Quick answer: Maryland’s best-known beaches are Ocean City and Assateague on the short Atlantic coast, and Sandy Point, North Beach, Betterton and Matapeake on the Chesapeake Bay. The state also has good swimming beaches on lakes in its western mountains, such as Deep Creek Lake, Rocky Gap and Greenbrier. Below are 19 beaches and beach parks, with what each is like; state-park beaches have seasonal hours, entry fees and capacity closures, so check the Maryland Department of Natural Resources (DNR) website before you go.
How Maryland’s beaches differ
Maryland has three kinds of beach:
- The Atlantic coast: a short ocean shoreline on the Delmarva peninsula, about 31 miles long, shared between the resort town of Ocean City and the wild barrier island of Assateague.
- The Chesapeake Bay and its rivers: calmer water, small-town beaches, fossils, fishing piers and views of the Bay Bridge.
- Inland lakes: man-made lakes in state parks in western Maryland, with sandy swimming areas in summer.
Lifeguards, if any, are usually on duty only in the summer season, and some state-park beaches close the gates once their car parks are full on hot weekends. Swim only where swimming is allowed, and check water-quality advisories for bay and river beaches after heavy rain.
19 best beaches in Maryland
1. Ocean City
Ocean City is Maryland’s classic beach resort, on Fenwick Island, a barrier spit between the Atlantic and the coastal bays. Its beach runs for just over 9 miles, from the inlet in the south to the Delaware line. The boardwalk, about 2.25 miles long since it was rebuilt after a 1962 storm, is lined with shops, food stalls and amusements. At its southern end is Trimper’s Rides, a historic amusement park founded in 1893 that still runs a 1912 carousel, one of the oldest working carousels in the United States.
An earlier version of this article said Ocean City has 10 miles of beach, a 3-mile boardwalk and “over 200 restaurants”. We have replaced these with the figures we could confirm.
2. Assateague State Park
Assateague Island is a 37-mile barrier island; its northern two-thirds are in Maryland and the southern third in Virginia. Assateague State Park, in Maryland, lies between Sinepuxent Bay and the Atlantic and is the island’s most developed area, with about 350 campsites. The island is famous for its feral horses, known in Maryland as Assateague horses. Admire them from a distance: they are wild and can bite and kick, and feeding them is not allowed.
3. Betterton
Betterton is a small town on Maryland’s Eastern Shore, in Kent County, at the mouth of the Sassafras River on the upper Chesapeake Bay. It grew as a resort in the late 1800s and early 1900s, when steamboats brought holidaymakers from the cities, and its surviving Victorian hotels and cottages now form a historic district. Today it is a quiet town. Betterton Beach, at the foot of Main Street, has about 300 feet of swimming frontage, plus a boardwalk, fishing jetty and picnic pavilion.
4. Calvert Cliffs State Park
Calvert Cliffs State Park is in Lusby, Calvert County, on the Chesapeake Bay. The cliffs run for about 24 miles along the Calvert peninsula and are known for fossils, mainly from the Middle Miocene. Visitors may collect fossils on the beach, but the cliffs themselves are closed because they erode and collapse. The park also has wooded trails, wetland areas and a small fishing pond.
5. Cherry Beach
Cherry Beach Park is in Sharptown, Wicomico County, on the Nanticoke River. It has a small beach area, a boat ramp, a fishing pier, a playground and a large picnic pavilion. A walking path, added in 2009, links it to neighbouring Cope Bennett Park.
An earlier version of this article said the land was donated by A. W. and Ida Robinson. We could not confirm this, so we have removed it.
6. Cunningham Falls State Park
Cunningham Falls State Park lies west of Thurmont in Frederick County, on Catoctin Mountain. Its centrepiece is the 78-foot Cunningham Falls. The park has a 43-acre man-made lake, campgrounds in its William Houck and Manor areas, and the ruins of a Catoctin iron furnace.
7. Deep Creek Lake
Deep Creek Lake, in Garrett County in far western Maryland, is a reservoir of about 3,900 acres with roughly 69 miles of shoreline. It was created in the 1920s by a hydroelectric dam built between 1923 and 1925. Deep Creek Lake State Park, on the north-east side of the lake, has a swimming beach, and the lake is popular for boating and fishing for species including largemouth and smallmouth bass, walleye, yellow perch and northern pike.
An earlier version of this article said the lake has “almost a mile” of shoreline and was made in 1920. It has about 69 miles of shoreline, and the dam was completed in 1925.
8. Greenbrier State Park
Greenbrier State Park is on South Mountain, about three miles north-east of Boonsboro in Washington County. Its 42-acre man-made lake has a 1,000-foot sandy beach and swimming area that gradually deepens to about six feet. The Appalachian Trail crosses a corner of the park and can be reached from its trails. Camping, fishing, hiking and boating are also available.
9. Hammerman Beach (Gunpowder Falls State Park)
The Hammerman Area of Gunpowder Falls State Park, near the mouth of the Gunpowder River, has a 1,500-foot swimming beach. It is a popular day-use area with picnic spaces and playgrounds, and nearby Dundee Creek Marina offers boat rentals. Check DNR for the lifeguard season and swimming hours.
10. Hart-Miller Island State Park
Hart-Miller Island State Park is at the mouth of Back River near Essex, in Baltimore County, and can be reached only by boat. It covers 244 acres and has a 3,000-foot sandy beach and sites for overnight camping, and it also includes Hawk Cove and Pleasure Island. The southern section opened to the public in 2016, while the northern section remains closed.
An earlier version of this article said the park covers 1,100 acres. The state park covers 244 acres.
11. Janes Island State Park
Janes Island State Park, next to the town of Crisfield in Somerset County, covers about 3,160 acres, much of it salt marsh. About 30 miles of marked water trails wind through the marsh to roughly 7 miles of isolated sandy beaches on Tangier Sound and the bay, which you reach by kayak or canoe. The park has rental cabins, a campground, a boat launch and canoe and kayak rentals.
12. Matapeake Beach
Matapeake State Park is on Kent Island in Queen Anne’s County, with views of the Chesapeake Bay Bridge. It is known for its dog beach, one of the few places in the area where dogs can play in the water, and it also has a separate swimming beach. The former ferry terminal is now the Matapeake Clubhouse, the old ferry landing is a fishing pier, and the park marks the northern end of the paved South Island Trail.
13. North Beach
North Beach is a small town on the Chesapeake Bay in Calvert County, next to Chesapeake Beach. Early newspaper advertisements called it “Washington’s most popular salt water resort”. It has a public beach, a fishing pier and a boardwalk, which was rebuilt after Hurricane Isabel damaged it in 2003.
14. Point Lookout State Park
Point Lookout State Park is at the southern tip of a peninsula where the Potomac River meets the Chesapeake Bay, in St. Mary’s County. During the American Civil War it was the site of Camp Hoffman, a Union prisoner-of-war camp. Built for 10,000 men, it held 12,000 to 20,000 at times, and about 50,000 Confederate soldiers passed through it over the course of the war, of whom nearly 4,000 died. Today the park has public beaches, camping, fishing and boating.
An earlier version of this article said the camp held “more than 52,264” soldiers. The figure usually given is about 50,000.
15. Rocky Gap State Park
Rocky Gap State Park, in Allegany County about seven miles east of Cumberland, covers about 3,000 acres of mountains and forest. Its centrepiece is Lake Habeeb, a 243-acre lake with white sand beaches, and the park also offers camping and hiking.
16. Sandy Point State Park
Sandy Point State Park, at the western end of the Chesapeake Bay Bridge near Annapolis in Anne Arundel County, covers 786 acres and opened in 1952. Its swimming beach draws more than a million visitors a year, and the park also offers fishing, crabbing, boat rentals, a marina store and a nature centre. On busy summer weekends it can reach capacity, so arrive early.
17. Newtowne Neck State Park
Newtowne Neck State Park covers 794 acres on a peninsula about four miles south-west of Leonardtown in St. Mary’s County, surrounded by Breton Bay, St. Clement’s Bay and the Potomac River. It has about seven miles of undeveloped shoreline and is managed by the Maryland DNR. The land was part of former Jesuit holdings bought by the state in 2009. Activities are low-key: fishing, kayaking, hunting in season, and simple hiking and biking trails.
An earlier version of this article described the park as 776 acres and made a claim about its earlier Native American residents that we could not confirm. We have updated the area and removed the claim.
18. Gunpowder Falls State Park
Gunpowder Falls State Park, founded in 1959, protects the valleys of the Big and Little Gunpowder Falls and the Gunpowder River north-east of Baltimore. It is one of Maryland’s largest state parks, made up of six separate areas, with more than 120 miles of trails for hiking, biking, horse riding and cross-country skiing, and the Hereford Area is a state-designated wildlands area. Its main beach is at the Hammerman Area (number 9 above).
19. Breezy Point Beach
Breezy Point Beach and Campground, run by Calvert County on the Chesapeake Bay, is a family-friendly public beach. According to the county, the beach is open daily from 1 May to 31 October, with a netted swimming area, picnic groves and a 200-foot pier for fishing and crabbing (a Maryland fishing licence is needed where required). Camping has been closed in some recent seasons for shoreline restoration, so check with the county before you plan to stay.
Tips for visiting Maryland beaches
- Check each park’s page on the Maryland DNR website for current hours, fees and closures; some parks close to new arrivals when they are full.
- Swim only in designated areas and when lifeguards are on duty where the park provides them.
- Leave the Assateague horses alone and keep food sealed away.
- Bay and river water quality can drop after heavy rain; look for posted advisories.
- Bring your own shade, water and sun protection; many smaller beaches have few facilities.
Planning a longer East Coast trip? See our guides to the best beaches in Virginia, North Carolina beaches and the best beaches in the USA.
Frequently asked questions
What is the best beach in Maryland?
It depends on what you want. Ocean City is best for a lively resort with a boardwalk, Assateague for wild beaches and horses, Sandy Point for an easy bay beach near Annapolis, and Deep Creek Lake for a mountain lake holiday.
Does Maryland have ocean beaches?
Yes, but only a short stretch. Maryland’s Atlantic coast is shared between Ocean City and the Maryland part of Assateague Island.
Can you find fossils on Maryland beaches?
Yes. Calvert Cliffs State Park is known for Miocene fossils, and visitors may collect them on the beach. The cliffs themselves are closed because they are unstable.
Which Maryland beach allows dogs?
Matapeake State Park on Kent Island has a dedicated dog beach. Rules differ between parks, and many swimming beaches do not allow pets, so check before you go.
This guide was checked in October 2026 against published information on Maryland’s state parks and towns, Calvert County’s Breezy Point page and Wicomico County parks listings.
