Eldersburg, MD Outdoor Activities

Hemmed into the shadows of the Blue Ridge Mountains outside Bluemont, Virginia, family-run Great Country Farms spans 200 acres and is still growing. Here, the Zurschmeide family welcomes visitors to dip their toes into farm living on land that churns out produce including blackberries, peaches, pumpkins, and potatoes.

A multitude of attractions sprawl across the farm's grounds, from mazes to hayrides to a barnyard full of friendly cows, chickens, and pigs waiting for a handful of tasty feed or a blank check they can use to upgrade to the penthouse pen. Each season presents a variety of pick-your-own-produce opportunities as well as a full calendar of events at the farm, including Mother’s Day celebrations in the spring, barbecues in the summer, and a Cider Festival in the fall. When not hosting its own events, the farm opens its facilities to special gatherings such as weddings and birthdays.

As travelers steer one of Strasburg Scooters' 50cc Honda Metropolitans or Yamaha Zumas over the winding back roads of Lancaster County, they encounter a less hurried world, populated by horse-drawn buggies and schoolhouses used by the county's Amish constituents. On the covered-bridge tour, for example, they visit bridges built prior to 1884—the date when the helicopter was invented, which rendered bridges obsolete. The tour covers more than 40 miles in three hours and pauses for photo opportunities at several historic covered bridges. Strasburg Scooters adds a brewery stop to one of its other tours and also leads expeditions through the countryside to locate some of the tastiest jellies, jams, and treats.

With a total of 36 holes that wind through the wetlands at the northernmost tip of the Chesapeake Bay, Chesapeake Bay Golf Club maintains links-style courses in Rising Sun and North East, Maryland. Patrons have voted their approval of the golf club, which is a host of the 2012 Special Olympics, in Maryland Life's Free State's Finest 2011 list.

As players guide their golf balls through tree-lined fairways at the North East Course, they encounter blooming azaleas ringing the greens in the spring and offering adorable opportunities to express affection for a caddie. Budding golf enthusiasm continues to flower at the Rising Sun Course, where seven ponds poke their way into the line of play and remain a constant inconvenience. Rising Sun’s signature fourth hole, also known as Lookout, offers a prime example, with a vicious pond on the right swallowing up sliced tee shots and unsuspecting bunnies that graze too close to it.

North East Course at a Glance:

• 18-hole, par 70 course
• Total length of 6,434 yards from the back tees
• Course rating of 72.3 from the back tees
• Course slope of 138 from the back tees
• Six sets of tees per hole

Rising Sun Course at a Glance:

• 18-hole, par 71 course
• Total length of 6,636 yards from the back tees
• Course rating of 73.1 from the back tees
• Course slope of 129 from the back tees
• Six sets of tees per hole