There’s something for everyone in the Heart of the Civil War Heritage Area
Whether you have a head for history, love nature, or enjoy the challenge of solving puzzles, there’s something for everyone in the place known as the Heart of the Civil War Heritage Area. Located just below the Mason-Dixon Line and covering portions of Carroll, Frederick, and Washington counties, the area is ideally positioned to serve as your “base camp” for visiting the many Civil War battlefields and seeing the sights in and around Antietam, Gettysburg, Monocacy, South Mountain, Harpers Ferry, Baltimore, and Washington, D.C. Here are five different ideas for exploring the region, from day trips to overnight adventures, tailored to a variety of interests and ages.

Old Main Streets Byway
Do you long for the days of quaint little towns, Main Street shops, and historic homes? In the span of a few hours, you can travel roundtrip along country roads connecting small towns including Emmitsburg, Westminster, and Mount Airy on the Old Main Streets Byway. Pop into the shops and restaurants along the still-vibrant main streets, experience the eye-catching scenery, and take in the unique history of the region.

Don’t miss the Carroll County Farm Museum near Westminster, where visitors can experience mid-19th century rural life. Tour the farmhouse and a bank barn, built in 1852-53. Explore the smokehouse, broom shop, saddlery, springhouse, firehouse, general store, and a one-room schoolhouse. Another point of interest along the way is the National Shrine of Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton, the historic home of the first American-born saint.

South Mountain State Battlefield
South Mountain Battlefield, along the border of Washington County, is the site of the first major Civil War battle to take place in Maryland. It’s also the only major battlefield that intersects the Appalachian Trail. For history buffs, the War Correspondents Memorial Arch and Washington Monument are worth a visit.

The South Mountain Corridor is more than a battlefield, though—it’s also home to the artisans of the Valley Craft Network, including potters and artists as well as purveyors of local foods and beverages, such as Willow Oaks Cider and several wineries.

National Parks and Nature
If nature’s your thing, there are many national, state, and local parks in the Heritage Area. Find a campground or cabin and sleep under the stars at Greenbrier State Park in Washington County, which boasts a lake and beach. Find an outfitter to rent bikes or take you on a guided whitewater rafting trip. Or take a leisurely stroll on one of the best walking paths in the country, the C&O Canal National Historical Park. Children will love the hands-on educational exhibits and live animals at the Bear Branch Nature Center in Carroll County. Thrill-seeking adventure-lovers of all ages can climb, swing, and zip their way through the trees up to 50 feet above the forest floor at TreeTrekkers, minutes from downtown Frederick.

Farms and Farm Markets
Farming is the largest commercial industry in Maryland. There are lots of opportunities for visitors to experience—and taste!—the fruits of the farmers’ labor throughout the region. You can pick your own strawberries at Baugher’s Orchards or one of several other farms in Carroll County. Washington County also offers a wide range of agricultural offerings, including Cronise Market Place in Boonsboro, a family-owned farm stand selling fresh produce, plants, and flowers since 1928. At South Mountain Creamery in Frederick County, visitors are invited to bottle-feed the calves. For a little taste of everything, this two-day itinerary features many of Frederick County’s farms, wineries, breweries, creameries, and orchards.

GeoTrail/Puzzle-Solving
If you’re looking for an interactive, educational all-ages adventure, you’ve found it: The Heart of the Civil War Heritage Area GeoTrail. Assemble your team and tackle the challenge of taking on the role of a Civil War correspondent on the trail of a spy. This puzzle-solving experience takes participants to historic sites across three counties. Players must solve puzzles and collect clues along the trail to learn the spy’s identity. Keep an eye on the National Museum of Civil War Medicine’s website and social media this summer, as they will be announcing events in collaboration with Surelocked In Escape Games that immerse players in historical narratives.

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Meet the conscious company changing the traditional food system while eliminating food waste and working to end hunger. Hungry Harvest, headquartered in Baltimore City, delivers sustainable, cost-efficient produce and other grocery items right to your door each week. Their boxes are completely customizable to fit your needs, with options to feed one person up to a group of five. Plus, you can select weekly add-ons from their marketplace, such as dairy and bakery products, so you can nix or limit your grocery-store visits. To fully immerse in the Hungry Harvest experience, we tested out their services and ate healthy for the week.

To sum up the experience, it was an easy contact-free delivery, affordable, sustainable, and—most importantly—tasty. Who doesn’t enjoy delicious convenience?

Designed with the Community in Mind

With every box delivered, Hungry Harvest gets boxes in the hands of those in need. Since food insecurity is one of the many troubles exacerbated by the pandemic, Hungry Harvest shifted their traditional model to an emergency-box model, donating more than 50,000 boxes to those in need in the Baltimore area. They’ve also partnered with local organizations like the University of Maryland Medical System and the YMCA of Central Maryland to distribute produce in 15 locations across the region. On top of feeding food-insecure communities, Hungry Harvest is encouraging healthy eating. Their good deeds are market-specific—partnering with hunger-focused philanthropies in different communities and distributing boxes along the East Coast to aid in the fight against hunger.

No Produce Left Behind

According to Hungry Harvest, “Every year, 40 percent of food goes to waste in this country. Twenty billion pounds of that is produce that’s lost before it ever leaves the farm.” Their solution? Rescuing produce. By collecting food that is deemed imperfect (i.e. incorrect size, weight, color, etc.), saving unused product from a surplus or overproduction of a harvest, and working with wholesalers who either overpurchased or disapproved of the product, Hungry Harvest has prevented millions of pounds of perfectly edible produce from going to waste.

Order your fresh produce box and receive 50 percent off using the code BALTIMORE50.

Love what you taste? Join Hungry Harvest’s referral program and share your unique code with friends and family for $10 off their first order.

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The Baltimore Farmers’ Market and Bazaar, held under the JFX at Holliday and Saratoga Streets, returns for the season on April 5 and will run every Sunday through December from 7 a.m. to noon.

With a wide variety of local vendors selling everything from fresh fruits and veggies to handmade crafts, the annual event has been named the largest producers-only market in Maryland, highlighting vendors who make their products from scratch.

Sandy Lawler, the farmers’ market coordinator with The Baltimore Office of Promotion of The Arts, says that a plethora of new sellers have been added to this season’s roster.

“The goal really is to keep striving for more producers-only vendors,” says Lawler. “So we focused on bringing in people like Hex Ferments and other vendors who make really amazing homemade goods—especially those that utilize local farms.”

New favorites include: Hex Ferments, an organic kraut and kimchi purveyor, vegan and vegetarian food truck Sexy Vegie, Rockville-based Magnet Earth Gourmet, and Spanish-inspired bakery Corazon Cakery.

Each week’s festivities also feature family-friendly entertainment from tap dancers and Baltimore Hoop Love hula-hoopers, live music, and cooking demonstrations by local chefs.

“The market is really about education,” Lawler says. “We have chefs that are so willing to help people learn about farmland, what really goes into the bay, how to use whole foods, and why it’s so important that we buy our food locally.”

Also new this year, Mt. Airy-based Dragonfly Farms and Winery will be on hand to replace your typical weekend mimosa with a glass of sangria.

MillStone Cellars and Boordy Vineyards will also be returning, pouring their signature hard ciders and wines for guests to enjoy.

In the wake of a recent legal breakthrough, allowing some local breweries to sell beer at farmers’ markets throughout the state, the Baltimore Farmers’ Market hopes to welcome craft beer options by June.

Lawler says that after a long winter, the community is excited to see what’s in store for the upcoming season.

“It’s such an important part of the social structure of the city,” she says. “It’s about shopping but it’s also about the community—food brings people together now.”

Also debuting is the Bel Air Farmers’ Market, which opens on April 11, and is celebrating its 40^th anniversary this year.

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