{"id":47745,"date":"2026-06-26T13:30:20","date_gmt":"2026-06-26T17:30:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/dnr\/?p=47745"},"modified":"2026-07-07T13:08:23","modified_gmt":"2026-07-07T17:08:23","slug":"america-250-maryland-parks-host-special-events-open-for-july-4th","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/dnr\/2026\/06\/26\/america-250-maryland-parks-host-special-events-open-for-july-4th\/","title":{"rendered":"Celebrate America 250 at Maryland State Parks with Fun Events Planned All Weekend"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"American<\/a>Maryland parks are hosting a variety of special events during the week of July 4 to mark the nation\u2019s 250th birthday celebration, including a tree planting, bike parade, historical reenactments, and kids crafts.<\/span><\/p>\n

With parks open on Independence Day, Marylanders can start a new tradition by hiking, learn more about our nation\u2019s history by visiting park exhibits, or have a patriotic picnic.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

July 4 is a license-free fishing day. Any individual may catch and possess finfish for recreational purposes in any tidal and nontidal waters of Maryland. All anglers must follow current regulations, including size and catch limits found in the department\u2019s fishing and crabbing guide.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Please note that in order to prevent traffic backups and capacity closures, reservations are required at the following parks on July 4:<\/span> Gunpowder Falls State Park (Hammerman Area), <\/span><\/i>Greenbrier State Park, Point Lookout State Park, Newtowne Neck State Park, North Point State Park, Rocks State Park\u2019s Kilgore Falls area, Rocky Gap State Park, Sandy Point Park, and Swallow Falls State Park. <\/span><\/i>Reservations can be made at <\/span>parkdayuse.maryland.gov<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n

Liberty Tree Planting\u00a0<\/b><\/p>\n

Janes Island State Park<\/span><\/a> in Crisfield<\/span><\/p>\n

July 1 at 11 a.m.<\/span><\/p>\n

Part of the statewide <\/span>Maryland Liberty Tree Project<\/span><\/a>, a tulip poplar descending from Maryland\u2019s original 1775 Liberty Tree will be planted at the park to mark America\u2019s 250th anniversary.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

July 3 and 4 at Janes Island<\/strong><\/p>\n

Janes Island State Park<\/span><\/a> in Crisfield<\/span><\/p>\n

Enjoy activities on Friday, July 3, including Watercolors in the Park from 11 a.m. to noon, tie-dye your shirt from 1-2 p.m., or stop by in the evening for stargazing, from 8:30-9:30 p.m. On Saturday, make a papercraft eagle from 1-2 p.m., learn about reptiles from 3-4 p.m., learn about crabs and crabbing from 5-6 p.m., and join a\u00a0 sunset paddle from 7:30-9:30 p.m.<\/p>\n

Foraging 101 – Eating Maryland State Parks<\/b><\/p>\n

Bill Burton Fishing Pier State Park<\/span><\/a> in Cambridge<\/span><\/p>\n

July 3 at 6 p.m.<\/span><\/p>\n

Do you want free food and learn about ways to help the environment? Do you want to learn what foods are already growing in your backyard? Do you want to know the ways Indigenous Peoples and freedom-seekers alike filled their grocery baskets? Join us for a beginner\u2019s guide to wild foods in Maryland State Parks!<\/span><\/p>\n

Fourth of July Festival<\/b><\/p>\n

Assateague Island State Park<\/span><\/a> in Berlin<\/span><\/p>\n

July 4 from 10:30 a.m. to 2 p.m.<\/span><\/p>\n

Join campers and beachgoers for the annual Fourth of July bike parade through the state campground! Registration takes place from 10-10:30 a.m. in the ranger station parking lot, followed by a parade to the Nature Center. Prizes will be awarded. Participants must wear helmets.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

At the Nature Center, enjoy raffles, games, food, drinks, crafts and tie-dye!<\/span><\/p>\n

A Miller\u2019s Life for Me<\/b><\/p>\n

Freedman\u2019s State Park<\/span><\/a> in Brookeville<\/span><\/p>\n

July 4 from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.<\/span><\/p>\n

Learn to thrash, winnow, and hand-grind wheat. Patuxent River Valley was once filled with mills \u2013 learn why they were important to farmers in the area, including the Howard family.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Traditional Children\u2019s Games and Crafts<\/b><\/p>\n

Harriet Tubman Underground Railroad State Park<\/span><\/a> in Church Creek<\/span><\/p>\n

July 4 and July 5 from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.<\/span><\/p>\n

Stop by the visitor\u2019s center to play traditional games, like jacks, mancala or marbles. Learn to make traditional crafts such as yarn dolls.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u2026 And Zeal for Liberty\u2026<\/b><\/p>\n

Fort Frederick State Park<\/span><\/a> in Big Pool<\/span><\/p>\n

July 4 and 5 from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.<\/span><\/p>\n

Learn about the women and men who lived at Fort Frederick during the American Revolution through historic interpretation. The Fort was used to hold British prisoners during the war. Activities include musket-firing, military drills and children\u2019s drills.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Exhibit Hall Tour<\/b><\/p>\n

Harriet Tubman Underground Railroad State Park<\/span><\/a> in Church Creek<\/span><\/p>\n

July 5 at 2 p.m.<\/span><\/p>\n

Join a ranger for a tour of the exhibit hall at Harriet Tubman Underground Railroad State Park.<\/span><\/p>\n

Miles for Maryland<\/b><\/p>\n

All State Parks<\/span><\/p>\n

Year-Round<\/span><\/p>\n

There is still time to get started on the <\/span>Maryland Park Service Miles for Maryland challenge<\/span><\/a>. The goal is to hike 250 miles inside Maryland parks during the course of the year, one mile for each year since the founding of the United States. Submit photos from your hike for a chance to win prizes.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

America in Miniature<\/b><\/p>\n

All State Parks<\/span><\/p>\n

Through November 15<\/span><\/p>\n

You can also challenge yourself with this photographic scavenger hunt, also organized by the Maryland Park Service. <\/span>Learn more on our website.<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n

Celebrate All Year Long<\/b><\/p>\n

Keep the celebration going until the end of 2026! Check out a U.S. trivia trail walk at Assateague State Park this August, or visit Fort Frederick to learn about the gear used by American soldiers from 1753-1953. <\/span>Check out more events on the Maryland Department of Natural Resources website.\u00a0<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Maryland parks are hosting a variety of special events during the week of July 4 to mark the nation\u2019s 250th birthday celebration, including a tree planting, bike parade, historical reenactments, and kids crafts. With parks open on Independence Day, Marylanders can start a new tradition by hiking, learn more about our nation\u2019s history by visiting  Read the Rest…<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":254,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[957],"tags":[5721,5108,5205,5646,4981,5508,5154],"class_list":["post-47745","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-appnews","tag-america-250","tag-events","tag-maryland-park-service","tag-maryland-parks","tag-maryland-state-parks","tag-parks","tag-state-parks"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/dnr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/47745","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/dnr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/dnr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/dnr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/254"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/dnr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=47745"}],"version-history":[{"count":10,"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/dnr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/47745\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":47845,"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/dnr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/47745\/revisions\/47845"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/dnr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=47745"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/dnr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=47745"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/dnr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=47745"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}