Mount St. Mary's University in 2 Days: An Emmitsburg, Maryland College Visit Fly-In Trip
A parent-first plan for visiting Mount St. Mary's University in Emmitsburg, Maryland: how to book a Daily Mountaineer Visit or a Saturday Visit, the Sleep Inn & Suites 2 miles from campus plus Gettysburg and Taneytown options from Budget to Upscale, drive times from BWI and Dulles, the National Shrine Grotto and Gettysburg battlefield for siblings, and Emmitsburg weather by season, every fact sourced and checked Oct 31, 2026.
Mount St. Mary's University at the foot of Catoctin Mountain, seen across the fields near Emmitsburg (Aug 2015). Photo: Art Anderson · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons · resized and cropped
Last checked Oct 31, 2026. Every fact comes from the pages listed in Sources at the bottom. Some hotel and tour links are affiliate links (disclosure).
The short version
Trip at a glance
School
Mount St. Mary's University (Emmitsburg, MD; Metro Conference)
Days
2 days: fly into Baltimore or Washington and drive north on day 1, campus visit on day 2.
Fly into
Baltimore/Washington International (BWI) or Washington Dulles (IAD), each about 1.5 hours from campus by car with no traffic. Emmitsburg has no commercial airport.
Best base
Sleep Inn & Suites Emmitsburg, about 7 minutes by car from campus, or Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, about 25 minutes north.
Car or transit
Rent a car at the airport; the Mount sits just off U.S. Route 15 in a rural area.
Registration
Book a Daily Mountaineer Visit on the Mount's sign-up calendar, or pick a Saturday Visit or another event on the Visit Calendar.
1. Who this guide is for
This plan is for parents with a high schooler, and maybe younger siblings, who want to see Mount St. Mary's University's main campus in Emmitsburg, Maryland, just south of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania.
The main campus is at 16300 Old Emmitsburg Road, Emmitsburg, MD 21727, right off U.S. Route 15 about 2 miles south of Emmitsburg.
Why this order
Daily Mountaineer Visits pair a campus tour with an admissions presentation, and you can customize the day around your student's interests.
You can extend a Daily Mountaineer Visit by shadowing a class or exploring the athletic facilities or the National Shrine Grotto of Our Lady of Lourdes.
Saturday Visits include an information session with an admissions counselor followed by a student-led campus tour.
Plan ahead: registration and timing
Pick your date on the Daily Mountaineer Visit sign-up calendar. The visit page lists these visits Monday through Friday, and the sign-up page lists Monday through Saturday, so go by the dates the calendar shows as available.
The Visit Calendar shows every on-campus option in one place, including Mountaineer Visits, Experience the Mount Days and Open Houses.
Questions about your visit go to admissions@msmary.edu or 301-447-5214.
Tour availability varies by season.
Open Houses are day-long programs covering academic programs, admissions and financial aid, and student organizations; dates are on the Visit Campus page.
Preview Days let high school students spend a day on campus, attend a college class, meet faculty and current students and try the dining hall food.
Gameday Experience pairs an admissions tour and discussion with a Mount basketball game; the eligible games are listed on the Visit Campus page.
2. The suggested 2-day plan
Drive times are no-traffic estimates from OpenStreetMap routing, with addresses geocoded by OpenStreetMap Nominatim. Campus times are to the Mount's main campus off Old Emmitsburg Road.
Day 1: Fly into Baltimore or Washington and drive to Emmitsburg
Baltimore/Washington International (BWI) → Sleep Inn & Suites Emmitsburg (501 Silo Hill Pkwy.)
Driving (no traffic)
~1 hr 27 min, 57.2 mi
Driving
Rental car
Washington Dulles International (IAD) → Sleep Inn & Suites Emmitsburg
Driving (no traffic)
~1 hr 39 min, 65.4 mi
Driving
Rental car
Baltimore/Washington International (BWI) → Hilton Garden Inn Gettysburg (1061 York Rd.)
Driving (no traffic)
~1 hr 37 min, 61.6 mi
Driving
Rental car
The Mount's directions: from Baltimore and BWI, take I-695 to I-795, then MD 140 through Westminster and Taneytown to U.S. 15 South for 2 miles; from Washington, Reagan National or Dulles, take I-495 to I-270 North and U.S. 15 North, about 20 miles past Frederick.
Day 2: Mount St. Mary's University campus visit
Sleep Inn & Suites Emmitsburg → Mount St. Mary's campus (16300 Old Emmitsburg Rd.)
Driving (no traffic)
~7 min, 3.3 mi
Driving
Drive
Gettysburg hotels (York Rd. area) → Mount St. Mary's campus (16300 Old Emmitsburg Rd.)
Driving (no traffic)
~23–24 min, 16.5–16.8 mi
Driving
Drive
Mount St. Mary's campus (16300 Old Emmitsburg Rd.) → Baltimore/Washington International (BWI)
Driving (no traffic)
~1 hr 32 min, 60.8 mi
Driving
Drive
Download the Emmitsburg campus map before you go; the Mount says it helps you find a building or a place to park once you're on campus, and it marks the Admissions building and numbered lots.
If you have time after your visit, the National Shrine Grotto of Our Lady of Lourdes is on the Mount's campus at 16330 Grotto Road.
3. Campus by campus
Mount St. Mary's University at the foot of Catoctin Mountain, seen across the fields near Emmitsburg (Aug 2015). Photo: Art Anderson · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons · resized and cropped
Register for your visit on the Mount's sign-up calendar; the campus map marks the Admissions building, and the admissions office can answer questions about where to meet at admissions@msmary.edu or 301-447-5214.
Visitor parking
The Mount's directions page points visitors to the downloadable campus map to find a building or a place to park once on campus.
The map shows numbered parking lots across campus, so check it, and any details in your registration confirmation, before you arrive.
Getting there
Campus is about 7 minutes by car from the Sleep Inn & Suites in Emmitsburg and about 23 minutes from the Gettysburg hotels, with no traffic.
What to know
Ask to add a class visit, a look at the athletic facilities or a stop at the National Shrine Grotto of Our Lady of Lourdes to your Daily Mountaineer Visit.
Students lead the Saturday campus tours, and Mount Ambassadors are introduced on the Visit Campus page.
Can't make it in person? The Mount's virtual tour covers residence halls, academic buildings, student life and dining.
Contact
Mount St. Mary's Admissions: admissions@msmary.edu or 301-447-5214.
Last checked Oct 31, 2026. Tour and admissions details change often, so confirm them on the school's official visit page before you go.
4. Where to stay: Emmitsburg, Gettysburg and Taneytown hotels near Mount St. Mary's
Price tiers (Budget, Mid-range, Upscale) follow each hotel's star class on Expedia. Rates vary by date, so check your dates on Expedia.
Hotel · Our pickBudget
Sleep Inn & Suites Emmitsburg
501 Silo Hill Pkwy., Emmitsburg, MD 21727
Why here
The closest hotel to campus: the Mount lists it first among local places to stay, 2 miles away, and it is about 7 minutes by car from campus with no traffic.
Expedia lists this hotel as a 2.5-star property, so we place it in the Budget tier. Rates vary by date, so check your dates on Expedia.
Good to know
The listing shows a free breakfast buffet, free self parking and a fitness room. Confirm details on the Expedia listing before you book.
A historic country house hotel in Taneytown, about 20 minutes by car from campus with no traffic and on the way from BWI; the Mount lists it among local places to stay.
Expedia lists this hotel as a 4-star property, so we place it in the Upscale tier. Rates vary by date, so check your dates on Expedia.
Good to know
The listing shows free cooked-to-order breakfast, free self parking, a restaurant and a seasonal outdoor pool. Confirm details on the Expedia listing before you book.
Stay in Emmitsburg to be closest to campus, in Gettysburg (about 12 miles north) for more hotel and dining choices, or in Taneytown for a historic inn on the BWI side. The Mount's own list also covers Thurmont, Fairfield and Frederick.
5. Meals between tours
Hours change, so check before you go.
On campus
Patriot Dining Hall is open every day for breakfast, lunch and dinner, and Saxbys Café on the second floor of the Knott Academic Center serves coffee and quick bites; hours differ during breaks.
In Gettysburg or Frederick
The Mount points families to Gettysburg, about 10 minutes north, and to historic downtown Frederick, about 25 minutes south, for shopping and dining.
Near your hotel
The Sleep Inn and Antrim 1844 listings show breakfast included, and the two Gettysburg hotels offer breakfast for a fee.
6. Things for siblings along the route
With siblings
Gettysburg National Military Park
1195 Baltimore Pike, Gettysburg, PA 17325
About 22 minutes by car from campus with no traffic. The battlefield and Museum and Visitor Center are free to visit; the battlefield is open daily from 30 minutes before sunrise to 30 minutes after sunset. Tickets are required for the film, Cyclorama and museum: $20.75 adults and $15.75 youth (6–12), with children 5 and under free.
The Mount is right off U.S. Route 15 about 2 miles south of Emmitsburg; download the campus map so you can find Admissions and a parking lot once you arrive.
Flying in and out
BWI is about 1 hour 32 minutes from campus and Dulles about 1 hour 33 minutes by car with no traffic, so either airport works; Harrisburg International is another option, per the Mount's directions page.
Weather by season (1991–2020 NOAA normals: Emmitsburg 2 SE, about 4 miles from campus)
Spring: April averages about 64°F highs and 40°F lows, with about 3.9 inches of rain.
Summer: July averages about 85°F/64°F, with about 4.3 inches of rain.
Fall: October averages about 66°F/44°F, with about 3.8 inches of rain, so bring a layer for the walking tour.
Winter: January averages about 40°F/22°F, with about 3.5 inches of precipitation and about 8.7 inches of snow, so check road conditions before driving.
Parent checklist
Register for a Daily Mountaineer Visit, or pick a Saturday Visit, Open House or Preview Day on the Visit Calendar.
Download the Emmitsburg campus map and plan where to park.
Book flights into BWI or Dulles plus a rental car.
Book an Emmitsburg, Gettysburg or Taneytown hotel for the night before the visit.
After the visit, take five minutes to jot down what stood out to your student.
8. Student-athlete recruiting visits
For families whose student hopes to play a college sport. Rules below are the NCAA's; each school's links were checked Oct 26, 2026.
Coaches arrange the recruiting part of a visit, not the admissions office. The tour sign-ups in this guide are for the regular family visit. An official (school-paid) visit is offered by the school, and contact with coaches follows NCAA rules that vary by division, sport and grade level.
Start with your sport's questionnaire, then email the coaches. The NCAA suggests emailing coaches with your achievements, highlight videos and interest in their program, including your name, position, NCAA ID and graduation year.
1 Division I
Athletics
Mount St. Mary's University
NCAA Division I Metro Conference
RecruitingWe found no department-wide recruiting page. Look for a questionnaire on your sport's team page at the athletics site ↗, or email the coaches.
Unofficial visit: any campus visit you or your family pay for. You can take as many as you like; in Divisions I and II each one has to come after the first permissible date for your sport.
Official visit: a visit paid for by the school. Each school can offer your student only one. Before a Division I official visit, your student must be registered with the NCAA Eligibility Center, be on the school's institutional request list, and the school must have their high school transcripts.
Division I (Mount St. Mary's University): on an official visit the school can pay for travel for the student and up to two family members, lodging, up to three meals a day for the student and up to four family members, and up to $60 a person in entertainment, including five home-game tickets. On an unofficial visit there are no free meals, but the school can give up to three home-game tickets. Division I uses recruiting calendars with contact, evaluation, quiet and dead periods; in a dead period, no in-person contact and no visits.
Rules change. Confirm with the coach, or check the NCAA's recruiting page and recruiting calendars, before you plan dates.
Planning around the season
Check each school's athletics schedule (linked above) before you pick dates, so a coach meeting doesn't land on a road trip or game day for your sport.
Our recommendation, not a school rule: ask the coach whether they can line up an admissions session or tour around your meeting. If not, book the regular family tour yourself through the official sign-up links in this guide, and leave time between the two.
Add your dates and how you're getting there, and we'll pull this guide into one plan: tour sign-up links, the hotel base, parking or airport notes, the route and meals.
Coming soon
Planning more college trips?
Visit-season reminders and new trip guides from College Visit Guides. Newsletter coming soon.
Sources
All checked Oct 31, 2026. Tour schedules change constantly, so always confirm on each school's official sign-up page. Photo credits are under each photo and on our About page.
Expedia listing: Sleep Inn & Suites Emmitsburg (star class and amenities, checked 2026-10-31) (not linked: https://www.expedia.com/Frederick-Hotels-Sleep-Inn-Suites-Emmitsburg.h789046.Hotel-Information)
Expedia listing: Hilton Garden Inn Gettysburg (star class and amenities, checked 2026-10-31 via same-id Hotwire listing) (not linked: https://www.expedia.com/Gettysburg-Hotels-Hilton-Garden-Inn-Gettysburg.h1097665.Hotel-Information)
Expedia listing: Courtyard Marriott Gettysburg (star class and amenities, checked 2026-10-31 via same-id Hotwire listing) (not linked: https://www.expedia.com/Gettysburg-Hotels-Courtyard-Marriott-Gettysburg.h1348592.Hotel-Information)
Expedia listing: Antrim 1844 (star class and amenities, checked 2026-10-31 via Expedia search listing and same-id Hotwire listing) (not linked: https://www.expedia.com/Frederick-Hotels-Antrim-1844.h19534334.Hotel-Information)
