Montgomery County, MD

Driving five hours Northeast of Charleston, West Virginia, brings you to Montgomery County, Maryland. Montgomery County is made up of several towns including Rockville, Bethesda, Wheaton, Gaithersburg, Chevy Chase, Silver Spring, Takoma Park, and Germantown. It is minutes from Washington, DC, too. With an impressive agritourism market and metropolitan gems all around, you’ll see why Montgomery County should be on your road trip radar.

WHERE TO EAT AND DRINK

Brew Belly Kitchen & Sudhause is a casual, repurposed space with 24 locally-focused tap beers and creative cheesesteaks. Try the Whiz-Wit, with Velveeta and caramelized onions or the more adventurous Seoul Style, with mushrooms, Gruyere, pickles, and Gochujang mayo. Besides cheesesteaks, Brew Belly is known for Jumbo Soft Pretzels and an array of Poutine baskets, such as Boardwalk Poutine with Old Bay, crabmeat, and cream cheese sauce.

The Whiz-Wit sandwich from Brew Belly Kitchen & Sudhause.

Coastal Flats (Gaithersburg) is great for gourmet appetizers like deviled eggs and blue crab & shrimp fritters, or fish tacos, and crab cakes. Dogfish Head Alehouse is another tasty choice in Montgomery County with ever-changing burgers of the week, alehouse ribs, hearty sandwiches, and outrageously delicious Mac and cheese.

Tasty beer from True Respite

The craft beer scene is strong in Montgomery County. True Respite Brewing Company is one of the breweries there with interesting beers; Ben Outta Ten, a delicious Maple Peanut Butter Hefeweizen, and Week-Away Hazy IPA. Two other breweries to try are Saints Row Brewing and Elder Pine Brewing & Blending.

WHAT TO SEE & DO IN MONTGOMERY COUNTY

Montgomery County is full of beautiful parks and recreation sights for hiking, fishing, and boating. Seneca Creek State Park (Gaithersburg) and Butler’s Orchard (Germantown) are just two examples. Another stellar, scenic hiking trail is at Rachel Carson Conservation Park (Laytonsville). At Glen Echo Park, you can take a fun ride on a restored 1921 Dentzel Carousel.

High ropes course at The Adventure Park

Have fun on an impressive aerial adventure ropes course or zipline through the woods at The Adventure Park at Sandy Spring Friends School. Get harnessed in to explore the 13 paths of mixed difficulty for climbing and zip lining. If you are bringing the little ones, Adventure Park has a two-tiered area especially designed for 5 to 9 year olds, The Labyrinth.

Woodlawn Manor Cultural Park and Museum

Beside The Adventure Park is Woodlawn Manor Cultural Park and Museum, a 19th-century plantation with strong historical ties to the Underground Railroad. The property has a Federal-era manor house, stone barn, original outbuildings, and incredible trees. Another museum worth a visit is Sandy Spring Museum, a community-activated museum, cultural arts center, and gathering place with crafts, art, history, and educational programming, like pottery and metalsmith jewelry making.

Juried art show at Sandy Spring Museum

Maryland subscribes to shopping local, and you can find state-made crafts, home decor, and gifts at The Family Room in Laytonsville, along with a gourmet selection of foods, cheeses, and sweets. For those seeking an all-in-one shopping property, the Clarksburg Premium Outlets offer a huge, rustic-looking outdoor mall with stores such as Converse, Disney Outlet, Simply Southern, and Gucci. Bethesda Row is another option with high-end boutiques (BlueMercury, Warby Parker, and Williams Sonoma) and day spas.

Maryland products for sale at The Family Room