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Ocean City is a large beach resort town on the East Coast of Maryland, home to the Ocean City Boardwalk, Trimper’s Rides, and Ocean City Beach. It’s the ideal getaway town for anyone exploring the best beaches in Maryland.
The town is conveniently placed a short distance from the Chesapeake Bay and many of Maryland’s most beautiful beaches. Explore Ocean City’s seaside beauty and the surrounding coastal locations!
There’s something for every outdoor type in the Ocean City area. Below is a roundup of Ocean City Maryland’s best beaches to visit, whether you like swimming, fishing, hiking, or just want to go sunbathing.
Ocean City Beach
Ocean City Beach is one of Maryland’s most popular beaches and is on Trip Advisor’s Top Ten Beaches in America. The beach is ten miles of a well-kept shoreline where you and your family can relax during your Ocean City vacation. It’s free to spend the day on the beach, with no entrance passes or fees!
Ocean City Beach is also home to the Ocean City Boardwalk, three miles of stores, food, arcades, and amusement park rides. There’s always something to explore on the boardwalk.
Whether it be sunbathing, shopping, or water sports, you’ll find what you’re looking for at Ocean City Beach. If you want to get out on the water at Ocean City Beach, you have your choice of sightseeing tours or rental water vehicles like boats, kayaks, jet skis, and canoes. You can even go surfing and paddleboarding there.
Ocean City Boardwalk
The Ocean City Boardwalk is a classic wooden boardwalk famous for its vibrant nightlife and abundance of water sports, amusement parks, museums, and beaches.
It has earned a place on the top of boardwalk and travel lists from The Travel Channel, National Geographic, and USA Today.
Locations on the boardwalk include Trimper’s Rides, an amusement park with a Ferris wheel, carousel, arcades, and plenty of carnival-style food.
For those interested in history, visit the Ocean City Life-Saving Station Museum, where you can learn about the U.S. Life-Saving Service. This organization came before today’s Coast Guard.
The Ocean City Boardwalk has something for everyone, whether you prefer sightseeing, museums, beaches, amusement park rides, or water sports. This is the ideal place for an exciting beach vacation. Short-term and vacation rentals are in abundance in the area.
Bethany Beach
A quick 30 minutes from Ocean City, Bethany Beach is a charming beach town with a small boardwalk near expansive beaches. The beach is located in Delaware, and along with South Bethany and Fenwick Island, it is known as one of the “Quiet Resorts,” because of its proximity to the Delaware Seashore State Park.
If you plan on swimming at Bethany Beach, you can rest easy knowing that there are professional lifeguards on patrol during the summer season until Labor Day. These lifeguards are known as the Bethany Beach Patrol.
Bethany Beach is relatively small, but it is home to the Joseph Olson Boardwalk’s modest selection of souvenir shops and food stands. Many vacation homes are available for rent in the area.
Fenwick Island State Park
Fenwick Island State Park is a three-mile-long barrier island on the coast of Delaware. One side of the island faces the Atlantic Ocean, and the other faces Assawoman Bay. Located a quick 20 minute trip from Ocean City, it is the ideal oceanfront destination for surfers, swimmers, and fishers.
On the bayside of the park, you can go fishing, crabbing, and clamming. If water sports are more your style, you can rent kayaks, paddleboards, and boats to take out on the water during your visit. Sailing lessons are available at a location at the Assawoman Wildlife Area across the bay.
Compared to other beaches in the area, Fenwick Island is quiet and peaceful, with very little development, although there is a gift shop and a concessions area. Vacation rentals nearby make Fenwick Island State Park a convenient place to stay in the Ocean City area.
Delaware Seashore State Park
Delaware Seashore State Park is located only 35 minutes away from Ocean City. The state park is 2,825 acres right next to Dewey Beach and includes six miles of sandy beach. The park is home to a wonderful surfing location, and lifeguards on duty during the summer add a feeling of security for you and your family.
Delaware Seashore also has campgrounds where you can pitch a tent or park an RV. Fishing and swimming are popular recreational activities at the beach, and visitors can go surfing and boating on the bay. There are areas for crabbing and clamming, and the park features a nature trail and picnic areas.
The Delaware Seashore State Park is located within 30 miles of Fenwick Island State Park and Assateague State Park. If you want to visit all three of these locations, you can make a day trip of it.
Assateague Island National Seashore
Assateague Island is located on the East Coast of the Atlantic Ocean between Maryland and Virginia and is about 15 minutes away from Ocean City. Visitors can explore beaches, marshes, and forests on this 37-mile-long barrier island via kayaks or Over Sand Vehicles (OSV’s).
Assateague Island is also home to herds of wild horses that can be seen running free along the beaches.
The Assateague Island National Seashore Campgrounds are located in the oceanside and the bayside of the island. They make a convenient spot for visitors who hike or paddle around the island to stay the night.
The Wild Horses of Assateague Island
The wild horses of Assateague Island are a sight to behold. These majestic wild herds survive on the remote, hot, and stormy island by forming communities that can be seen running on the beaches as a reprieve from the mosquitoes and flies in the marshlands.
There are two main herds on the island, one on the Virginia side and another on the Maryland side.
A fence separates the Virginia/Maryland state line, and the two herds keep to their side of it. The herds travel in bands of up to a dozen horses and have their own range of territory.
Do not approach the horses or try to feed or pet them. They are wild animals, and eating human food can make them sick. They can also injure humans who come too close to them.
The National Park Service advises visitors to the park to respect the wild horses: “Treating wild horses like tame animals takes away the wildness that makes them special.”
Explore the Ocean City Area
If you’re visiting the Ocean City and Chesapeake Bay area, there is no shortage of beaches to choose from. You don’t have to make the trek to Cunningham Falls State Park or Calvert Cliffs State Park to experience Maryland’s beaches. There are plenty of beautiful beaches less than an hour’s travel from Ocean City.
Each has its unique charm, from the bustling boardwalk on Ocean City Beach to the untamed beauty of the Assateague wild horses.
Hop into a kayak, lace up your hiking boots, or hit the boardwalk. Ocean City area beaches await! Book your stay at one of our vacation rentals today!
