<p>My soon to be Junior S sounds like a perfect fit for Goucher. High on his priority list is a school close to some sort of outdoor hiking, climbing, backpacking, etc. We are from CA so are not familiar with Maryland. Is there mountains nearby? Is there any kind of outdoor club at the school?</p>
<p>My D is interested in Goucher too.</p>
<p>If you look at a map of MD, you’ll see that the farther west you go, the hillier it gets. The same is true of VA & PA, MD’s neighbors.</p>
<p>[Maryland</a> State Map - Cities, Roads, Counties, Rivers, Lakes, Topo](<a href=“http://geology.com/state-map/maryland.shtml]Maryland”>Map of Maryland)</p>
<p>Goucher, in Towson (just outside of Baltimore), is not in the hilly part of the state! It is closer to the great fishing, sailing, etc found in the Chesapeake Bay region. That is not to say there are no backpacking or other outdoor opportunities in eastern MD. </p>
<p>[Best</a> Hiking in Maryland | Best Maryland Hiking](<a href=“AllTrails: Trail Guides & Maps for Hiking, Camping, and Running | AllTrails”>AllTrails: Trail Guides & Maps for Hiking, Camping, and Running | AllTrails)</p>
<p>[Maryland</a> Hiking and Backpacking Clubs](<a href=“http://www.hikingandbackpacking.com/marylandclubs.html]Maryland”>Maryland Hiking and Backpacking Clubs)</p>
<p>If your son just has to be right on top of climbing places, try schools in the middle of PA or in western VA, on the east coast (all down the spine of the Appalachian Mts), or in N England try in western MA, in NH, VT, etc.</p>
<p>Have you considered Williams, in Mass.? They are in the Berkshires and the students have many skiing, hiking, camping etc, opportunites.</p>