Sitting on the Dock of the Bay

Day Trip Destination: The Chesapeake Bay, Maryland

Start the day by visiting romantic twin beach towns, and end it by whacking crabs at a little hole in the wall on the water. A day trip to Maryland’s west coast of the Chesapeake Bay offers a slice of escapism, within an hour of the Metro D.C. area. Best of all, you won’t have to cross the Bay Bridge or sit in beach traffic to get there.

The Chesapeake Beach Hotel and Spa offers attractions, services and events to enjoy during a day trip to the Bay. All photos by Paul Jean.

If you’re a beach bum who is short on time, short on funds or short on gas this summer, chart your course for the Chesapeake Beach Resort and Spa in the town of Chesapeake Beach. Here you can park for free and walk to surrounding attractions, getting your lay of the land at the diminutive but charming Chesapeake Beach Railway Museum.

Housed in an old railroad station, the museum highlights the intertwined histories of two towns that grew up around the Washington and Chesapeake Railway Company’s lavish resort. Woolen swim suits, antique souvenirs and a scale model of the waterfront amusement district bring into focus a bygone era.

Turn-of-the-century beach lovers arrived at the town’s train station, which is now a quaint museum.

By the beginning of the 20^th century, people arrived by train and steamboat to enjoy the mile-long pier and grand boardwalk – featuring a bowling alley, band shell, games of chance, casino and even dancing bears. A spectacular addition, the Great Derby rollercoaster, was built over the water in 1915.

Hurricanes, fires, and the Depression spelled doom for the development, and the dream of a park to rival Coney Island and Atlantic City was pretty much over by 1935. But while the amusements are now long gone, nostalgia lingers in everything from the architecture to the seafood. And there are plenty of activities for people of all ages and interests to enjoy.

The upscale resort is reminiscent of many of the grand old beach resorts of the Mid-Atlantic. It boasts two marinas that offer charter fishing excursions and transient boat slips, a day spa that offers pampering massage therapy, and three appealing restaurants – the Rod ‘N’ Reel, Smokey Joe’s Grill and the Boardwalk Café.

Enjoy refreshing drinks and casual fare at the hotel’s Boardwalk Café.

The latter is perched right on the Bay, and it’s a particularly good place to grab some appetizers and a fru-fru drink – because nothing says vacation day like a beverage packed with fruit and rum. If the family wants more action than just sittin’ on the dock of the Bay, ask anyone at the hotel for directions to Brownie’s Beach for ancient shark tooth collecting, or visit the water park across the street for plenty of fun in the sun.

The Chesapeake Beach Water Park boasts eight water slides, fountains, waterfalls, a lagoon and a kids’ activity pool.

For a mere 25 cents, you can hop the Beach Trolley to nearby North Beach for a whole ‘nother experience. A thriving community of summer cottages back in the day, its residents enjoyed the amusements of Chesapeake Beach along with a few casinos of their own.

Now a half-mile long boardwalk is the centerpiece of the town, along side a petite strand of beach with a Welcome Center that offers everything you need to make your day at the Bay a success. Bike and boat rentals? Check. Umbrellas and chairs? Ditto that. North Beach may be small, but it has all the amenities of the big guys.

The sand and surf at North Beach offer a slice of seaside life just one hour from Washington, DC.

One block from the beach is the Bay Avenue shopping district, with unique establishments where you can grab an ice cream cone, some old fashioned candy and the necessary beach supplies. Two antique stores, an award winning bakery, an eclectic gift shop, a local history museum, several restaurants and a wine store round out the choices.

The shops on Bay Avenue are housed in unique architecture and sell a little bit of everything.

North Beach charges admission to the sand and sells fishing and crabbing permits – with some luck, you may even catch dinner. If the fish aren’t biting, just drive over to the dockside bar at Skipper’s Pier on Rockhold Creek in Deale and feast on the local fare.

Skipper’s just received a slew of awards from Chesapeake Bay Magazine for being among restaurants with the best oysters, crab cakes and steamed crabs. But while you might come for the seafood, you’ll stay for the views. And the Malibu Black Painkillers.

The steamed crabs at Skipper’s Pier are some of the freshest and best in the area, and the view is tough to beat.

On a recent visit, we saw a boat pull up to the dock and unload its catch of the day – crabs – and deliver it right to the kitchen. Ours tasted just that fresh. Sailboats and other pleasure craft slid past us out on Herring Bay, and live music filled the air – along with the voices of our dockmates during a rousing sing-a-long led by California Bob.

And for the remainder of the day, this was the only spot in the universe. Just sittin’ on the dock of the Bay …

Arrive by car or by boat and tuck in on the dockside bar for a day of great food, drinks, music and pure escapism.

When you go

Admission to the Chesapeake Beach Railway Museum is free.
Admission to the Chesapeake Beach Water Park ranges from $16 – 18, based on height.
Access to Brownie’s Beach is $9 for adults and $7 for children 3-11 and seniors over 55.
Access to North Beach for out of county visitors is $10 for adults and $6 for kids ages 3 to 11.
Fishing permits at North Beach are $5 for one pole and $3 for the second, and crabbing is $5 for the first trap and $3 for the second.
Skipper’s Pier hosts live music every Saturday and Sunday from 3 to 7 p.m. throughout the summer.
Check websites for hours of operation.

This North Beach mural captures the peaceful, easy feeling of a day at the Bay.