College Tour Roadmap: From College Park to These 5 Campuses

Home to the University of Maryland’s flagship campus, the city of College Park is the perfect launchpad for a college tour blitz (there’s a total of 59 schools within a 50-mile radius!). After enjoying the many things to do in College Park (like visiting these cool, local shops) make your way from campus to campus to discover historic architecture, affordable concerts and lectures, and museums with exceptional collections. Here are five of our favorite college tours within a two-hour drive.

Drive an hour north to Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore

Designed in the 1920s by the renowned American architect John Russell Pope, the 210,000-square-foot Baltimore Museum of Art is a masterpiece itself.

You don’t have to be an architecture buff to appreciate the beauty of Johns Hopkins University’s red-brick Georgian buildings, set off by lush green lawns. There’s no better way to take it all in than a stroll through the 140-acre campus. During your college tour, plan to wander inside two of Johns Hopkins’ most striking buildings, the Homewood Museum and the Evergreen Museum & Library, which are filled with 19th century decor and fine art compiled by wealthy Baltimore families. Evergreen’s 48 rooms contain rare books, manuscripts and paintings, while the Homewood Museum displays period furniture, silver and ceramics. On the south edge of campus, the Baltimore Museum of Art is home to the world’s largest Matisse collection.

Drive 35 minutes east to St. John’s College in Annapolis

Don’t leave Annapolis without exploring the harbor—hop aboard a narrated boat ride to get the inside scoop on Chesapeake Bay lighthouses.

Known for its devotion to the Great Books, this liberal arts college, nestled in the heart of scenic downtown Annapolis, showcases historic architecture that complements its classical curriculum. The campus’s famous Georgian-style colonial mansion McDowell Hall was originally constructed in 1742, but what was meant to be a home for Maryland’s governor lost funding and fell into disrepair. During the Civil War, the under-construction building housed the Union Army Medical Corps. By 1874, construction was finally complete, and the building became home to St. John’s College. After your campus tour, catch a narrated boat ride to see waterfront mansions, Chesapeake Bay lighthouses and the U.S. Naval Academy. Or explore the walkable area by foot, stopping to tour the Maryland State House.

Drive an hour and 15 minutes north to McDaniel College in Westminster

Overlooking the city of Westminster, the private liberal arts McDaniel College welcomes music lovers to a variety of recitals and concerts in the McDaniel Lounge and Levine Recital Hall. During your college tour, expect to hear anything from a jazz ensemble to a gospel choir to the only electric bass ensemble south of New York City. While you’re visiting this farm-rich country, learn more about local life at the Carroll County Farm Museum, which contains artifacts and machinery that reveal the hardships of life on a farm in the 1800s. Or visit Union Mills Homestead, a museum that preserves an 18th-century family enterprise that continues to produce grain products today.

Drive 55 minutes southeast to Georgetown University in Washington, D.C.

A quick drive from Georgetown University, the Washington Harbour is home to an array of restaurants and shops—not to mention D.C.’s largest ice-skating rink.

Georgetown University’s flagship Healy Hall is a National Historic Landmark and home to two sites worth a stop on your visit to Washington, D.C. Start with a musical or lecture at the Gaston Hall auditorium, and then take a walk through Riggs Library, which contains three rows of cast iron balconies and offers views of the Potomac River. After your college tour, plan to dine at one of the nearby Washington Harbour’s waterfront restaurants and cap your evening with a walk around the fashionable historic neighborhood, exploring the stately homes and C&O Canal.

Drive 25 minutes southeast to Howard University in Washington, D.C.

Ranked among the 50 best college museums by CollegeRank.net, Howard University Gallery of Art exhibits a rotating selection of contemporary works, as well as paintings and sculptures in its permanent collection. Be sure to make a stop there during your college visit. Afterwards, you’ll have a host of options for your evening—the campus is a short walk from the U Street corridor, home to some great restaurants and music venues, including Ben’s Chili Bowl, U Street Music Hall and the historic Lincoln Theatre.

Ready to start your campus tour? Find hotels in College Park.