When you first become sober, it can be an adjustment to fill your time in new ways. Many events revolve around alcohol or substances. However, there is so much to do sober anywhere you are—hike or walk, go to a restaurant, learn a new hobby, have a movie night with friends—and many cities have recovery-specific areas and large sober communities.
I’ve lived in Baltimore for 20 years and have been sober for over eight. I’ve found that there are so many fun things to do in the city that don’t involve substances!
Exercise With Recovery-Focused Peers at 410 Fitness’ Sobriety Workout Class
If you’re into fitness, check out the Sobriety Workout of the Day at 410 Fitness. It happens every Sunday at 4PM, and it’s free! The workout starts with a 12-step meeting, continues with a 20-minute high-intensity workout, and ends with participants sharing stories. Exercising can be a great stress reliever for people in the early stages of recovery—or really, anyone at any stage—and this workout can help you meet other sober people.
See Live Performances at Sober Venue The Undercroft
The Undercroft is a sober venue and community arts space that hosts all sorts of events, most often live music but also discussions, comedy shows, and other types of performances. This is a great place to experience live music without being around all the alcohol you typically find at shows. If you want to put on your own alcohol-free performance, planning an event with the Undercroft staff is a great experience; I had one there and it was incredible. There’s also a play area next door for people to bring along their kids.
Create Arts & Crafts in a Sober, Healing Environment at The Craft Castle
This space Baltimore offers sessions for people to access art supplies and make crafts. The Craft Castle is run by someone who is sober, and there is no alcohol offered there.
At TruHealing, we offer Expressive Therapy, which uses the arts to help process emotions. The Craft Castle also understands that making art can be therapeutic and views it as a healing experience.
As the owner put it in a recent Instagram post, “…I’ve felt it deep in my bones that this would be worth risking everything in order to offer others. Particularly after the recent brutal years we’ve experienced, we need many ways to heal.”
Eat at a Restaurant that Doesn’t Serve Alcohol
A nice way to connect with people in your life is to share a meal together without drinking, but sometimes restaurants can be booze-heavy. If seeing alcohol on the menu is too tempting, there are tons of restaurants around Baltimore that don’t serve it.
Just a few examples:
- Paper Moon Diner, a place that has great diner food and is decorated wall-to-wall in strange toys
- Thai Arroy, a great Thai restaurant on Light Street
- Spice & Dice, another great Thai Restaurant just outside of Baltimore in Towson
- Blue Moon, a breakfast restaurant you can go to on a weekend morning without being confronted with bottomless mimosas or bloody mary’s
Go Hiking at One of the Many Trails in and Near Baltimore
My first several months of sobriety, a friend and I went hiking every weekend, and I still try to go whenever I can. It can help get you out of your head and make you feel calmer. We tried new places every weekend, because there are so many trails in the city or a short drive away.
Within the city alone, there is:
- Stony Run, a 3-mile trail that passes through 15 Baltimore neighborhoods
- Herring Run, a 2.3-mile trail running along the Herring Run Creek
- Gwynns Falls, a 22-mile trail that passes through 30 neighborhoods
Bonus Activity: Play Board Games at No Land Beyond
No Land Beyond does serve alcohol, but that’s not their focus. They offer over 300 board games, both to rent and play there or to buy and bring home. This is a fun place to play games with either a big group of people, a date, a friend, or whomever! It’s become a go-to place for me when I want to do something a little different at a place where alcohol isn’t the main event. And if you’re hungry, they also serve great pizza!
