Small Towns, Big Appeal

These quaint getaways offer a quarantine reprieve.

- MARTY LEGRAND

Dream vacations deferred. Cruises canceled. Beach rentals revoked. If there’s one thing this fraught year has taught would-be travelers, it’s to seek homebound solace. Tending a garden, for example, or walking a neighborhood trail.

But there’s wisdom in expanding your travel horizons, if only slightly. Self-isolation can “adversely affect immune function and enhance risk for chronic health conditions,” say the authors of a recent article in the Journal of Sport and Health Science. So take their advice and fill this timely, immunoenhancing prescription: Embark on a day trip with your nearest and dearest to someplace like home, and not far from it. The Mid-Atlantic abounds with modestly sized towns possessing outsized appeal.

We’ve picked six within two hours’ drive of Baltimore. Most have populations so small they couldn’t fill a large concert hall, even with their pets. (The two “big” towns would require a second seating.) Each place beckons the cabin-feverish with its own balms, from a tranquil Chesa peake Bay waterfront, to cobblestone streets that echo history, to a secluded arts haven that honors, among other things, an infamous insect.

Though, as of press time, COVID-19 restrictions are easing, operations and hours at these destinations may vary.

DENTON, MD

Drive time: 1 hr., 15 mins.