Ocean City Beach, Maryland, United States

4goldenparadox 5:00 PM Sep 11, 2020

Very nice beach, advice on the area
If you are looking for a nice beach to relax on, it fits the bill. I went the week after Labor Day-- crowds were minimal. People did a good job being respectful and social distancing. Each morning beach were freshly raked and ready. I wish visitors did a better job cleaning up after themselves. I went to the beach at 45th & 19th street. Not a lot of shells at 45th, but more down at 19th. Enjoy sitting in the sun and reading. Now advise about Ocean City itself..... I must say that I was a little disappointed as a whole. Everything just seemed a little dirty and run down. I'd say that only about half the stores and restaurants were open, but the problem is there wasn't proper signage or information. Websites, voice mails, and signs on the establishments said they were open and listed hours, but it was a complete crap shoot if they were actually open. I don't know if this was especially bad because of the double whammy of COVID and the season just ending, but it was just frustrating as a tourist. Unless you just showed up at the place, you never knew what you were going to find. And then there was the board walk..... it was just very sketchy and not worth the $3.50 I paid for parking. Despite the fact that the "Mask Required Order" was extended, less than half of the people wore masks and few people seemed very courteous to respect social distancing. The clientele of the boardwalk area was very different than other places. I didn't feel comfortable and definitely wouldn't be there after dark. Also, the majority of the stores didn't bother to try to social distance or put COVID mitigation efforts into practice. I'd say half the employees weren't wearing masks. The boardwalk was a complete disappointment, and I don't ever need to go back. While I enjoyed my beach and pool time (stayed at Hampton Inn Bayside & it had a great outdoor pool and pool deck overlooking the bay) and got much needed relaxation, I just didn't feel very welcomed in Ocean City itself. If all you're looking for is beach and pool time and you're content with eating carry-out by the pool, then it will meet your needs. If you're going for great atmosphere, delicious restaurants and an overall welcoming experience, pick another beach city.

4Sitrena 5:00 PM Apr 13, 2022

First time to ocean city
Cold and rainy good day for shelling lots of shoe crabs beached. My granddaughter was able to bring back a great specimen for show and tell in science she also learned about the shot crab at the life saving station on the south end of the beach Cure museum for $5. The beach is clean they allow bonfires during certain times which I thought was cool. We didn't start our own but we watched one from our room the family had small kids and they seemed to be having a wonderful time. We found all types of shells. We went the weekend everything was being prepared to open for the season I would suggest going in season if you can afford the change in fees and prices. It was cold and rainy but we still managed to find things to do and enjoy ourselves