St. Mary’s County is a Chesapeake Bay destination brimming with history, outdoor fun, vibrant culture, and passionate people eager to share it all with you. Just a short drive from Washington, D.C., discover the mid-Atlantic’s best kept travel secret.
Cradled by the Potomac and Patuxent Rivers and the Chesapeake Bay, St. Mary’s is a peninsula with a 500-mile shoreline to explore. With five water-based state parks, numerous waterways, hunting areas, and fishing opportunities, you’ll find what you’re looking for here in St. Mary’s County. The numerous water trails and woodlands provide abundant opportunities to fish, hunt, camp, and hike. Local species range from white-tailed deer to waterfowl and a variety of fresh and saltwater fish, making St. Mary’s County ideal for sportsmen of all skill levels. There is wide-open water, fast flowing rivers, serene tidal creeks, and even a fine freshwater trophy bass lake. If you’re a serious fisherman or just casting about for some fun, St. Mary’s can deliver. The many state parks and wildlife management areas also provide great hunting terrain.
Planning to visit St. Mary’s County? Check out their website for dining, lodging, shopping options, things to do, up-to-date events, and all the information you need to make your trip a success!
Visit SiteThe following local species are found in this county. For more details, please click on an icon.
Maryland Begins Here! If you’re into history, outdoor recreation, or love being on the water, we’ve got you covered. We’ve got some of the finest colonial sites in the nation, plus War of 1812 and Civil War sites, and a rich maritime history illuminated by our four lighthouses. We’re also home to one of the finest museums dedicated to American naval air history.
Patuxent River Naval Air Museum
Planning to visit St. Mary’s County? Check out their website for dining, lodging, shopping options, things to do, up-to-date events, and all the information you need to make your trip a success!
Visit SiteSt. Mary’s County is centrally located within the Mid-Atlantic Corridor and easy to get to. Less than an hour south of Washington, D.C., there are easy connections from Interstate 95. Once here, touring about the entire peninsula is just a matter of following the loop made up of Route 5 and Route 235. Stop by our Visitor Center at the Patuxent River Naval Air Museum for all the information you need about St. Mary’s County.
Planning to visit St. Mary’s County? Check out their website for dining, lodging, shopping options, things to do, up-to-date events, and all the information you need to make your trip a success!
Visit SiteThe Chesapeake Bay is the largest estuary in the United States, spanning 11,700 miles of shoreline across six states and playing home to some of the world’s largest striped bass (locally known as rockfish for hunting above the the bay's rocky oyster beds). With that in mind, it’s easy to see why getting out on the bay chasing rockfish –
Read More >
For more than half a century, Maryland has been hosting youth fishing events. Not only do these
“February is the longest month,” my late friend Bill Pike used to grumble about this time of
