Eastern Shore of Maryland

Understand

The Eastern Shore was largely isolated from the rest of Maryland until the construction of the Chesapeake Bay Bridge in 1952. As a result, values tend to be conservative and closely related to the rural South, as opposed to mainland Maryland or Virginia, which is perceived by locals as more liberal. For this reason, many residents take offense being compared to Marylanders from across the Chesapeake Bay Bridge. This sense of alienation from the rest of Maryland has spurred several attempts to split off from the state of Maryland. Proposals have been debated in the Maryland General Assembly in 1833-1835, 1852 and in 1998 for the Eastern Shore becoming its own state. Because of its unique location, Maryland's regions portray different regional characteristics. Many, if not most, residents of the Eastern Shore consider themselves Southerners. Maryland was a border state during the Civil War. By 1860 49.1% of the African Americans in the state were free.

Geography The Eastern Shore is part of the Delmarva Peninsula. The topography of the Eastern Shore is flat. Mountains are non-existent and hills are rare. Because of its proximity to the Chesapeake, the Eastern Shore has several islands, marshes, beaches, and inlets.

Climate See Delmarva Peninsula#Climate

Getting there

By car US-50 and US-13 are the main roads into the Eastern Shore, with US-50 leading across the Bay Bridge from Annapolis and the rest of Maryland, US-13 leading north south from Eastern Virginia to Delaware. US-40 also provides entry from Cecil County in the North via an entry to MD-213 in Elkton. US-301 is the most useful road for the seldom-visited northern parts of the region.

By plane The nearest major airports are: Washington Dulles International Airport (IAD IATA), Reagan National Airport (DCA IATA), Baltimore-Washington International Airport (BWI IATA), and Salisbury-Ocean City Wicomico County Airport (SBY IATA). SBY is in Salisbury, MD which is about a 27-mile drive from Ocean City by way of US-50. While SBY is not a big airport, it is included on this list because it is the only somewhat big airport on the Eastern Shore of Maryland. The only airline that flies into SBY is American Airlines. There is an onsite Enterprise Rent-A-Car location at SBY and other transportation options include: Coast to Coast Limousine Inc, Gene's Limousine Service Inc, Gene's Taxi Co, Yellow Cab, Bailey's Taxi Services, Salisbury Taxi Co, and other taxi services. BWI, DCA, and IAD are all in the D.C.-Baltimore metropolitan region which is on the other side of the Chesapeake Bay. Most major airlines fly into these airports and many car rental agencies have locations at these airports. There are also many taxi and limousine companies and bus services in the D.C.-Baltimore metropolitan region. The BayRunner shuttle is the airport shuttle services for BWI. The Eastern Shore pick up/drop off locations are: Ocean City, Ocean Pines, Salisbury (not at airport), Cambridge, and Easton. Greyhound also has several stops on the Eastern Shore and an onsite location at BWI. If you are traveling to one of the more northern parts of the Eastern Shore, it will be closer to fly into Philadelphia International Airport (PHL IATA). SBY is the closest airport for the southern parts of the Easter

Getting around

By bus Shore Transit System has over 200 stops in the tri-state area. Greyhound has a few Eastern Shore stops.

By car Unless you prefer to stick to the water when traveling, a car is an absolute necessity to have a good time on the Eastern Shore. The aforementioned routes are also the principal roads around the region, especially US-50.

By boat Ferries are available from Crisfield to Deal Island, Smith Island, and Tangier Island. Marina's are quite easy to come by for travelers with their own boat! The Chesapeake Bay's fingers extend towards virtually any town, save those right by the Atlantic beaches, so a private boat will really get you to just about all the small historic towns and nature reserves dotting the landscape.

By bike The region's relatively flat landscape lends itself well to bikers. There are multiple bike shops, and there's no shortage of scenic bicycle trails.

See

The Chesapeake Bay is likely the main attraction on the Eastern Shore. It is rich with activities, watermen culture, great seafood, and is simply beautiful. To learn more about Chesapeake culture, there are a number of good museums around the region, such as the J. Millard Tawes Historical Museum and seafood processing plant tour in Crisfield and the Maritime Museum of St. Michaels. Smith Island is another great stop for Chesapeake watermen culture, where you'll find accents dating back to Victorian England, and a local sense of place and purpose inseparable from the Bay and its sea harvests. Hooper's Island is a bit less exotic than Smith Island, but still a great off-the-beaten-path locale for natural beauty and the historic Phillips Seafood Factory. The ever-popular resort town of Ocean City, in addition to the beach and boardwalk, has a couple offbeat museums, most notably the Ripley's Believe it or Not Museum. It is also next door to the gorgeous barrier island of Assateague Island National Seashore. Assateague, with its natural beauty and wild ponies strolling the long, quiet, white sand beach, is not to be missed. Other picturesque tourist destinations include the small historic towns around the region, particularly south of US-50. The town of St. Michaels on a neck surrounded by water, the colonial former port of Oxford, Chestertown, Stevensville on Kent Island, and Snow Hill are all great options for lazy strolls and historical sightseeing.

Do

The Eastern Shore is rich with wild areas, most famously Assateague Island National Seashore and State Park, but also less known state parks, forests, and wildlife preserves. Look for deserted beaches on Janes Island State Park by Crisfield and kayaking/canoeing in Pocomoke River State Forest by Snow Hill. Ocean City has long been popular with Baltimoreans and Marylanders from across the bridge in general, thus rendering the flavor of Ocean City life unlike that of the rest of the Shore. The skyline, featuring many tall hotels and condominiums, is also a stark contrast to the rest of Delmarva. On the southern end of Ocean City is a highly popular recreational boardwalk spanning over thirty blocks and featuring carnival rides and games, restaurants, bars, arcades, and clothing boutiques. Waterfowl Festival is an annual wildlife arts and sportman's expo located in Easton. It draws tourists from all over the U.S. and the world and usually falls on the second weekend of November. Like the Western Shore, the Eastern Shore has a lively sailing and boating culture.

Buy

The Eastern Shore is not a big metropolitan shopping corridor—visitors from the rest of the state consider it quite the reprieve from that sort of thing! Nonetheless, there is the big Centre at Salisbury, a large mall with Boscov's and many other stores. Other local shopp