A Day trip to Frederick, MD
A little over an hour away from Baltimore, downtown Frederick makes a nice little day trip. The 4th largest city in Maryland and founded in 1745, Frederick is a great town for Civil War buffs as there are many historical buildings from the Civil War ear as well as many battlegrounds nearby. Inside the town itself, there a few buildings that hold some significance to the Civil War. From the Civil War Medicine museum where troops were embalmed to the Ramsey House where Abraham Lincoln visited a wounded general.Frederick is also a great place for art as throughout town there are little art installations/murals.
A great way to walk the town is actually grabbing a walking map from the visitor center. The trail takes you roughly 2.5-3 miles depending on how much extra walking you do. In total, it took me about 3 hours to do, including some walking in shops and lunch. The visitor center is a great place to start off since the center has lots of information about downtown as well as the surrounding areas if you make a weekend out of the visit. They also validate parking at the parking structure for visitors for up to 3 hours.
Carroll Creek Park
From there you can walk through Carroll Creek Park. One mile long, the park originally was created as a flood-control project. Now, it is a nice stroll along the creek that has lots of lilies and some artwork spread out. From Carroll Creek, you end up passing Baker Park. This 44 acre park is a nice place to relax and have a picnic or just to walk through. In the park you have the Bell Carillon. It has 49 bells and rings every 15 minutes.
A little further walk past Baker Park, you have the Memorial Park. This Park is dedicated to veterans of World War I, World War II, Korea, Vietnam, and the Gulf Wars. It was donated in 1917 by the Evangelical Reformed Church. From this park, you will then pass by City Hall, where in 1765 the people protested the British Stamp Act by burning the effegies. Today, the building that stands on the site was built in 1862 after the other courthouse burned down.
Patrick Street
From here, you then go to the heart of the downtown. On Market Street and Patrick Street is where most of the little boutique shops and restaurants will be located. Frederick is also home to many microbrews as well as a great food scene. While here I tried the White Rabbit Gastropub, which won a 2022 International Pizza Expo Pan Division with their Detroit Style Pizza. I tried the Vericona Vaughn and it was an amazing dish. The pub is a little off the street and hidden, but worth the stop.
City Hall
The last thing to end a day trip here I would recommend is doing the driving tour of Monocacy Civil War Battleground. Fought in July 9, 1864, this small battle helped saved Washington DC by delaying the Confederate army. This allowed the Union to move two divisions up in defense of Washington DC. The visitor center has a small museum upstairs that has some artifacts and a nice history of the battle. The driving tour has 5 stops and takes roughly an hour if doing it at a casual pace.
Cannon at Monocacy
Frederick is definitely a nice little town to stop by to learn some history. However, a family could definitely make a weekend out of it whether to go explore some of the surrounding farmlands, or as a home base to check out other Civil Ware battlegrounds.