Captain John Smith Chesapeake National Historic Trail
Established in 2007, the Captain John Smith Chesapeake National Historic Trail is a water tour along the Chesapeake Bay. It can be accessed by boat, and covers Maryland, Virginia, and the District of Columbia. The trail is over 3,000 miles in length, as boaters traverse up and down the Chesapeake Bay and it’s rivers, visiting nearly 100 historic sites.
To aid in navigation and experience, the Smith Trail uses Smart Buoys accessible online, by web-enabled mobile phone, or by toll-free phone (1-877-286-9229). Buoys give boaters information on water and weather conditions, navigational information, and historical descriptions of the area during the early 1600s. They secure information from sites at the mouths of the Elizabeth River (Norfolk, VA), James River (Jamestown, VA), Patapsco River (Baltimore, MD), Rappahannock River (Stingray Point, VA), Severn River (Annapolis, MD), Susquehanna River (Havre de Grace, MD). Two more are found in the Potomac River.
Gettysburg: Invasion & Retreat Trail
The Gettysburg: Invasion & Retreat trail is actually five separate routes through Maryland, Pennsylvania, Virginia, and West Virginia. These trails follow the Union and Confederate armies during the summer of 1863, as they traveled north towards each other and to Gettysburg, Pennsylvania.
Harriet Tubman Underground Railroad Byway
Located on Maryland's Eastern Shore, this trail extends for 125 miles from Cambridge to the Delaware border (Mason Dixon Line). With a number of side paths, this trail is designed to tell of the Underground Railroad, as well as the culture of Maryland's Eastern Shore during the 1850s. The trail includes the Harriet Tubman Museum, Blackwater National Wildlife Refuge, Tuckahoe State Park. It also stops at numerous historic districts and buildings, including an actual safe house on the Underground Railroad, before ending at the Mason-Dixon Line.
Star-Spangled Banner National Historic Trail
Opened July 2012, the Star-Spangled Banner National Historic Trail is a War of 1812 trail that follows British military movements along the Chesapeake Bay (1812-1815). Paths extend through Maryland, Virginia, and the District of Columbia.
© Copyright August 01, 2013 Maryland State Archives