Havre de Grace, Maryland, is set on a point of land where the Susquehanna River flows into the Chesapeake Bay, 30 mi/50 km northeast of Baltimore. Havre de Grace is a nautical town of sailboats, quiet streets and large, Victorian homes.
Stop first at the Havre de Grace Decoy Museum, where you can see a simulated duck-hunting blind, various decoys and a workshop where decoy making is demonstrated. Then walk along the waterfront promenade to see the early-1800s Concorde Point Lighthouse, one of the oldest still in use on the East Coast.
We also suggest stops at the nearby Rock Run waterwheel gristmill in Susquehanna State Park (a wooded area with scenic trails along the Susquehanna River), the Susquehanna Museum (Susquehanna & Tidewater Canal displays) and the Steppingstone Museum (an early American farm with a stone farmhouse and a working blacksmith).
Also in the area is the Ladew Topiary Gardens and Manor House, a vintage home with antiques, foxhunting memorabilia, 22 acres/9 hectares of flower gardens and impressive topiary shrubs. Those interested in viewing a large collection of weaponry and military vehicles should plan a stop at the U.S. Army Ordnance Museum at the Aberdeen Proving Ground. Nearby, the town of Aberdeen is the home of the Ripken Museum, which chronicles the accomplishments of hometown hero and baseball star Cal Ripken Jr. and his family.
Other towns in the area include Bel Air (homes from the 1600s and 1700s, including the Hays House Museum) and Port Deposit (distinctive buildings of locally quarried granite that have good views of steep cliffs and the Susquehanna River).
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