Things to Do in Solomons, Maryland
The best things to do in Solomons, Maryland, are the Calvert Marine Museum with its 1883 Drum Point Lighthouse, the Annmarie Sculpture Garden, and a walk along the waterfront boardwalk. Solomons is an unincorporated community of 2,650 people at the southern tip of Calvert County, where the Patuxent River meets the Chesapeake Bay.
The island takes its name from Isaac Solomon, a Baltimore businessman who opened a cannery here after the Civil War. During World War II the Navy trained more than 60,000 troops at an amphibious base here, and the population jumped from 263 to more than 2,600.
Calvert Marine Museum
Open since 1970, the county-owned museum at 14200 Solomons Island Road covers three subjects. They are Calvert Cliffs fossils, estuarine life in the Patuxent and the Bay, and maritime history. Highlights include a megalodon skeleton, an outdoor river otter habitat and the J.C. Lore Oyster House, a National Historic Landmark.
★ Good to know Parking is free, and in season the museum runs river cruises on its historic wooden workboats, including the bugeye Wm. B. Tennison.
Drum Point Lighthouse
One of four surviving Chesapeake Bay screw-pile lighthouses, it was first lit on August 20, 1883, off Drum Point. It was moved in one piece to the museum’s waterfront in 1975 and rededicated in 1978, with period furniture inside. You can climb up into the six-sided cottage.
★ Good to know The lighthouse is part of your museum visit, so plan them together.
Annmarie Sculpture Garden & Arts Center
This Smithsonian Affiliate has 50 acres of wooded paths lined with sculpture, many pieces on loan from the National Gallery of Art and the Hirshhorn. There’s an arts building with changing exhibits and a hands-on ArtLab. It hosts markets and family events through the year.
★ Good to know Its holiday-season event, Garden in Lights, includes a holiday train display; check the calendar for dates.
The boardwalk and Solomons Island
The island’s waterfront is lined with marinas, seafood restaurants and gift shops, with a boardwalk along the water. St. Peter’s Chapel, a Carpenter Gothic church from 1889, is still in use. The Governor Thomas Johnson Bridge, built in 1977, links Solomons to St. Mary’s County across the Patuxent.
★ Good to know For dinner with a sunset view over the Patuxent, Stoney’s Solomons Pier sits right on the water.
Calvert Cliffs State Park
A short drive north in Lusby, this 1,311-acre park protects part of the cliffs that run about 24 miles along the Bay. The beach is known for Miocene fossils, especially shark teeth. A 1.8-mile trail leads to a quarter-mile sandy beach, and the park has 13 miles of trails in all.
★ Good to know Fossil hunting is allowed on the beach, but the cliffs themselves are closed because they erode and collapse.
Solomons Island Heritage Tours
Captains Rachel and Simon Dean take visitors out as crew for a day on a working watermen’s boat, then steam the crabs back at the dock. They also run a cruise past five Chesapeake lighthouses and a laid-back Play Day on the Bay.
★ Good to know The operator is a recognized Chesapeake Bay Storyteller, trained by the Maryland Office of Tourism, so expect plenty of local history on board.
The Tiki Bar
Solomons’ open-air Tiki Bar is a local tradition and is famous for its mai tais. It’s on the Maryland Crab and Oyster Trail.
★ Good to know It opens on the third Friday of April and closes in October.
Also in town
Spring Cove Marina and Solomons Yachting Center cater to boaters, and the Hilton Garden Inn’s Garden Grille and Jerry’s Subs & Pizza cover casual meals.
Can you climb the lighthouse at the Calvert Marine Museum?
Yes. The 1883 Drum Point Lighthouse sits on the museum’s waterfront, and visitors can climb up into the restored keeper’s cottage.
Is Solomons, Maryland, an island?
Partly. Solomons includes Solomons Island and the mainland just north of it, at the mouth of the Patuxent River. It’s an unincorporated community, not a town.
Where can you find shark teeth near Solomons?
Calvert Cliffs State Park in Lusby, a short drive north. Collecting is allowed on the beach, which you reach on a 1.8-mile trail, but stay off and away from the cliffs.
What is Solomons, Maryland, known for?
Boating, seafood and the Calvert Marine Museum. For other waterfront towns, see St. Michaels or our small towns in Maryland.
Where to find them
- Calvert Marine Museum 14200 Solomons Island Rd., Solomons, MD 20688 Website Directions
- Drum Point Lighthouse 14200 Solomons Island Rd., Solomons, MD 20688 Website Directions
- Annmarie Sculpture Garden & Arts Center Solomons, MD 20688 Website Directions
- The boardwalk and Solomons Island Solomons, MD 20688 Directions
- Calvert Cliffs State Park Lusby, MD 20657 Website Directions
- Solomons Island Heritage Tours Solomons, MD 20688 Directions
- The Tiki Bar Solomons, MD 20688 Directions
Some links in this section are affiliate links. If you book through them, Best Small Towns in America may earn a commission at no extra cost to you.
Where to stay in Solomons
Keep exploring
St. Michaels, MDAbout 34 miles as the crow fliesThe Eastern Shore harbor town that fooled the British in 1813.Things to do in St. Michaels →
Easton, MDAbout 37 miles as the crow fliesTalbot County's arts town, with a 1684 Quaker meeting house.Things to do in Easton →
Crisfield, MDAbout 41 miles as the crow fliesMaryland's southernmost city and the boat launch for Smith Island.Things to do in Crisfield →Also nearby: Chestertown · Berlin · Havre de Grace