Keeping busy during a pandemic

Here are places that we have been going to or plan to go to during the pandemic. If it is more than a trail, I recommend calling ahead first to see if they have space limits, bathroom options, etc.... I hope this helps.

Places to go:

• Jug Bay Wetland Sanctuary
• Woodlawn Manor Cultural Center (Underground Railroad Trail)
• Matthew Henson Trail
• Northwest Branch Trail
• Billy Goat Trail
• Pine Lake
• Roosevelt Island
• Croydon Creek
• Cunningham Falls
• Calvert Cliffs
• Sandy Point Beach
• Greenbrier State park
• Shenandoah State Park
• Sligo Creek (walking path)
• Kilgore Falls
• Sugarloaf Mountains
• Luray Caverns
• Fairland Recreational Park
• Centennial Lake (nice lake to walk on a paved path)
• Green Meadows Farm (petting zoo) (big open place, not a lot of people when we went, but people also didn't necessarily keep 6 feet away and not everyone was wearing masks)
• Go Kart Track (Bladensburg)
• Foot Golf at Sligo Creek Golf Course (must make a reservation and bring your own soccer ball)
• Rocky Gorge (batting cages, mini golf, and driving range)
• Lake Needwood (Boating) 
• Vertical Rock (indoor rock climbing)
• Sandy Spring Adventure Park (ropes course)
• Larriland Farm and Butler's Orchard (fruit picking)
• Capital SUP (stand up paddleboarding)
• Drive-in movie theater (there are a few in the area)

Fun Activities:

• Geocaching (there is an app, but start by looking on geocaching.com and watching the video).
• Dance Party
• Write letters to athletes, politicians, actors, musicians, artists, etc. (I suggest reading an article first on TTM (through the mail) autograph seeking. https://www.beckett.com/news/mail-call-how-to-get-started-collecting-autographs-through-the-mail/
• Draw (lots of great you tube tutorials), paint, sculpt, etc...
• Play sports in the yard or at a local field
• Pick up an instrument
• Water play in the yard (water balloons, sprinkler, slip n' slide, etc...)
• lots of good yard games like corn hole, ladder toss, travel ping pong (we've been using the dining room table), horseshoes, bocce, etc.
• Don't forget the classics like sidewalk chalk, bubbles, playing in the rain, catching fireflies, etc...
• As a child in the late 80's/early 90's, I taught my kids how to make a paper football, and we have been playing a lot of this game.
• Bike riding, fishing, boating
• Reading books
• Car wash
• virtual museum tours
• lots of free coding, video game making, and animation videos
• hackeysack, hoola hoop, jump rope
• board games, puzzles, diamond art, tie dye, knitting, crocheting, 
• baking/cooking
• Let each kid have a week of planning meals (takes the pressure off of you, keeps them busy, and gives them some control in an uncontrollable time)
• play in a local stream

Stumpy's Hatchet House, Columbia MD

While this place doesn't quite fit the label of "Family Fun" as you must be 18 years old to enter, Stumpy's Hatchet House is an awesome new axe throwing place that just opened up a few weeks ago! The location was great as they had plenty of parking, and the process for either walk-ins or making reservations was very easy and customer friendly. We chose to go on a weeknight, and found the place to have lots of other participants, but spacious enough that it almost felt like a private event! The vibe was very chill, and the employees were incredibly friendly as they registered us, walked us through the instructions, and checked in on us throughout our time there.

The place was clean and very well decorated, and I really appreciated that they let you bring in your own outside food. We spent an hour throwing, but the upgrade to 2 hours was quite affordable. At first we had trouble getting the axes to stick in the wooden boards, but within 5 minutes we were able to improve our technique enough to be able to start scoring. These are not big axes, they are hatchets, so they are not heavy at all. Anyone old enough to enter is definitely strong enough to do this activity. They also had multiple beer options on tap, a bar area, pool table, wooden games, and some arcade games as well. In terms of fun activities, this ranks pretty high up there! I will definitely be going back to this place again in the future.

This place is wheelchair accessible.
Website: https://stumpyshh.com/columbiamd/
Pricing:
$24.99 for 1 hour
$39.99 for 2 hours

Reservation options:
a one hour reservation accommodates 1-4 people
a two hour reservation accommodates 5 or more people
Call them if you would like to bring a larger group.

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