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Maryland Tourist AttractionsGuide to roadside oddities and other weird, strange and unusual attractions in Maryland.
Other Maryland attractions include a vintage steam train, a skipjack, and a (perhaps) haunted cemetery.
A collection of unusual, bizarre and weird.
Freak shows and side shows were a popular attraction at traveling circuses and carnivals across America. And they used to cost only a dime to go see.
Nowadays, however, traveling circuses and carnivals are the oddities themselves. It sure is still fun to go to them though when you can find one. If you spot a ferris wheel where there usually isn't one, track it down--that's a good sign the carnival has come to town! Many of the old traveling shows disbanded and sold their attractions. Luckily, some of these attractions have found new homes. Carousels have been dragged out of moldering storage and restored to become cool rides at parks and fairs all across America. And freaks, both natural and manmade, found a home in the American Dime Museum in Maryland.
The mummified cat. The shrunken heads of ...of...well, of wherever. The merman. The two-headed cow. And the list goes on... Unfortunately, this Maryland tourist attraction is now only open for group tours and small parties. Contact The American Dime Museum for more information. Phone (410) 230-0263
Baltimore - If you start seeing ravens, beware. Take a tour of the Westminster Burying Grounds and Catacombs. Plot 27 is where Edgar Allan Poe is buried. ( Map and directions to Poe's grave.) There are graves under the church, too. Now that's a bit weird and unusual. Way back when, like the 1850s, it was decided burial grounds had to be part of a church. So a building was built over the cemetery, creating catacombs beneath it. The cemetery is open every day but if you want to get into the catacombs beneath Westminster Hall-spooky and creepy and maybe even haunted... ...you have to join a tour. (Reservations a must.) Westminster Hall is at 519 W. Fayette St. Baltimore, MD. Phone: (410) 706-2072
Cambridge - Take a turn at the helm of a skipjack. What the heck is a skipjack, you ask? Is it weird and unusual?
Well, it's different anyway. I'll give you a hint-they were developed for use on the Chesapeake Bay. And it's Maryland's State Boat. So that makes it a true Maryland tourist attraction. Not everyone gets to ride on a skipjack! To get a ride on a skipjack, check out the "Nathan of Dorchester". It's docked at Long Wharf on the Choptank River in Cambridge Maryland.
Cumberland - Ride a vintage steam train around Helmstetter's Curve to Frostburg. The Western Maryland Scenic Railroad runs from Cumberland to Frostburg and back again, a total of 32 miles.
Photos courtesy Western Maryland Scenic Railroad.
For even more Maryland tourist attractions, a great time to go on this scenic train ride is in the fall when the leaves have turned. For a really cool ride, pay the extra and ride in the caboose!!! Or the engine!!! Tip: They also have a diesel engine, so if it matters to you if it's a steam locomotive or diesel, check the schedule first!! To ride the rails in the engine or the caboose, advance reservations are needed. The Western Maryland Scenic Railroad is at 13 Canal Street, Cumberland Maryland Phone: (800) 872-4650
Then...the future hit this enchanted world of make-believe. Along came the Enchanted Forest Shopping Center. Luckily for the Enchanted Forest dwellers, their home was not destroyed. It was fenced in and allowed to take care of itself. Being made of inanimate stuff, it was hard for the enchanted creatures to take care of their Forest. Year upon year, it slowly deteriorated, becoming a ghostly ruins of itself. And then...And then...
Many of the figures from this old Maryland tourist attraction found a new home at Clark's Elioak Farm, a petting farm at Ellicott City. Once again, Enchanted Forest dwellers hear the laughter of children and adults. And they shall live happily ever after.
Photo courtesy Clark's Elioak Farm. You can visit the rescued figures of this popular old 1950s Maryland theme park at Clark's Elioak Farm.
Address: 10500 Clarksville Pike, Ellicott City, Maryland.
Frostburg - A parked Noah's Ark is a Maryland tourist attraction. A replica of Noah's Ark is being built in Frostburg off I-68 Exit 34 on Cherry Lane. It's construction plans follow the specs of Noah's original Ark. In size anyway. (I don't think old Noah had steel reinforcement rods back then.)
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Helmstter's Curve is one of those cool railroad horseshoe bends that make such great train pictures. Especially when it's a steam engine.
