The area guide · Calvert County, Maryland
Discover Plum Point.
Plum Point sits on the western shore of the Chesapeake Bay in Calvert County, Maryland, between the boardwalk towns of North Beach and Chesapeake Beach and the fossil cliffs that made this coast famous. Everything below is within about an hour of your porch, and most of it is within fifteen minutes.
The lay of the land: our stretch of Maryland's western shore, illustrated.
Start
here
Eight ways into the area, from fifteen million years ago to this Saturday.
The story of Plum Point
Fifteen million years, one shoreline: megalodon, a 1673 map, steamboats, and the 1940 cottage colony.
Fossil hunting 101
Where to find fossil shark teeth, what to look for on the sand, and when to go.
Things to do
Free kayaks, boardwalks, blue crabs, a lighthouse or two, and very good doing-nothing.
North Beach
A walkable boardwalk town up the shore: fishing pier, farmers market, and antique row.
Chesapeake Beach
The bay's original resort town: railway museum, marinas, charter boats, and crab decks.
Solomons Island
A 35-foot megalodon, river otters, a climbable lighthouse, and the Riverwalk at sunset.
Eat & drink
Crab decks, a rooftop Italian, brunch rooms, and the Solomons restaurant row, nearest first.
A weekend from DC
About an hour from the Beltway, no Bay Bridge required. The 48-hour plan.
Breezy Point Beach
The county beach and campground next door, open May through October.
Chesapeake Beach
Boardwalk, crab decks, marinas, charter fishing, and the railway museum.
Solomons Island
The Calvert Marine Museum, a screwpile lighthouse, and waterfront dinners.
Washington, DC
About 35 miles door to sand. Annapolis is about 45 minutes; Baltimore about 75.
The year
on this shore
What locals plan around. Exact dates drift a little year to year; the rhythm holds.
Spring
Tiki Bar opening weekend
Solomons opens its season loudly. Crowds arrive from three counties for the first orange crush.
Solomons Maritime Festival
Antique boats and marine engines at the maritime museum, with free harbor cruises.
North Beach farmers market
Saturday mornings by the bay: produce, flowers, and baked things.
Summer
First Fridays, North Beach
Classic cars, food trucks, and music on the bayfront, the first Friday evening of each month.
Fireworks, twice
Chesapeake Beach and Solomons both send fireworks over the water for the Fourth.
SharkFest
The Calvert Marine Museum's big shark day: live sharks, fossil activities, and megalodon everything.
Waterside concerts
Touring headliners on the museum's outdoor waterfront stage in Solomons.
Fall
Calvert County Fair
Rides, livestock, and carnival food, a county tradition since 1886.
Artsfest at Annmarie
A juried art weekend in the sculpture garden's woods, with music and more than a hundred artists.
Patuxent River Appreciation Day
Free museum admission, boat rides, and a parade through Solomons.
Winter
Solomons Christmas Walk
A lighted-boat parade fills the harbor and the Riverwalk glows.
Garden in Lights
Annmarie's walk-through trail of handmade light sculptures.
Polar Bear Plunge
North Beach starts the year with a run into the winter bay. Watching is free.
Stay on the water
Six cottages, one private beach.
Plum Point Cottages is a small waterfront colony in Huntingtown, Maryland, cleaned and managed in-house. Every cottage is pet-friendly and comes with free kayaks, a fire pit for bonfire nights, and the Chesapeake just past the grass.
Cottages from $198 a night, with weekly rates available. Book direct and skip the platform fees.
See the cottages