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ST MICHAELS |
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A contender for prettiest harbor on the Chesapeake Bay, tiny ST
MICHAELS , twelve miles west of US-50 on Hwy-33, is also one of its
oldest ports. Founded during the mid-1600s, it grew into one of colonial
America's prime shipbuilding centers, and its fast sloops and shallow-draft
"bugeyes" evaded British blockades during the Revolutionary War. St
Michaels languished while Baltimore blossomed, but since the early 1960s
it has been rediscovered, its old buildings now gentrified into art
galleries, boutiques and cozy B&Bs.
Some corners of the town survive intact, however; among them the old
town green, St Mary's Square , a block off the main Talbot Street on
Mulberry Street. To get a clear sense of the history of Chesapeake Bay,
head north along the docks to the extensive and modern Chesapeake Bay
Maritime Museum (daily March-May & Oct-Nov 9am-5pm; June-Sept 9am-6pm;
Dec-Feb 9am-4pm; $7.50). This focuses on the restored Hooper Strait
Lighthouse , at the foot of which float several Chesapeake Bay sailboats
- designed to make the most of the bay's shallow waters. Nearby, some
two hundred other boats include a Native American dugout canoe, while in
the museum workshop skilled artisans and legions of volunteers restore
and maintain historic boats using painstaking traditional techniques. If
you left your boat at home and want to get out on the bay, Patriot
Cruises (tel 410/745-3100) run one-hour excursions for $10 while other
companies operate shorter (and cheaper) trips. Among St Michaels'
revered seafood restaurants , the Crab Claw (tel 410/745-2900; March to
mid-Dec) occupies a prime chunk of the waterfront alongside the Maritime
Museum and boasts an extensive menu. Though many of its customers turn
up for the beer and the views rather than anything else, the prime
reason to come is to enjoy their all-you-can-eat steamed crabs . At
weekends especially, the rest of the town's wharves and docks are filled
with boaters who flock to restaurant-cum-bars such as the Town Dock (tel
410/745-5577) and St Michaels Crab House (tel 410/745-3737), both at the
end of Mulberry Street. As a result, B&Bs such as the period-furnished
Hambleton Inn , 202 Cherry St (tel 410... or 1-866/745-3350, ;
$100-130), and the Kemp House Inn , 412 S Talbot St (tel 410/745-2243, ;
$75-100), charge much higher rates at weekends and tend to be fully
booked; for slightly cheaper rooms your choice is restricted to the St
Michaels Motor Inn (tel 410/745-3333 or 1-800/528-1234, ; $75-100), a
branch of Best Western at 1228 S Talbot St on the rather featureless
main road into town.
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Vacation Rentals in St Michaels |
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from $129.00
USD