6 beaches

Best Boardwalk Beaches in Maryland

Maryland has two real beach boardwalks. Ocean City's 3-mile strip is the classic: amusements, funnel cake, arcades, and crowds. North Beach on the Chesapeake is the quieter alternative — a 0.5-mile pier-style boardwalk with ice cream stands, farmers market pavilion, and a lot less chaos. If boardwalk strolling is the goal rather than a full beach day, both deliver but in radically different ways.