A lakeside escape isn’t far away. Photo by Marriott Autograph Collection Hotels

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At dawn, as the sun’s rays glinted across Lake Kittamaqundi, 30 Canada geese floated silently across the water, casting their long-necked shadows on the silvery surface.

This is the view from a balcony room at the Merriweather Hotel in Columbia, Maryland. Although the hotel is within sight of the Mall in Columbia and earshot of Route 29’s steady drum of traffic, it feels like a world away from D.C.’s urban and suburban hubbub. Sure, the 212-room hotel sits beside suburban office buildings, parking lots, a Wegman’s and townhouses. But inside and on the lakeside of the hotel, nature is at the forefront.

Located between D. C. and Baltimore, the Merriweather Hotel, one of Marriott’s 200 worldwide Autograph Collection hotels, offers a convenient weekend getaway or “staycation.” A few nights there would be a perfect gift for harried parents who need a little time away, but not too far away.

Each of the Autograph hotels has a theme, and for the Merriweather, it is nature and music combined. The Merriweather Post Pavilion, a concert venue, is steps away.

Inside and out

The Merriweather’s décor features bird-themed art by local artists. Some reservation packages include an in-room Crosley record player and a long-playing record set with more than 200 tracks titled “For the Birds: The Birdsong Project.” A collective of artists and conservationists, the Birdsong Project blends music, poetry and art representing cultures from 31 countries. Proceeds from the record sales benefit the National Audubon Society. Some of the records are actual bird calls, like doves and sparrows. One poem, titled “Counting Birds,” was written by Jim Harrison and is read by Sean Penn. Even the chocolates on your pillow, in the shape of Maryland crabs, invoke nature.

The hotel lobbies display posters of Merriweather Post concert performers, like Peter, Paul and Mary, Linda Ronstadt, Cyndi Lauper, the Everly Brothers and Bruce Springsteen.

Lake Kittamaqundi

The hotel’s rooftop pool and lounge, open Memorial Day to Labor Day, is a favorite place to decompress and soak in vistas in all directors.

Guests are easily lured outside to Lake Kittamaqundi, or “meeting place” in the Piscataway language. The 27-acre manmade lake is one of five in Columbia, all connected.

A one-mile paved trail through the woods around the lake offers wildlife viewing opportunities. In the winter, waterfowl that paddle around the lake include common mergansers, hooded mergansers, pied-billed grebes, ring-necked ducks, wood ducks, American black ducks, buffleheads and year-round great blue herons. Visitors might spot a beaver, red fox, river otter, muskrat or white-tailed deer.

In the warmer months, observers might see an Eastern tiger swallowtail butterfly, a common whitetail dragonfly or a red-eared slider turtle.

People can launch their own canoe and kayak from a public dock nearby. Anglers, amateur and pro, might catch bluegills, pumpkinseeds, black crappies, carps and large-mouth bass from the shoreline, dock or a boat.

Farm-to-table restaurant

The Lake Restaurant called Lāk spotlights farm-to-table fine cuisine at lunch and dinner daily. Chef Kristina Brown, trained at the Culinary Institute of America, serves a mouthwatering grilled muenster sandwich, duck confit and balsamic cherries on sourdough. Other distinctive dishes are homemade ricotta, bourbon sourdough and Maryland crab cakes. She beautifully presents a Frenched chicken breast topped with grilled peaches and a bourbon-peach sauce. Another top choice of her diners is mahi mahi with chimichurri, a mix of olive oil, parsley and red pepper flakes.

The hotel’s Rookery Bar (yes, it’s named for a colony of birds) offers special seasonal cocktails like a Lāk Old Fashioned with a splash of vanilla to bring out the flavor of the bourbon and warm the innards in winter. The bar’s toddies do the same.

For quick eats, the hotel’s café sells homemade pastries, sandwiches and Lavazza coffee.

Nearby attractions

The Merriweather Post Pavilion, located in a park called Symphony Woods, is a 0.7-mile walk from the hotel. For more than 50 years, the venue has featured rock, country, rhythm and blues, pop, jazz, hip-hop, alternative, electronica and classical music. The concert season is typically from the beginning of May to the middle of October. The hotel’s VIP Concert Package includes shuttle service to the pavilion.

There’s plenty of “retail therapy” at the Mall in Columbia, half a mile away, with more than 200 stores.

For travelers wanting a car-free stay, taxis and Ubers are available from the Baltimore-Washington International Airport’s Amtrak station.

The Merriweather Hotel is located at 10209 Wincopin Cir., Columbia. For nightly rates, call (410) 730-3900 or visit merriweatherlakehouse.com. For more local attractions, see VisitHowardCounty.com and check the lineup of concerts at Merriweather Post Pavilion, merriweathermusic.com.