howard county welcome center

Employees/Volunteers are all very pleasant and helpful. You'll also find tons of brochures for things to do. Also the the visitor's center was the gathering place for the Historic Ellicott City Ghost tour.

I was visiting Ellicott City for the afternoon and happened to park nearby, so I stopped in. The attendants were helpful and friendly, and there were lots of free informational pamphlets. There were also a few interesting books/items for sale, so I picked up a book of walking tours of Ellicott City, and a book about Clark's Elioak Farm for my son.

The staff offered many excellent recommendations of places to eat and then sites to see around town. We had a great time here in this nice little town.

I recommend this to be your first stop in Ellicot City, what better place? Here you can learn about everything going on in town, including the ghost tours that begin here. This town is charming and has so much history, there is plenty of free parking located behind the welcome center.

Lots of information, good recommendations and friendly staff - for newcomers to the area or just those passing through this is the perfect place to stop first.

The Ellicott City visitor’s center is housed in the old post office. Even if you don’t need help from the very nice helpers have a look inside. The old wickets used in the post office counter are still there. Look up as you go in and you will see a couple of murals. There is plenty of information about Ellicott and the surrounding area.

The gentleman greeted us and that is about it. Could have been more talkative. We got a few booklets and did ask him about directions, but still he could have recommend other things or talked up his city.

We always look forward to the charm along Historic Ellicott City's Main Street with its eclectic shops! You never know what you'll find at the Forget-Me-Not Factory, Zebop, the Crystal Underground and the Southwest Connection (where you can get delicious fudge and hand-dipped ice cream!). But, not only that, you have some great restaurants to try out, from The Trolley Stop (just across the bridge), the Phoenix Emporium and Cacao Lane all the way up the to the Judge's Bench, Tersigel's & the Pure Wine Cafe. We are always sure to check out what's off the Main Street too! Did you know that there's the Little French Market Cafe on Tongue Row, just off Parking Lot D? And, in front of the Little French Market Cafe cafe this summer, we understand there will be the a farmers' market, the Ellicott City Old Town Market, every Saturday, from 9 am to 1 pm, starting May 10 and lasting through Nov. 8! We know where we may will find the season's freshest, locally grown fruits and vegetables, farm-fresh eggs, cheeses, meats, locally baked bread, pastries, prepared foods, coffees, teas and more! Hope you are too!

This is a great place to get info not only on Old Ellicott City, but all of Howard County. There are all kinds of brochures on various attractions, hotels, restaurants etc. The people working here genuinely enjoy their job and talking to people. They can give you all sorts of info and insights on the area. Also, the bathrooms are clean!!

When I first went to the old post office on Main Street, it had a beautiful painted mural running along part of the walls depicting Howard County life-and the grillwork at the "cages" for the clerks was intact inside the customer area-with a large work area behind this front counter area. Often there was a sign giving the (long, I thought) length of the lunch time of the clerks--and it was hard to get your postal business done in a speedy manner, shall we say. Then it closed---and the lovely building sat for awhile--voila! it is now the Welcome Center and I finally got to see the renovations a month ago when I went on a history tour of town. Imagine my surprise to see the lovely mural has been preserved, and some of the interior features as well. It is bright and full of light--as well as excellent pamphlets and town info--really a wonderful renovation. There are restrooms tho I did not look for them-and it seems to be a helpful and useful use for a building too handsome to be left to wrack & ruin.

Hi there, I'm sorry we were closed when you came to visit. I hope I can shed some light on the matter. We are currently undergoing renovations of our lower levels to host our administrative offices, have new public restrooms, and to even be home to a new Police Museum! Unfortunately, because of the age of our building, some of the original building materials had asbestos. The building was closed for a few days while it was being removed for the safety of our staff and our guests. I'm sorry our facilities were unavailable at a time when you needed them. We are back in business and open 363 days a year (closed on Christmas and Thanksgiving), so we hope you'll stop in and say hello in the future!

Hello, I'm glad you like Columbia and Howard County! I'm sorry that you had trouble with the signs though. Unfortunately, we don't have control over street signs or lights. The Columbia Association is a great organization you can contact with your concerns and recommendations, you can find their contact page here: http://www.columbiaassociation.org/content/contact_us.htmlI do hope you'll be back to visit us in the future!

You must be talking about our Office Manager Ed! He is a wealth of knowledge and we're happy to have him.Thank you for your kind words, I will pass them on to Ed. I'm glad you enjoyed Ellicott City, we hope to see you soon!