Maryland's Eastern Shore is flat, providing excellent bicycling opportunities any time except summer weekends, when automobiles fill the roads. Islands of the Chesapeake Bay and numerous inlets and rivers also provide beaches and docks for boats. Quaint historic towns offer opportunities for walkers.
Instructions
1. Drive across the Chesapeake Bay Bridge from Annapolis to Maryland's Eastern Shore on U.S. 50. Head south. Congestion and rubbernecking make the ride difficult on Fridays and Saturdays from the end of May through Labor Day weekend. Other times of the year or week are not nearly as bad.
2. Pass the Wye Island Natural Resource Management Area and Pickering Creek Audubon Center. These sites on U.S. 50, before entering the first town, Easton, suggest the importance of bird-watching and sanctuaries on the shore. You can see bald eagles, herons and ospreys.
Stop in Easton to enjoy one of three walking tours, available on the web at www.eastonmd.org/download/walktour.pdf.
Black ducks flock to the Cedar Island Wildlife Management Area off U.S. 13 in Tangier Sound on the shore's south side. Cedar Island boasts nearly 3,000 acres of tidal marsh, ponds and creeks.
3. Continue south on U.S. 50 through Cambridge and you arrive at Vienna at the State Route 331 bypass. Proceed north a few miles and you are in the heart of the Underground Railroad. Both Harriett Tubman and Frederick Douglass hailed from the Eastern Shore, Tubman from Dorchester County and Douglass from Talbot County.
4. Proceed to Ocean City at the end of U.S. 50. Once a summer place, the area is now a large oceanfront resort that hosts a convention center and year-round businesses.
5. Turn on to U.S. 301 when it splits from U.S. 50 to move north to the historic, scenic small towns.
Chesapeake City is the northernmost town on the shore. The C&D Canal connects the Chesapeake and Delaware Bays. Oceangoing ships sail by the town, inviting visitors to gawk. The C&D Canal Museum and Chesapeake City Historical District make excellent walking tours.
Chestertown was an important port of entry for colonial settlers to Maryland. Several buildings date to the 18th century. The town dock also ports the schooner "Sultana." The ship is a replica of a merchant vessel that served for four years as the smallest schooner ever in the British Royal Navy. Launched in 2001, "Sultana" now sails as the "Schoolship of the Chesapeake," providing educational programs for thousands of students each year.
These towns are only 30 miles apart, and the surface is flat, making for an excellent bicycle trip.
St. Michaels offers the Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum, shops, restaurants and hotels. Dedicated to the preservation of the bay's maritime history, the island offers excellent walking opportunities for groups and couples. Some of the buildings on the island date back to the 1700s.
Tilghman Island is home to the last commercial sailing fleet in North America, the skipjacks, which are on display at Dogwood Harbor. The island is also known for its fishing and fresh seafood.
Tags: Eastern Shore, Maryland Eastern, Maryland Eastern Shore, Cedar Island, Chesapeake City
