Great service, great snack food and cold drinks! What else could you ask for!? Top it all off with…read morea great crowd who is super welcoming. I love hanging out here.

Newly Renovated, RESPECTFUL to our SERVICE MEN and WOMEN!…read more Barmaids GREAT People !! Polite and Efficient !! Regulars weekly always GOOD People to talk and relax with! -- Everybody knows "Steve-O"

This is an educational community gem. The staff is fabulous, offering wonderful activities and the…read moreschool is an essential addition to the community.

The VLP hosts a lot of community events that locals should really attend - resident-run classes (on…read morepop culture, beer, etc.), quiz nights (held once a month, BYOB, with prizes), Spaghetti Disco, Wine Auctions, and more. They have a booth at the Charles Village festival every year, with games and prizes, offer after-school and summer classes for kids, a computer lab, a library, and on and on. The sign-ups for childrens' classes fill up immediately, and tickets to most of their events sell out. That should tell you that if you're not involved, you're missing out. Most of what they offer is free - if you live nearby, take advantage.

**As of February 2018** This place is not easily accessible anymore. First off, you cannot LEGALLY…read morepark under the railroad tracks/bridge area. It is clearly marked "No Standing Fire Lane". You can get a ticket or probably towed. There is no other parking for miles. We drove to the Patapsco State Park Avalon Entrance ($4 entry fee), then to "Lost Lake", where there is a trail called Grist Mill Trail. This trail will take you 2.5 miles into the park where it eventually meets Ilchester Rd (right near the hidden staircase to the ruins). After walking 2.5 miles there, we ran into construction signs and a closure near the Bloede's Dam. Because of the closure blocking the rest of the trail, the only way to get across is to travel down the steep woods and walk across the railroad bridge (cross at your own risk- there are active trains passing through that could kill you) to the other side where the ruins are. There is a scenic overlook in the trails near the Dam where you can get a better idea of how steep the woods are to get to the road. Other options may include crossing at the suspension walking bridge (called the Grist Mill Walking Bridge) which is about a mile from the ruins. I haven't seen anyone go this route, but the hiking is more difficult on the other side of the suspension bridge. It appears until the Dam construction is over, this place is going to continue to be very difficult to get to (unless you want to risk getting ticketed or towed). I hope once the construction clears up I will have another opportunity to see this place!

This is my favorite area in Patapsco state park, I've brought many friends and family here over the…read moreyears. It's beautiful, you can find the ruins of an old mining camp and religious boarding school here. There's even a decent spot to jump off the train tracks into the water below, although take care because the water can be shallow in spots.

It has a parking lot in front with plenty of parking but need to cross a road before going into the…read morelibrary.

I wasn't certain what I'd find from this library but I was so positively surprised. There's a junky…read moreparking lot across the street but the library is clean, organized, quiet, and well lit. There are tons of African American bent books and audio which befits the neighborhood. Lots of books are displayed on the top of the short bookcases. It was around 3:30 pm and I expected lots of high schoolers crowding the stacks but this place was empty... The library staff I interacted with were friendly and efficient in checking me out.

Beautiful new facility for the community. Their meeting…read morerooms hold wonderful free events.

Shout out to Jonnie at the Park Heights fitness center and all the trainers there. Excellent…read moreinsights into staying fit. Helpful and competent. Highly recommended

I feel so fortunate to have a JCC so nearby with great amenities! I specifically love the fitness…read moreclasses for myself and the Jtown play area for the kiddos. Although, the fitness classes can get pretty overfull with the growing size of our community so they may need to find a solution dor that. They always have security checking everyone that comes in which makes me feel safe being there. The price for membership is a bit steep but they have options for reduced pricing if needed. Definitely recommend membership here and you get access to the owings mills location too!

There are often festivals of one sort or another among the many shops, bars, and restaurants around…read moreMain Street in downtown Ellicott City. This is the first time we've made it to SpringFest (Apr 2025). It was amazing! SpringFest took over the entirety of Parking Lot D, south of Main Street behind the old Post Office building, plus several other locations around town, with walkable nearby satellite parking and a free shuttle all day. We skipped the kids'-activities towards the west end of downtown, but we did see the cute results of face-painting :-). Onstage by The Wine Bin, we enjoyed a 45-min set by a favorite local rock band, Gary and the Groove, always laying down great dancing music and well-crafted vocals. Their stage had live performances noon to 8pm! We heard an excellent Red Hot Chili Peppers rendition as we took a free shuttle to the east end of Main Street. We saw art and a dj in a small park, and, across the river, found a cute little courtyard we hadn't noticed before at Old Mill Cafe! It was a short uphill walk back up to Lot D, full-to-bursting with artisans and food vendors and shops. Amid throngs of people, we tasted Asian, Mexican, juice, and some snacks among eight or ten food vendors, and a few tables around the edges. We checked out cool merch from around 15 artists, flower sellers, ceramics, soft crafts, herbs, candles, and more. We heard live music from two more stages, with a wide range of tribute-bands and some cool musicians from Columbia's Soundcheck Academy. We loved the true-to-life Grateful Dead. The Band was a fun groove. Classics by Cure, Black Sabbath, Van Halen. Every song you ever heard, which means Billy Idol :-). We had to leave as The Talking Heads started up. Darn. We missed Bowie and Santana, too. Music here was also noon to 8pm, with slightly shorter hours on the student stage. A long lovely day, which reminds us to watch for more events in downtown Ellicott City!

Great place to walk and explore. Lots of fun stores and places to eat. There is a large free…read moreparking lot. Traffic can be congested, but this place is definitely worth the stroll. I like the bridge over the water and the local coffee shops.

I've always been fond of my local libraries. I've come here in the past to vote, but this visit was…read moreto utilize the library tools. I needed to print some documents. My printer was down and I had to have them quickly so, I knew I could do that here. I dealt with two librarians who were very helpful. When I couldn't log onto the computer one of the librarians checked my account and made a change that allowed me to sign on. Then, when I needed to print, she instructed me on the procedures. You can't just print directly to a printer. Once you print the items you want, you'll head to another computer, log on there, and your documents will be in a que waiting to be printed. You can choose color or black and white, then print. The first 20 pages each day are free to print. Cool! The computers were packed. Luckily I found one that was available, but keep that in mind. It was a calm, welcoming environment. They also have security on-site. That made me curious, but I suppose it's better to have them there and not need them than need them and not have them. Check out your local library!

Stopped by this branch because their location had a copy of a book I'd been meaning to read. The…read moreelectronic hold process via the website was easy and the staff was helpful when I arrived for pickup. They introduced me to Summer Break Baltimore, a summer reading initiative. With enrollment you receive a free T-shirt and a new book during the months of June, July and August! They also have prize raffles when you complete a book or participate in an event. Looking forward to lots of book time this summer!