Looks like I’ll be in DC this weekend, near the DuPont Circle metro stop. My wife has a conference and I’m coming with. This is kind of last minute because it wasn’t certain that she’d be going till just recently.
I’m thinking about possibly spending Sunday in Baltimore–see the Orioles game perhaps, walk around the Inner Harbor, maybe check out a museum or two. I’ve only been to Baltimore once, which was a while back, and I didn’t have much time. So, might be fun.
I could drive, I’m sure; I’ll have a car, and Sunday traffic is likely to be “relatively” light. But hey, I like trains, too, and big-city parking is never any fun. A look at train routes and schedules suggests that I could drive to near BWI and board a light rail (?) route for downtown Baltimore. Or there might be a train (non-Amtrak I think) that goes directly from Union Station in Washington to Baltimore, but it doesn’t seem to run very often on Sundays. Or…?
(I could walk, but might not get there in time for the first pitch. Plus which I’m due back in DC by six or so for dinner with my wife and her colleagues.)
Anyway, if any natives or non-natives have any thoughts about what might be the most interesting, efficient, and/or cost effective way of making the trek (I recognize these may not all be the same thing), I would be interested in hearing your opinions. Thanks!
I would recommend against driving into Baltimore just because parking in the Inner Harbor area can be a pain or expensive. Sometimes you can get lucky and find free street parking, but it would be a bit of a walk to the Inner Harbor, depending on how fast you walk. There’s also the Water Taxi, but I don’t know if there’s a good place to park near any of the more remote stops, and I don’t know what its schedule is.
Light rail runs every 30 minutes on Sunday - I’ve used the line often, and it’s a good choice, but it might not work with the ball game schedule. I like the Aquarium, but it’s an afternoon all on its own. Haven’t been to the Science Center in ages - it used to be pretty nice.
I would usually recommend driving (it’s only $20 to park in the Inner Harbor), but the Redskins play at home this Sunday night, so traffic will suck for you driving back. Train from Union Station is probably your best bet.
I think driving is simplest, too. Parking in Dupont is worse than parking in Inner Harbor. I’ve gone to the National Aquarium a few times, which is right in the middle of the Inner Harbor, and there’s about six major parking garages within a five minute walk. They aren’t terribly cheap, but it isn’t Midtown Manhattan either. From there, it is an easy walk to Camden Yards.
The other option is taking Amtrak from Union Station. Round-trip tickets to Baltimore run about $35 each, and it takes about 40 minutes. It’s a wholly unremarkable train journey.
That’s an 8:30 game though, and he’ll be going up 95 so it shouldn’t be a major problem. The worst time for traffic will be 5-7 or so, but most of that should be going to the stadium and not around 95. If he comes back at 8 or so there shouldn’t be any traffic.
On a weekend, from where you will be, I’d drive. Unless you’re coming back right after the ball game you’ll be fine. Though parking will probably cost a lot more in the stadium area.
I would drive. Traffic shouldn’t be all that bad on a Sunday. The Ravens are not at home, and there is lots of parking around Camden Yards. I used to have the Sunday ticket package to the Orioles and was always able to find nearby parking. Given the Oriole’s record, it probably won’t be too crowded. You can park either in garages or open lots, but I would recommend the open lots south of the ballpark (off Russell Street) because it’s easier to get out of than garages.
You will hit some traffic on the way back to DC - traffic always picks up on Sunday afternoons and evenings as people head back home from wherever they were over the weekend. But it should be tolerable. I would use the B-W Parkway to go up and back rather than I-99.
He did say they were at Dupont Circle. That would mean driving up Connecticut to the beltway. So there might be some traffic, but the O’s game is at 1:30 so he’d be leaving before noon I would think.
I know the traffic around the stadium can be bad, I go down to Six Flags a lot and that’s right by the stadium. I’d think he’d be ok driving.
Driving to BWI would almost put you in the city, it’s 10 miles away. There are trains that run to Baltimore on Sundays, the MARC line does, but they don’t seem to be a great schedule, last train south is 5:30. I don’t know about the Amtrak trains. Plus there would be a good walk to/from the stations. I’d say car is your best bet on a Sunday.
From Dupont Circle, I would work my way over to 16th Street and take that north to Silver Spring, make a right onto Colesville Road and take that to the Beltway. From there, you could take either I-95 or I-295 north to Baltimore. I’d probably take I-95, contradicting my earlier post. Get off at Russell Street and head north to Camden Yards.
The MARC train does run on Sunday, from Union Station in DC to Penn Station in Baltimore, but a car would give you more flexibility at about the same cost and time.
The Walters Art Museum in Baltimore is a nice place to visit. There is a wide variety of art, and it’s free.
Thanks, all, for the suggestions. I like the chartering a plane one but it may be out of my budget.
I think I hadn;t realized how close BWI was to Baltimore proper. I’ll probably just drive. Last year I came into the DuPont Circle area (same conference, same hotel) from the north using directions similar to those given by **Orwell **(only backward), so something like that will probably make sense. If I decide I need a light rail fix, add the Baltimore system to my “life list,” I can always arrive in Balt. a little early and hop a train to somewhere or other. I’ll also look into the water taxi routes–when I was in Baltimore last time, 12 years ago, I rode one and enjoyed it, and it might be a fun way of allowing me to park a little ways out.
I hadn’t thought about the football traffic coming back to DC (I did check to make sure the Colts, I mean the Ravens, weren’t home on Sunday–I guess London is a bit removed from Maryland). Shouldn’t impact me as I’m supposed to be at dinner a while before the game starts. Still, good to have a heads up.
If you go to an Orioles games they have an $8 lot. You could keep the car there if you want to wander around a bit. Traffic back to DC shouldn’t be bad.
As of last year (the last time I went), Camden Yards still allowed you to take in your own food. Buy a bag of peanuts in the parking lot and carry it in with you - it costs less than half as much as peanuts inside.
