Baltimore's Nightlife Activities for Young Adults

When visiting Baltimore, there are the tourist activities and then there are places where the locals go. If you're looking for some real local flavor in a town with more college students per square inch than almost any other city in America, you're likely to find it in the Canton district. Granted, this type of exploration should probably be limited to those 35 and under.

Crammed into neighboring buildings, this one area has a wide median running down the middle of the street with a towering Methodist church at the center. On Saturday nights crowds gather out on O'Donnell Street in what can sometimes be up to a two hour wait. Readers of Yelp can see how their patience will be rewarded. Nacho Mama's famous Hubcap Margarita has been featured in the Chicago Tribune. Their quesadillas are also a local favorite.

Another college student hang out is PJ's Pub, which is located on Johns Hopkins Campus (but is not technically part of the university). For those who never got to play Beer Pong in college, this is the place to go. There are two folding tables set up side by side and a pitcher of beer costs less than $4. There's even a jukebox of songs you'll only recognize if you were born after 1981. PJ's is unique in that it's the only bar I've ever seen that lets patrons of age purchase bottles of liquor and an entire keg as they leave the bar at 2 a.m.

The other area visitors can try out is Fells Point. Here you'll find Max's on Broadway. Their extensive list of brews will entertain the most curious beer connoisseurs and 80's hair band music plays until 2 a.m. every night. With more than 120 Belgian beers on tap and a similar themed menu, you might want to arrive early if you want to avoid crowds as there is no elbow room around midnight on the weekends.

If getting your dance on sounds more up your alley, then check out Mad River on Charles Street. Head up to the second level where you may have more room for your two left feet to shake it to the sounds of Jay-Z and Alicia Keys. The original Mad River Bar and Grille is in New York and was opened by a small group of friends, who have since opened locations in Chicago, Charleston, Philly and Manayunk.