Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum

Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum, off SR 33 at 213 N. Talbot St., is devoted to the history and traditions of the Chesapeake Bay and shares this culture through exhibits and allowing visitors to watch and listen to such skilled individuals as sail makers and shipwrights. Skipjacks and other bay craft, decoys, paintings, ship models, a working shipyard and the 1879 screw-pile Hooper Strait Lighthouse are among the exhibits on this 18-acre waterfront campus on the Miles River. The floating fleet includes the Edna E. Lockwood, an 1889 log-bottom bugeye, the 1920 buy boat Winnie Estelle and the skipjack Rosie Parks, built in 1955 by boatbuilder Bronza Parks.

Other exhibits like Oystering on the Chesapeake and Maryland Crabmeat Company include a skipjack, artifacts, historic photographs and harvesting equipment. The At Play on the Bay exhibit explores how the bay has changed from a place of work to a place where people come to play. Changing exhibits are presented, and docents are available to answer questions.

Visitors can watch artisans at work restoring boats. Visitors can also board Chesapeake Bay craft, rent a small craft or take a 30-minute boat ride on the Miles River (weather permitting). The Chesapeake People Program presents local residents who demonstrate maritime traditions on weekends in summer. Small craft boat rentals also are available in summer. ). Numerous festivals take place throughout the warmer months, with educational programs also offered, including numerous shipyard programs, youth camps and speaker series.

Picnicking is permitted. Time: Allow 1 hour minimum.