Prince George's County

Prince George's County is in the Capital Region of Maryland. The western border of the county is the Washington D.C. city line.

Cities
U.S. Highway 50 bisects the county, dividing it into the more densely-populated northern county and the more agricultural southern part. Exceptions exist, though, and both Bowie and Landover straddle the highway.

Understand
Prince George's County is the wealthiest U.S. county with an African-American majority population. One will sometimes hear it abbreviated "P.G.", although this abbreviation irritates some county residents.

The county is very diverse, both ethnically and economically. Inside the Beltway, there is a pretty clear division between northern P.G. County (northeast of D.C.) and southern P.G. County (southeast of D.C.). The former is significantly more densely populated and wealthy than the latter, which has much in common with the even poorer neighboring areas in southeastern D.C.. Just outside the Beltway, there are suburban bedroom communities like Laurel, Bowie and Upper Marlboro, with rural areas further out.

By car
Important highways through Prince George's County include I-95 and I-295 (Baltimore-Washington Parkway), which go north from Washington, D.C. to Baltimore. The Beltway (I-495) runs through Prince George's County as it circles around Washington, D.C. Route 50 goes east to Annapolis. To get off the highways to find shopping, restaurants and hotels, look for Route 1 (Baltimore Avenue), Route 193 (Greenbelt Road), Route 450 (Annapolis Road), Route 202 (Largo Road), Route 3 & 301 (Crain Highway), Route 4 (Pennsylvania Ave) and Route 5 (Branch Ave).

By Train
Amtrak stops in New Carrollton as part of its Northeast Regional Service.

Maryland Area Rail Commuter (MARC) operates the Penn and Camden lines with daily service between Washington and Baltimore.

Camden Line




By Metro
WMATA provides rail and bus service.

Blue/Silver Line
Within Prince George's County, the two lines are the same.









By bike
Prince George's County contains the intersection between two major long-distance biking trails.

The American Discovery Trail enters Prince George's County on local roads south of Route 50, joins the Washington, Baltimore and Annapolis Rail Trail into Odenton and Bowie. It passes through the Beltsville Agricultural Center, heads south through Greenbelt and Greenbelt Park. It then joins the Anacostia Stream Valley trail heading south into DC.

The East Coast Greenway Trail heads north out of DC through Hyattsville, College Park, Berwyn Heights, and Greenbelt. It then turns east through Bowie towards Annapolis before leaving the County.

Get around
The county is served by WMATA's Metrorail and Metrobus, as well as the county's bus system called TheBus.

Do
Prince George's County has several theaters that put on musicals, dramas, comedies and children's plays throughout the year, including the Greenbelt Arts Center, the Laurel Mill Playhouse and the Bowie Playhouse. The Clarice Smith Performing Arts Center in College Park hosts concerts, plays and dance performances by both University of Maryland students and visiting professionals. For concerts, go to Prince George's Publick Playhouse in Cheverly, Harmony Hall in Fort Washington or Montpelier Mansion in Laurel.

Eat
Although not known as a fine dining destination, Prince George's County has its hidden gems. If you want to splurge, go into D.C. or Montgomery County, but for adventurous dining on a budget avoid the chains and explore Prince George's County's many locally-owned restaurants. Clustered around the University of Maryland campus, downtown College Park has many low-priced restaurants catering to the students. Pasta Plus in Laurel is hard to find and usually has a long line since they don't take reservations, but the food is worth the wait. Along route 1 in Hyattsville, College Park, Beltsville and Laurel there are a wide variety of ethnic restaurants with African, Caribbean and South and Central American cuisines.

Drink
Franklin's in Hyattsville and DuClaw in Bowie brew their own beer on site. The New Deal Cafe in Greenbelt has live music 6 nights per week; the Old Bowie Town Grille and the Old Line Bistro in Beltsville also have live music on some nights.

Prince George's County's Legacy Wine Trail is the closest wine region to Washington, DC.



Crime
Prince George's County is known for having a higher-than-average crime rate compared to the rest of the D.C. metro area. However, as in many places, a lot of the worst crime occurs between people who are already acquainted with each other, or is drug-related.

In addition, Metro parking lots in Prince George's County, especially Greenbelt and New Carollton, have higher than average incidences of car break-ins, so avoid leaving anything of value in sight when leaving your car in these parking lots. So, please, when parking your car, hide any valuables from plain sight. If you leave anything in sight of a thief, they may smash your car window to steal it.

Go next
Washington, D.C., the nation's capital, has many unique attractions: the Smithsonian museums, shopping in Georgetown, visiting the government buildings, fine dining and an active nightlife. Annapolis and Baltimore are other nearby cities. Montgomery County to the west, has upscale urban areas like Bethesda, sub-urban areas, and rural parts. Go northwest to reach the mountainous areas near Frederick. Head south to Southern Maryland or across the Bay Bridge to the Eastern Shore for adventures along the Chesapeake Bay and the Atlantic Ocean.