Ocean City

Ocean City sits on Fenwick Island, a barrier island in Worcester County on Maryland's Eastern Shore, roughly 120 miles from both Baltimore and Washington, D.C. It's a genuinely small town most of the year — under 7,000 year-round residents — that transforms into one of the busiest resort destinations on the mid-Atlantic coast every summer.

The Boardwalk is the spine of the town; the town's tourism office calls it nearly three miles long and says hotels once laid down boards that were taken up at high tide, before a permanent promenade was built around 1910. Shops, arcades, amusement rides and food stands line the whole stretch.

The Ocean City Inlet at the Boardwalk's south end wasn't designed — it was cut through the barrier island by a catastrophic hurricane in August 1933, separating Ocean City from what is now Assateague Island. A later storm widened the gap from 100 feet to more than 500 feet, and rather than fight it, the town built around it: the inlet became, per Wikipedia, “an important mid-Atlantic fishing port.” Assateague Island, home to its famous wild horses, sits just across the water.

The Boardwalk is the anchor and the reason to come to Ocean City at all — nearly three miles of shops, rides, arcades and food stands, by the town tourism office's reckoning, running the length of the ocean side. It was rebuilt to its current length after 1962 storm damage and has been the center of the town's identity since 1902. Walk it end to end once for orientation, then pick a stretch to actually sit down in.

Boardwalk fries are a long-running Ocean City food: Thrasher's French Fries says it has sold fries in Ocean City since 1929, serves them in buckets in three sizes with apple cider vinegar, sells only fries and Pepsi, and lists three Boardwalk locations.

Beyond fries, the town's tourism office lists caramel popcorn, sold at the corner of Talbot Street and the Boardwalk since 1937, and ice cream cones among the Boardwalk's long-running food stops.

3 breweries within 10 miles of Ocean City, one of them a brewpub with a kitchen.

Brewpub locations from Open Brewery DB (MIT)

Ocean City has under 7,000 year-round residents — no professional or college teams. The nearest are in Baltimore and Washington, D.C., about two and a half hours away.

23 more Highway Heads places lie within about 180 miles of Ocean City in a straight line — far enough that most are a night away rather than an afternoon.

• Rehoboth BeachDelawareabout 25 mi
• LewesDelawareabout 30 mi
• Cape MayNew Jerseyabout 55 mi
• DoverDelawareabout 60 mi
• Atlantic CityNew Jerseyabout 80 mi
• AnnapolisMarylandabout 90 mi
• WilmingtonDelawareabout 100 mi
• BaltimoreMarylandabout 110 mi
• Independence HallPennsylvaniaabout 110 mi
• National Air and Space MuseumDistrict of Columbiaabout 110 mi
• PhiladelphiaPennsylvaniaabout 110 mi
• Washington, D.C.District of Columbiaabout 110 mi
• Washington, D.C. — U.S. CapitolDistrict of Columbiaabout 110 mi
• TrentonNew Jerseyabout 130 mi
• RichmondVirginiaabout 140 mi
• FrederickMarylandabout 150 mi
• Harpers FerryWest Virginiaabout 160 mi
• HarrisburgPennsylvaniaabout 160 mi
• Kitty Hawk (Outer Banks)North Carolinaabout 160 mi
• New York CityNew Yorkabout 170 mi
• NewarkNew Jerseyabout 170 mi
• Statue of Liberty National MonumentNew Yorkabout 170 mi
• Museum of Modern Art — MoMANew Yorkabout 180 mi

Summer weekends are genuinely crowded. Traffic on Coastal Highway backs up on peak weekends; plan arrival and departure around off-peak hours if possible.

Parking rules and payment methods differ by location. Check the town's current municipal parking map before you go — the Inlet lot, on-street spaces and municipal lots are listed on the town's parking page and are paid through the ParkMobile and Passport Parking apps, and the tourism office notes that parking is also available in private lots.

The Boardwalk Tram is no longer running. The Town of Ocean City suspended all Boardwalk tram services until further notice in August 2024, and the city manager told reporters in October 2025 that the trams will not return in their previous form. The town's Coastal Highway Beach Bus links the South Division Street and 144th Street transit stations.

Book lodging well ahead for peak summer weekends. Hotels and rentals fill months in advance for July and August.

One public campground within 25 miles of Ocean City, and it takes reservations. Public campgrounds run by federal agencies. State-park and private campgrounds are not included.

Ocean City Boardwalk

Address

Boardwalk, Ocean City, MD 21842 (runs S 2nd St to 27th St)

Hours

Open year-round; most shops and rides operate seasonally

Price

Free to walk; check individual attractions and the official parking guide for current fees

Link

ococean.com

We checked seasonal opening, operating status and fees on 2026-09-22. These change without notice — confirm with en.wikipedia.org, oceancitymd.gov, ococean.com, thrashersfries.com and nps.gov the week you travel.

Straight-line distance from Ocean City, not drive time.

• Ocean City Municipal (OCE) — 3 miles
• Salisbury Ocean City Wicomico Regional (SBY) — 23 miles
• Cape May County (WWD) — 47 miles