Laurel: Railroad History and the Cretaceous Period

Laurel combines a walkable downtown with railroad history and unusual glimpses into the Cretaceous Period. In the heart of Prince George’s County, downtown brings together shopping, dining, and entertainment. You can include city life, culture, and nature in your travel plans.

When looking for a vacation rental in Laurel, you can first consider which of these aspects will shape your trip. If a walkable center is important to you, include downtown when comparing specific accommodation locations. If you want to focus on historical topics or the history of the Earth, you can guide your search by the visits you have planned. This can help you match your accommodation choice to your itinerary.

History in Several Layers

Laurel’s Historic District consists of seven separate but connected districts. This structure brings a shared historic area together with several distinct districts—a useful perspective if you don’t want to reduce the city’s history to a single building.

One prominent landmark is Laurel Railroad Station: the one-story brick building was constructed in 1884 in the Queen Anne style. It was later converted for use as Laurel Metro Station and continues to serve as a local center of rail transportation in Laurel. Here, distinctive architecture and the city’s transportation history come together. If you plan to use the train, check current transit information separately.

The Laurel Museum is open Friday through Sunday from 12 to 4 p.m. Research services and special tours are available on weekdays by appointment; check opening hours before your visit. Another guide to historic sites is the Walking Tour of Historic Laurel, with an interactive map program developed jointly by the City of Laurel and the Laurel Historical Society. If you plan to use the map, check its availability before your trip.

River Landscape and Fossils

Riverfront Park runs along the scenic Patuxent River. The fossils at Dinosaur Park reveal a very different scale of nature: they are about 115 million years old and date from the Early Cretaceous. This gives you two different themes to consider when planning your trip—a river landscape on the one hand and the far-reaching history of the Earth on the other.

Dinosaur Park holds free open-house days on the first and third Saturday of every month, with no reservations required. Since the schedule and weather-related access may change, check the date before your visit. In a paid seasonal program, participants can carefully excavate buried fossils alongside staff using paleontological tools. Dates and registration vary. While the open-house days don’t require reservations, the hands-on program requires planning around the dates offered.

Theater, Events, and Horse Racing

Laurel Mill Playhouse presents community-focused performances in a fully renovated, 100-year-old historic building in central Laurel. Laurel Main Street hosts a series of special events each year. If you want a particular event to determine your travel dates, check the specific dates. Laurel Park offers live horse racing and simulcasting; here, too, you should check the current racing calendar separately. These provide additional ideas for planning your stay, alongside historical and scenic attractions.

Discover more destinations: Capitol Heights, Bowie, Landover Hills, Brandywine, Hyattsville, Cheverly, Oxon Hill, Largo.

For the broader travel overview: Prince George's.