Maryland
11 Most Relaxing Chesapeake Bay Towns
The Chesapeake Bay’s sheltered estuary supports countless calm, relaxing waterfront towns throughout. In Oxford, Maryland, the Oxford-Bellevue Ferry and the public shoreline at The Strand turn a small historic village into a place for scenic crossings and sailboat views. In Tangier, Virginia, ferry arrivals and meals at Hilda Crockett’s Chesapeake House make the island feel both remote and unforgettable. If you want to relax by the water, there’s no place like the Chesapeake Bay, and the 11 towns below prove it.
Oxford, Maryland
Oxford occupies a pocket of Maryland’s Eastern Shore at the mouth of the Tred Avon, with quiet lanes, colonial-era buildings, and a waterfront woven tightly into daily life. The Oxford-Bellevue Ferry, operating since 1683, remains the defining attraction, carrying passengers across the Tred Avon on one of the oldest privately run ferry routes in the country. On South Morris Street, the Oxford Museum traces the area’s past as a tobacco port through maritime artifacts, maps, and exhibits tied to local commerce. The Strand supplies a rare public shoreline in a village of private docks, with a narrow beach, open sightlines, and a front-row place to watch sailboats tack offshore. The Robert Morris Inn rounds out the visit inside a 1710 structure known for its brick architecture and polished dining near the ferry dock.
Tilghman Island, Maryland
Tilghman Island stretches into Talbot County’s southern waters where the Choptank meets the Chesapeake, with crab shacks, docks, and low horizons defining the approach. Black Walnut Point Natural Resources Management Area gives the landscape its wildest expression, with a path leading to the island’s southern tip for birding, breezes, and wide-open scenery. The Tilghman Watermen’s Museum captures the character of the community through workboat history, oral traditions, and exhibits devoted to crabbers and oystermen. Phillips Wharf Environmental Center shifts the focus to ecology with tanks, displays, and programs centered on regional fisheries and estuarine life. Wylder Hotel Tilghman Island provides the most polished dining-and-lodging option, pairing marina views with Tickler’s Crab Shack for a meal rooted in the local catch.
Betterton, Maryland
Betterton lines a small stretch of Kent County shoreline on the upper Chesapeake, where bluffs and the nearby Sassafras create a broader outlook than most Bay communities offer. Betterton Beach is the main draw, with sand, a boardwalk, a fishing jetty, and a public landing that keeps the shoreline open and usable. The Betterton Heritage Museum preserves the community’s resort-era identity through photographs, artifacts, and the restored Betterton Fishing Ark. Sassafras adds a high-end restaurant in a cottage overlooking the shoreline, with a tasting menu built around regional seafood and carefully sourced produce. The old street plan still reveals the settlement’s summer-colony roots, with roads laid out to pull attention straight toward the water.
Vienna, Maryland
Vienna stands along the Nanticoke in Dorchester County, a compact old port where historic homes sit close to the road and the waterway remains central to the setting. Emperor’s Landing Park offers the easiest way to experience the shoreline, with a riverwalk, floating docks, and space for launching kayaks or watching boats pass under changing light. Inside the restored Nanticoke Inn, the Nanticoke River Discovery Center explores Captain John Smith’s 1608 voyage and the history of the Nanticoke people with a far more specific focus than a standard local-history site. Nearby, Handsell Historic Site preserves an eighteenth-century dwelling, a reconstructed Native longhouse, and the layered record of Native, European, and African American lives. Millie’s Road House adds a casual finish with oysters, crab cakes, and Eastern Shore staples served right in the center of the village.
Rock Hall, Maryland
Rock Hall spreads along the Chester in Kent County, with slips, deadrise boats, and working docks marking one of the most boat-centered communities on the Chesapeake. Eastern Neck National Wildlife Refuge, just south of town, brings in the natural side with trails, eagle sightings, and expansive views across the Bay and adjacent marsh. The Waterman’s Museum preserves the area’s maritime identity through exhibits on crabbing, oystering, fishing, and the labor that shaped the waterfront economy. The Mainstay gives the place an unexpected cultural edge, hosting live music in a compact venue on North Main Street that has become a serious destination for performers and audiences alike. Waterman’s Crab House anchors the dining scene with dockside tables, marina activity, and a seafood menu tied closely to local tradition.
Chesapeake City, Maryland
Chesapeake City rises above the south bank of the C&D Canal in Cecil County, where steep streets, brick sidewalks, and passing cargo ships create one of the most dramatic settings in the region. The C&D Canal Museum, inside the old pump house, explains the engineering behind the canal and the way it transformed trade along this corridor. Schaefer’s Canal House brings the dining scene into view with a deck suspended over the canal, placing diners close to the freighters moving through town. Chesapeake City Bridge supplies the strongest visual landmark, arching high above the canal and framing enormous vessels against the town’s compact historic core. Pell Gardens softens the industrial scale with formal landscaping, benches, and a lookout that works especially well for evening light and ship watching.
Smith Island, Maryland
Smith Island lies in Somerset County far out in Maryland’s lower Chesapeake, a marsh-fringed cluster of settlements connected by narrow roads and reached only by boat. The Smith Island Cultural Center in Ewell gives the clearest introduction to the place through exhibits on local speech, island life, and the watermen who sustained it. Martin National Wildlife Refuge spreads across the southern reaches with wetlands, birdlife, and a sense of remoteness that feels unlike mainland destinations. Drum Point Market supplies one of the signature local picks, serving crab cakes and slices of the famous multi-layer Smith Island Cake near the dock. Tangier Sound Watermen’s Heritage Tours adds a close working look at crab pots, boats, and the rhythms that continue to shape everyday life here.
Tangier, Virginia
Tangier sits roughly 12 miles off Virginia’s Eastern Shore in the middle of the Chesapeake, a remote Accomack County community reached by ferry or small plane and shaped by channels, docks, and narrow lanes. Tangier Island Cruises turns the trip out into part of the appeal, carrying visitors across Tangier Sound and emphasizing the island’s separation from the mainland. The Tangier Island History Museum offers the strongest historical grounding, with exhibits on commercial fishing, island settlement, and traditions that still define the community. The Tangier water trails invite paddling through marsh edges and quiet channels where wildlife is often closer than other people. Hilda Crockett’s Chesapeake House remains the best-known meal destination, serving crab cakes and other traditional dishes in a setting long associated with island hospitality.
Onancock, Virginia
Onancock sits along Onancock Creek in Accomack County, a deep-water port community on Virginia’s Eastern Shore where old buildings and a working marina still shape the waterfront. Ker Place, the 1799 Federal mansion operated by the Eastern Shore of Virginia Historical Society, stands out for its architecture and its detailed interpretation of the region’s merchant past. The Onancock Wharf and Marina makes access easy with a kayak launch and dinghy dock that pull visitors directly into the waterside setting. Hopkins & Bro. Store preserves the feel of a nineteenth-century mercantile building while now housing Mallards at the Wharf. North Street Playhouse gives the village a lively evening option through live productions staged in the middle of a compact historic district lined with galleries and porches.
Reedville, Virginia
Reedville occupies a stretch of Virginia’s Northern Neck in Northumberland County, where Cockrell’s Creek leads toward the Chesapeake and old captains’ houses still define the village streetscape. The Reedville Fishermen’s Museum explains the place best, with exhibits on the menhaden industry, regional workboats, and the fishing economy that built the community. Victorian Main Street shows off the prosperity of that era through ornate houses and a remarkably intact late-nineteenth-century streetscape. Public viewpoints along Cockrell’s Creek bring marinas, deadrise boats, and constant boat traffic into the foreground without requiring a formal excursion. The Crazy Crab supplies a strong dining option, pairing seafood with dockside seating that keeps the maritime setting visible throughout the meal.
Deltaville, Virginia
Deltaville sits in Middlesex County where Jackson Creek and the Piankatank meet the Chesapeake, a low-lying boating center known for marinas, boatyards, and sheltered access to open water. The Deltaville Maritime Museum provides the strongest historical draw, especially through the restored 1924 buyboat F.D. Crockett, which offers a full-scale link to the region’s commercial past. Holly Point Nature Park adds trails, gardens, a kayak launch, and shoreline scenery across 36 acres beside Mill Creek. Fishing Bay Marina represents the area’s sailing culture with deep-water slips and quick access to cruising grounds on the Piankatank. The replica Stingray Point Lighthouse supplies the most recognizable landmark, tying the waterfront scene to the navigation history that shaped this corner of the Bay.
From ferry rides in Oxford to the quiet remoteness of Tangier, these Chesapeake Bay towns show how much variety fits around one estuary. Some stand out for marsh trails and birding, others for crab houses, old inns, and working docks, but all keep the water close. That mix of history, scenery, and local character is what makes this region such an easy place to slow down and stay awhile.
Maryland
Governor Moore Continues “Delivering for Maryland” Tour in Allegany and Garrett Counties One Year after Historic Floods, Highlighting Infrastructure and Recover
Updated:
ANNAPOLIS, MD — Governor Wes Moore today concluded a two-day “Delivering for Maryland” tour through Allegany and Garrett counties. The tour highlighted the Moore-Miller Administration’s investments in rural infrastructure and long-term recovery following last year’s devastating floods. Throughout the tour, Governor Moore emphasized the administration’s ongoing commitment to ensuring that no community is left behind when crisis strikes.
“When our people need help, political parties do not matter; what matters is that we are all Marylanders,” said Gov. Moore. “This tour is a testament to what we can achieve when local and state leaders come together to rebuild, and support our neighbors in need. We are committed to delivering for Western Maryland because leaving no one behind isn’t just a slogan—it is the guiding principle of how we govern.”
The governor began the day touring the City of Frostburg’s Water Treatment Plant. Governor Moore highlighted the city’s use of $400,000 from the Fiscal Year 2027 capital grants investment to address water infrastructure upgrades and their water resiliency project. State funding will target critical infrastructure upgrades and repairs to the plant, which serves 9,500 local customers and faces increased demand as it regularly supports the broader George’s Creek Valley water system. As climate variability and regional reliance place growing strain on the City of Frostburg’s existing infrastructure, the project is a critical investment in public health, sustainability, and regional cooperation.
“The City of Frostburg is incredibly grateful to Governor Moore and the General Assembly for prioritizing Western Maryland’s needs, and for helping us to ensure the availability of safe, clean water to our citizens, and others throughout Allegany County,” said Frostburg Mayor Todd Logsdon. “The Frostburg Water Sustainability Project is a great example of how leaders can come together to put our citizens first and ensure that the people of Frostburg and all of Western Maryland have a better quality of life.”
Governor Moore then visited the Town of Midland, making history as the first sitting governor to visit the municipality in its recorded history. Alongside Mayor John Monahan, the governor toured the construction site of the new Midland Town Hall, supported by a $50,000 state legislative bond initiative. The former town hall is the oldest operating town hall in Maryland. The governor’s flood recovery investments through the FY 2027 budget include $5.5 million for George’s Creek riverbed restoration, which will directly mitigate sediment build-up along the riverbanks, prevent future breaches, and protect local homes and public parks in Midland.
“We want to thank the Governor for joining us in Midland today during his time in Mountain Maryland, and for being the first governor to visit us in our town’s recorded history,” said Midland Mayor John Monahan. “It was a great opportunity to show him how state investment contributed to our new town hall, and to show him the baseball fields and playground that were proudly rebuilt by our community following last year’s floods. And I’m thankful for the Governor’s flood investments into the region. As I’ve said, I didn’t want a politician, I wanted our town to have a friend. In Governor Moore, we have a friend.”
The governor then traveled to Westernport, where he toured the newly renovated first floor of Westernport Elementary School. One year ago, rising floodwaters forced emergency swiftwater rescue teams to evacuate approximately 150 students and 50 adults from the school. Working in lockstep with the state, the school system leveraged $5 million in insurance funding to complete repairs ahead of schedule, officially reopening the first floor earlier this month.
“We are so happy that the governor is here to celebrate the resiliency of our community,” said Allegany County Public Schools Superintendent Dr. Michael J. Martirano. “It really matters a lot to our community overall that he is here acknowledging the hard work and dedication about carrying it out.”
The governor then visited the temporary space of the Westernport Library—the heart of the Westernport community—and walked to the Potomac Volunteer Fire Company No. 2 Firehouse to address families, volunteers, and local leaders from Westernport, Lonaconing, Midland, Cumberland, and Frostburg.
During his remarks, the governor detailed his $12 million flood recovery operating investment included in the Fiscal Year 2027 budget. The investment includes $5.5 million for George’s Creek riverbed restoration to mitigate future flood risks; $5.5 million for repairs to infrastructure, including sewers, waterlines, roads, and bridges; and $1 million to restore the foundation and structural stability of the Westernport Library. These investments follow the nearly $1.5 million in immediate relief provided through the State Disaster Recovery Fund and the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program to support impacted families last year. The governor also presented a Governor’s Citation to Mayor Judy Hamilton, honoring her dedicated public service as her tenure concludes at the end of the month.
“Today is about more than the reopening of a library — it’s a testament to the resilience of Mountain Maryland,” said Congresswoman April McClain Delaney. “I remember well just a year ago trudging through the deep mud and witnessing the overturned bookshelves alongside Governor Moore and local leaders. Moreover, I came away with a deep respect for the kind neighbors who quickly arrived with shovels in hand. At a time when the Trump Administration repeatedly denied well-deserved FEMA emergency funding, our Governor stepped up with aid because he believes that no Marylander should ever be left behind. I was proud to work with Team Maryland on recovery efforts and to witness our Governor’s $12 million investment in these communities so they have the necessary resources to rebuild and recover.”
“The Westernport Library has always been the heart of our town, a safe gathering space where our community connects, learns, and grows,” said Westernport Mayor Judy Hamilton. “Governor Moore’s $12 million flood recovery investment, including his $1 million investment to rebuild our library, ensures that the heart of Westernport will beat stronger than ever. We are profoundly grateful for the governor’s recognition of what this space means to our residents, and for his standing by us as we rebuild our beloved community.”
“Disaster recovery takes partnership and collaboration at every level. We authorized the first-ever use of the State Disaster Recovery Fund for Allegany County residents which is still supporting recovery efforts today, and the placement of a Maryland Mesonet weather station in Westernport will enhance warnings for residents in future storms,” said Maryland Department of Emergency Management Secretary Russ Strickland. “We will continue to support Mountain Maryland in their recovery efforts.”
Governor Moore concluded his visit to Allegany and Garrett counties alongside Mayor Don Sincell at the newly relocated and restored Bethel AME Church in Mountain Lake Park. Originally established in Oakland in 1872, the church is the first historic African American house of worship in Garrett County. The structure was salvaged, relocated, and rededicated as a cultural center to share the overlooked history of Black railroad, farm, and service workers who helped build the Western Maryland region. The restoration project was made possible through a strong partnership with the Maryland Department of Housing and Community Development and the Maryland Historical Trust.
“Bethel AME Church is a cornerstone of our community’s history, and preserving it means preserving the soul of Mountain Lake Park and Garrett County,” said Mountain Lake Park Mayor Don Sincell. “We are incredibly grateful for the state funding that has made this relocation and restoration a reality. Having Governor Moore here to witness this milestone shows his genuine commitment to protecting the heritage and future of every Maryland town, no matter how small.”
The governor’s engagements in Allegany and Garrett counties began yesterday at Frostburg University, where he delivered the commencement address to the Frostburg State University (FSU) Class of 2026. The governor celebrated the exceptional service and action demonstrated by Class of 2026 and recognized the university’s vital civic role during the 2025 flood crisis. Later that afternoon, the governor joined bluegrass music legend and National Heritage Fellow Del McCoury at the 18th annual DelFest at the Allegany County Fairgrounds. Before a crowd of thousands, Governor Moore declared Thursday, May 21, 2026, as “Del McCoury Day” in Maryland, celebrating Del’s legacy in traditional bluegrass and Appalachian culture.
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HARFORD COUNTY, Md. (WBFF) — The Maryland State Highway Administration will be assessing the Fallston intersection where 16-year-old Tyler Benton was killed in a dirt bike crash earlier this month, Harford County Councilmember Alison Imhoff announced Thursday.
On May 5 around 2:30 p.m., troopers with the Maryland State Police Bel Air Barrack were called to the intersection of Fallston Road (MD-152) and Pleasantville Road for a crash involving a car and electric dirt bike.
ALSO READ | Fallston High School student killed after deadly crash in Harford County
The preliminary investigation found a Honda CR-V was traveling southbound on MD-152 and tried to make a left turn onto Pleasantville Rd. and that’s when an electric dirt bike traveling northbound on MD-152 hit the Honda on the passenger side, officials said.
Maryland State Police Aviation Command flew the teen, who attended Fallston High School, to a local trauma center where he was pronounced dead.
The Maryland State Police Crash Team is leading the investigation.
Once completed, the investigation will be presented to the Office of the State’s Attorney in Harford County to determine if charges will be filed.
SHA’s review should be done in the next 90 days, Councilmember Imhoff said.
BE THE FIRST TO COMMENT
As the traffic flow and safety of the intersection are assessed, anyone with concerns or questions is asked to contact Councilmember Imhoff by emailing Abimhoff@harfordcountycouncil.com.
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