad that commemorates the vibrant Black community of Brownsville that was displaced with the expansion of the Normal School, now called Frostburg State University.
15. Take a Walking Tour of Downtown Frostburg
Take a walking tour of downtown Frostburg, with 32 locations telling the story of Frostburg’s buildings, history, and architecture.
16. Learn of the Life and Legacy of Robert “Lefty” Grove
Visit the Lefty Grove Memorial Park in Lonaconing, MD, which preserves the memory of Hall of Fame (1947) baseball player, Robert Moses “Lefty” Grove. Hailed by many baseball historians as one of the greatest left-handed pitchers and players in baseball history, Lefty had his humble beginnings right here in Allegany County.
Photo by Charles Foye.
17. Take a Walking tour of Downtown Cumberland
Take a walking tour of downtown Cumberland, with 32 locations telling that tell the story of Cumberland’s buildings, history, and architecture.
18. Test Your Luck at the Casino
Test your luck on over 600 slot machines, six different table games, and enough entertainment to keep you going all night long at Mountain Maryland’s premier Rocky Gap Casino Resort.
19. Visit Bone Cave
Following the Western Maryland Railway line, home to the Western Maryland Scenic Railroad, the Great Allegheny Passage (GAP), and Tracks and Yaks, you will find Bone Cave, located at mile marker 4 on the GAP. When the original rail line was constructed in 1912, a local naturalist discovered fossils among the rocks blasted from the site, prompting excavation by paleontologists from the Smithsonian Institution that same year who uncovered 41 genera of mammals, including a saber-toothed cat that is now on permanent exhibit in the Ice Age Mammal exhibit at the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History in Washington, DC.
20. Get a Photo at Helmstetter’s Curve
One of the most famous railroad landmarks east of the Mississippi River, Helmstetter’s Curve, located at mile marker 5 of the Great Allegheny Passage (GAP), is a 180-degree horseshoe curve along the abandoned Western Maryland Railway line. The line is still used today by the Western Maryland Scenic Railroad, which operates on the railroad line parallel to the GAP, and is a popular spot for photographers to capture the train in action.
21. Visit an Overlook
Here in the mountains, there are many points that make you feel like you are on top of the world, literally. Our scenic overlooks provide stunning vistas of rolling mountains and views of up to four different states from one spot.
22. Check Out the Iron Furnace
Built in 1837 by the George's Creek Coal and Iron Company, the Iron Furnace was the first in the United States to successfully use coal and coke fuel rather than charcoal to produce pig iron. The massive furnace produced nearly 75 tons of iron per week at its height of production. The furnace, used to make dowels for the C&O Canal's lock walls, is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Also, enjoy the family park while visiting.
23. Immerse Yourself in the “We Are Swept” Mural
Located at the Canal Place Heritage Park, the "We Are Swept" mural is a magnificent 8' tall by 200' long heritage mural depicts the evolution of the Cumberland region from the time of the first native peoples to present‐day life, with the stories told in our rivers, roads, rails, and mountains. The mural is organized chronologically, and the interpretive signage next to it gives viewers the brief history behind each scene with accompanying historic images. It is a must‐see for art and history lovers alike.
24. Get a Selfie with Climb and Glide
Completed in 2011 and 2014, two sculptures, "Climb" and "Glide," attempt to capture the consciousness of bicyclists along the Great Allegheny Passage. Made from recycled bike parts, including a wheel that spins in the wind, these sculptures along with others can be viewed when trekking the switchback trail off the Frostburg Trailhead on the Great Allegheny Passage Trail.
25. Let Off Steam at Fore Axes
Let off some steam at the Fore Axes, the ax-throwing and golf simulator lounge and bar. Guests can rent private ax-throwing lanes and golf bays or just relax in the lounge and bar. Fore Axes also has Bocce Ball and Corn Hole boards for guests’ enjoyment.
26. Try Some Frostburg Bologna
B&B Country Meats, a local butcher and deli serving the area for 100+ years, carries on the tradition of the Engle’s family special recipe for all beef bologna. World famous for its fresh ground, all lean beef and seasoning, this smoked summer sausage is available in regular, hot, or cheesy. Insider tip - pair sliced bologna with a sharp cheddar and hot mustard on sandwiches or crackers.
27. Paint Your Own Pottery
Mountain Maryland’s beloved paint-your-own-pottery studio, Mr. Toads Pottery, offers the experience of painting one-of-a-kind masterpieces to bring home and enjoy for years to come. They even offer bring-home-ready ceramic painting kits.
28. Go Birdwatching
In Allegany County, there are countless opportunities for birdwatching. Aside from the popular feeder birds such as Northern Cardinals and Black-capped Chickadees, Allegany County offers an abundance of the more overlooked bird species such as warblers, vireos, raptors, and waterfowl.
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29. Explore a Scenic Byway
Mountain Maryland is home to three of Maryland's collection of scenic byways that offer inviting views, magical main streets, enduring history, and engaging places, including the Mountain Maryland Scenic Byway, the National Road Scenic Byway, and the C&O Canal Scenic Byway.