Taylor-Made Deep Creek Vacations & Sales – Page 8

Celebrate Great Outdoors Month with DNR!

Fun kicks off with National Trails Day June 6

June marks the last few weeks of school, the beginning of summer and the perfect time to get outside! The Department of Natural Resources makes celebrating Great Outdoors Month fun and easy with its network of beautiful state parks, a variety of educational programs and the AccessDNR mobile app.

From trekking the mountains of western Maryland, to swimming in Deep Creek Lake, to camping at Assateague Island, Maryland’s 66 State Parks offer recreation to satisfy all types of interests. And with the location-based AccessDNR app, users can easily discover and locate state parks, trails, boat launches and hunting lands, in relation to where they are.

For those in search of guided activities, DNR’s Calendar of Events lists a variety of scheduled opportunities including nature crafts, animal encounters, pontoon tours, educational hikes, stargazing, fishing trips and much more. Available throughout June, and all year long, most of these DNR-sponsored activities are extremely affordable, if not free. And don’t forget, June 6 and 13 (and July 4) are free fishing days in Maryland!

NEW LISTING!

Fracking moratorium bill becomes law without Hogan's signature

ANNAPOLIS, Md. – Hydraulic natural gas drilling, also known as fracking, will be banned in Maryland for the next two years.

This past Saturday, a fracking moratorium bill became law without Gov. Larry Hogan’s signature.

Under Article II, Section 17(C) of the Maryland Constitution, if the Governor decides to neither veto nor sign a bill, then the bill will go into effective by default.

This legislation passed with overwhelming support from the House and Senator, and it prohibits the state’s Department of Environment from issuing any fracking permits until October 2017.

It will also require the Department to adopt regulations for fracking and natural gas exploration on or before Oct. 1, 2016.

If fracking begins in Maryland, it would be mostly in Allegany and Garrett counties. Compared to Pennsylvania and West Virginia, Maryland would only be drilling into about two percent of the Marcellus Shale.

30 Rising Vacation Rental Destinations In 2015

Avid travelers have an innate curiosity to see the world.

They’re constantly searching for the next best thing – or place – to experience. But you don’t always need to travel across the world to get it. Many jewels are located right here in the US, from sea to shining sea. Often it just takes a wave of vacationers to realize their inherent beauty.

TripAdvisor set out to find 30 of the fastest-growing vacation rental destinations in 2015. While some are better known than others, they’re all certainly trending in the right direction. We analyzed traveler behavior over the past year, identifying which US regions had strong increases in vacation rental popularity from 2014 to 2015*.

These destinations are all gaining popularity while offering vacationers something special, like the picturesque mountains and charming beach towns of the East Coast, or the lakeside retreats and sun-drenched sanctuaries out west. Each spot provides a unique blend of outdoor recreation, kid-friendly attractions, entertainment, culture, arts, history and more.

7 Ways for Maryland Boaters to Stay Safe

Natural Resources Police offer tips after deadly week on water.

By Elizabeth Janney(Patch Staff) May 31, 2015

7 Ways for Maryland Boaters to Stay Safe

Maryland Natural Resources Police urge safety on the water, particularly after two boaters died in Baltimore and Cecil counties this week.

A 22-year-old canoeist and a 40-year-old sailor perished in separate incidents on Maryland waters, their bodies located over the weekend.

No matter what nature does, there are ways people can protect themselves before heading out, or when deciding whether to step aboard at all. Here are some boating safety tips from Candy Thomson, spokeswoman for Natural Resources Police:

Wear a life jacket. That’s number one. Nothing else is even close when it comes to protecting yourself. And it can’t help you if you’re not wearing it. Make sure that the life jacket has a whistle so you can call for help.
Let someone know where you’re going and when you expect to return.
Check the weather. If there’s a small craft advisory and you’re in a small craft, think twice about going out.
Never go out alone.
Have enough safety gear for everyone on board.
Carry a phone in a plastic bag or dry bag.
If you’re going to be out at night, carry flares and a light.

Natural Resources Police will be patrolling the state’s waterways and parks. Over the Memorial Day weekend, its officers reported they were out in force—they issued 386 tickets; gave 1,104 warnings; found seven boaters driving under the influence; responded to nine boating crashes, including one fatal in Calvert County; and handled one fatal swimming incident involving a teen in Garrett County.