Touring the Islands of Maryland
Want to get away to the islands? Maryland is home to hundreds of islands just waiting to be explored! Some are uninhabited or strictly nature preserves, while others are bustling with shops, restaurants and museums. Here some local favorites to get you started.
The 45-minute ferry ride to this island from the mainland is truly worth it for foodies: Smith Island is renowned for its crab cakes as well as Maryland’s official state dessert, the eight-layer Smith Island Cake.
This charming island town was named one of “America’s Happiest Seaside Towns” by Coastal Living, and it’s no wonder. Waterfront restaurants and shops dot Solomons Island Road, while the Calvert Marine Museum has exhibits on ancient fossils and a lighthouse you can climb inside.
This tiny island in southern St. Mary’s County is the site of the first battle on Maryland soil during the Revolutionary War, and was later occupied by the British in the War of 1812. Today, it’s a popular bird watching and kayaking spot.
Life moves slowly on this Eastern Shore Island, although things ramp up each June for the legendary Seafood Festival held by the Tilghman Volunteer Fire Co.
Located just 45 miles south of Washington, D.C., in the Potomac River in Charles County, Cobb Island is a vacation home paradise. Nature abounds here where swans, ospreys, herons and crabs outnumber residents. The small island boasts great seafood, including the famed crabs at Capt. John's Crabhouse.
This quiet island on the Tangier Sound in Somerset County provides a wonderful opportunity to slow down. There are just a few hundred residents here, and the island is famed for bird watching, sailing, canoeing and the annual Labor Day Skipjack Race.
Spend a Day on the Bay aboard a Watermark yacht and cruise to St. Michaels on the Eastern Shore. This quaint historic village offers fresh seafood, boutique shopping, and historic sites all within walking distance during your 3-hours ashore, followed by the return cruise to Annapolis. Admission to the Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum is included.