Visitor Guide
St. Mary's — Visitor Guide
Top attractions, trails, food and drink, history, seasonal activities, and everything you need to plan your visit to St. Mary's, Maryland.
🧭 About St. Mary's
Where Maryland Began — Colonial History on the Potomac and Chesapeake
St. Mary's County sits at Maryland's southernmost tip, where the Potomac River meets the Chesapeake Bay — and where Maryland's first English colonists landed in 1634. Today the county blends that colonial legacy, preserved at Historic St. Mary's City, with modern naval aviation history at Patuxent River Naval Air Station, miles of Bay-front beaches at Point Lookout, and a waterman's seafood tradition that runs through every waterfront town.
⭐ Top Attractions
Historic St. Mary's City
An 800-acre outdoor living-history museum on the site of Maryland's first colonial capital, founded in 1634. Costumed interpreters, a reconstructed 17th-century state house, a replica tall ship, and a Woodland Indian hamlet.
Point Lookout State Park
A state park at the southernmost tip of the county where the Potomac meets the Chesapeake, with an 1830 lighthouse, a Civil War POW camp and fort replica, a fishing pier, beach, and camping.
St. Clement's Island State Park
An uninhabited Potomac River island accessible only by boat, marking the spot where Maryland's colonists first landed on March 25, 1634 — commemorated with a 40-foot stone cross and celebrated annually as Maryland Day.
Patuxent River Naval Air Museum
A museum in Lexington Park covering naval aviation testing at nearby NAS Patuxent River, with an outdoor aircraft park of 21 naval aircraft and flight simulators.
Historic Sotterley
A 1703 Tidewater-style tobacco plantation house — the only one of its kind still open to the public in Maryland — designated a National Historic Landmark, with grounds, gardens, and slave-cabin interpretation.
Piney Point Lighthouse Museum & Historic Park
The oldest lighthouse on the Potomac River, built in 1836 and known as the 'Lighthouse of Presidents.' Exhibits cover lighthouse keepers, Coast Guard history, and the sunken WWII German U-boat U-1105.
🥾 Trails & Outdoors
🍺 Food & Drink Trails
Sea Breeze Restaurant & Crab House
Waterfront dining on the Patuxent River with a tiki bar
Captain John's Crab House
Longtime seafood restaurant in Newburg specializing in Chesapeake blue crab
St. Mary's Waterfront Dining Trail
A countywide directory of waterfront seafood restaurants and a local Craft Beverage Trail
🏛️ History & Heritage
Historic St. Mary's City
Maryland's first colonial capital, preserved as a living-history museum
Historic Sotterley
A National Historic Landmark tobacco plantation, the only one of its kind still open to the public in Maryland
St. Clement's Island Museum
Mainland companion museum to St. Clement's Island, with exhibits on the 1634 colonial landing and seasonal water taxi departures
Piney Point Lighthouse Museum & Historic Park
The oldest lighthouse on the Potomac River, with Coast Guard and U-boat history exhibits
🗓️ Seasonal Guide
Spring 🌸
The Southern Maryland Spring Festival at the county fairgrounds brings carnival rides, hayrides, and pony rides in late April.
Summer ☀️
Long days on the Bay and Potomac beaches at Point Lookout and Elms Beach Park, with the county's waterfront dining scene in full swing.
Fall 🍂
The U.S. Oyster Festival — a 60-year tradition featuring the U.S. National Oyster Shucking Championship — and the Blessing of the Fleet at Leonardtown Wharf mark the harvest season.
Winter ❄️
Holidays at Piney Point brings seasonal exhibits and tours to the historic lighthouse museum.
🏨 Places to Stay
Browse all accommodations →🗺️ Plan Your Visit
Source: Maryland Mountain Side — Official Allegany County Tourism