THE SKY'S THE LIMIT FOR UNFORGETTABLE DISCOVERIES IN PRINCE GEORGE'S COUNTY. Along with historic landmarks, natural wonders and thrilling sports action, this land just east of Washington, D.C., offers several out-of-this-world attractions such as aerospace.

The past takes flight at the world's oldest continually operating airfield. Founded by the Wright Brothers, College Park Airport is right up there with Kitty Hawk for its significance in early American aviation history. The "plane" truth about present-day air achievements can be learned at Andrews Air Force Base, a bustling military facility that provides transportation for the President and other high-ranking U.S. officials. Andrews is also home to the annual Defense Department Joint Services Open House and Air Show - one of the largest events in the country. Finally, the future unfolds with an exploration of satellite control, spacecraft construction and communication operations at the NASA/Goddard Space Flight Visitor Center in Greenbelt.

Other places that send your imagination soaring are the Airmen Memorial Museum in Suitland, which profiles pioneering aviators, and the nearby Paul E. Garber Facility, where items of interest to the Smithsonian National Air & Space Museum are restored and preserved.

A bit more down to earth - but pushing the limits of their own - are the roller coasters and water rides at Six Flags America in Largo. For more fast-paced fun, follow the harness racing at Rosecroft in Fort Washington or keep your eye on baseball's Bowie Baysox, a minor-league affiliate of the Baltimore Orioles. Fans have also been known to break the sound barrier while rallying the Landover-based Washington Redskins football squad at FedExField in Landover. And, let's not forget the nationally ranked sports teams at the University of Maryland in College Park - winners of the 2002 NCAA Division I National Championship in Men's Basketball.

At Fort Washington, step up on the ramparts for a monumental view of the nation's capital (built on land donated by Maryland), and then stroll through the fort's tunnels and gun rooms for a closer look at 19th-century military life. Dig even deeper into the past at the National Colonial Farm Museum, operated by the Accokeek Foundation. Seventeenth-century agricultural life is re-created right on the banks of the beautiful Potomac River, an officially designated American Heritage waterway.

Dorsey Chapel is a circa-1900 African-American "meeting house" you'll want to visit in Glenn Dale. In addition, tour plantation and manor homes like Laurel's Montpelier Mansion, visited by George Washington and Abigail Adams; Upper Marlboro's Darnall's Chance, birthplace of Archbishop John Carroll; and Bowie's Belair Mansion, located near the Belair Stable Museum that produced father-son Triple Crown winners, Gallant Fox and Omaha. Other historic homes - from Billingsley Manor and His Lordship's Kindness to Marietta, Oxon Hill Manor and Riversdale - have their own unique stories…but none so somber as those told at the Surratt House Museum. Here, inside a Confederate sympathizer's modest dwelling and tavern, Presidential assassin John Wilkes Booth caught his breath while fleeing capture. The tavern keeper, Mary Surratt, was hanged for her involvement.

Natural highlights in Prince George's County include the Canada geese nesting grounds of the Merkle Wildlife Sanctuary and the 13,000-acre Patuxent Research Refuge, with its interactive National Wildlife Visitor Center. You'll also want to see Cedarville State Forest, Greenbelt National Park and Rosaryville State Park, featuring a combined 6,000 acres of prime hiking, biking and picnicking territory for your pleasure.

Courtesy the Maryland Office of Tourism Development

Prince George's County, Maryland Conference & Visitors Bureau, Inc.
9200 Basil Court, Suite 101 • Largo, Maryland 20774
Tel: 301.925.8300 or 888.925.8300 • Fax: 301.925.2053
E-mail: visitorinfo@co.pg.md.us