U.S. Route 301 in Maryland, highway in Maryland
US Route 301 in Maryland is a north-south highway stretching about 123 miles from the Virginia border at the Harry W. Nice Bridge to the Delaware border, passing through six counties. The road runs through rural and suburban areas, connecting towns like La Plata, Waldorf, and Bowie with multi-lane sections and bridge crossings over rivers and the Chesapeake Bay.
The route opened originally in 1927 as Maryland Route 3 and was developed with the effort of Robert Crain, a lawyer and farmer who pushed for the road's completion. In the 1940s, the Harry W. Nice Bridge was built to connect the route to Virginia and establish US Route 301.
US Route 301 in Maryland is part of the Blue Star Memorial Highway network honoring those who served in the military. The road connects small towns and farming communities, showing how the region developed over time.
The road has various sections with different conditions, ranging from simple country roads to four-lane freeways, especially near cities like Bowie and toward the Delaware border. Drivers should note that some sections include tolls, particularly when heading into Delaware, and traffic can be heavy in suburban and urban areas.
Robert Crain, the farmer and lawyer to whom the original road was dedicated, played a key role in getting the project realized in the 1920s. A new bridge recently replaced the historic Harry W. Nice Bridge, a project completed in 2022 that modernized the connection between Maryland and Virginia.
The community of curious travelers
AroundUs brings together thousands of curated places, local tips, and hidden gems, enriched daily by 60,000 contributors worldwide.
