Best Campus Tour: If you think your college’s alumni have racked up some impressive achievements, see how they stack up against the deeds of the men and women of the U.S. Naval Academy. This sprawling, monumental campus is unlike any other school.

Best Civil War History Lesson: It’s a placid, quiet place today, full of dense woods, grassy rolling fields, and split-rail fencing, but Antietam National Battlefield was the site of the bloodiest day of battle during the U.S. Civil War; some 23,000 troops were killed or wounded.

Best Antique Shopping: Bargain and treasure hunters from Baltimore, Washington, D.C., and all over the region descend on the well-preserved and well-stocked old warehouses and antique shops of Frederick each weekend.

Best Preserved Theaters: If you’re in Frederick, check the listings for the Weinberg Center for the Arts, built in 1926; on the Eastern Shore, Easton’s Avalon Theatre was built in 1921, and hosts bands, solo artists, and more.

Best Small-Town Museum: Working boat-builders, hands-on demonstrations, and living history can be found in the picturesque town of St. Michaels and its Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum.

Best Way to Experience Life as a Chesapeake Bay Waterman: Climb aboard the H.M. Krentz or the Rebecca T. Ruark, two still-working Chesapeake Bay oyster boats (called “skipjacks”) that take passengers out on Skipjack Tours, and learn about life as an oysterman.