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Qaulity of Life

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Quality of Life : Recreation

Recreation

The Hagerstown-Washington County area is a perfect blend of city and country life. Our pastoral landscape is filled with rolling hills and country roads as far as the eye can see. Communities date back to the Civil War era, and have historic legacy and quiet charm. We are located close to Baltimore, Maryland and Washington, D.C., which infuse metropolitan culture and lifestyle into the region.


Whether you prefer the speed of the slopes or the calm of the canal, Hagerstown-Washington County provides a well-rounded atmosphere of culture and recreation. Our area has more than 35 museums—from fine arts to Civil War medicine—and more than 30 parks, including five national and eight state parks. Hagerstown hosts several annual festivals downtown, most notably the Western Maryland Blues Fest, Augustoberfest, Downtown Live, and the Alsatia Mummer’s Day Parade.

Some of our major local attractions are:

    • Antietam Battlefield, site of one of the most famous Civil War battles
    • C&O Canal towpath, great for hiking, horseback riding, biking, and fishing
    • Crystal Grottoes Caverns, Maryland’s only commercial underground cavern
    • Golf courses, both public and private, including Black Rock, which was recently awarded a Golf Digest 4-Star rating
    • Hagerstown Roundhouse Museum, filled with memorabilia and photos of the area railroads
    • Hagerstown Speedway, one of the fastest and safest dirt tracks in the United States
    • Hagerstown Suns, a minor South Atlantic League Class A baseball team affiliated with the Washington Nationals
    • Maryland Symphony Orchestra, western Maryland’s only professional orchestra
    • Maryland Theatre, built in 1915 with marvelous acoustics and ambiance
    • Washington County Museum of Fine Arts, with a permanent collection of over 6,000 works of art, as well as changing exhibitions
    • Western Maryland Rail Trail, a 23-mile paved trail following the former Western Maryland Railway line
    • Whitetail Ski Resort, with the only high-speed quad lift in the mid-Atlantic Region

Retail

Washington County is ranked 5th in the State of Maryland for number of visitors (1.9 million annually) and 8th for visitor spending ($238 million annually). A major attraction in Washington County, the Prime Outlets, features over 100 brand name stores and draws over 4 million patrons per year. The National Research Bureau ranks our area as the 17th most-developed retail market per person in the nation.

Retail Sales
Store Group County Hagerstown* Hagerstown (MSA)**
Total $2,815,805 $1,986,782 $4,180,669
Food & Beverage $210,844 $71,584 $396,868
Eating & Drinking $240,635 n/a $374,184
General Mdse. $402,989 $296,123 $582,557
Furnish/Appliance $151,645 n/a $190,200
Automotive $548,903 n/a $774,673

* *Hagerstown data only encompasses the 21740 zip code. **Metropolitan Statistical Area includes Washington County, MD; Berkeley County, WV; and Morgan County, WV.
* SOURCE: Demographics USA® 2006, a publication of ACNielsen Trade Dimensions, Wilton, CT.

 





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List of major retail centers in Washington County: