ROAD SORTIES Scenic Roads

Chesapeake Country Scenic Byway

The schooner Sultana docked on the Chester River
The schooner Sultana docked on the Chester RiverPhoto: S. Clyde / America's Byways (FHWA), public domain

Chesapeake Country Scenic Byway is an All-American Road in Maryland. Within Maryland it covers roughly 85 miles. The map below shows its route. Use “Plan a drive” to open it in the Road Sorties route planner — already routing along Chesapeake Country Scenic Byway with scenic roads turned on, ready to add your own stops.

This byway winds across Maryland's upper Eastern Shore, a flat landscape of farm fields, tidal creeks, and Colonial-era towns along the Chesapeake Bay. It passes through Chestertown and Chesapeake City, with their preserved waterfronts, and crosses the Chesapeake & Delaware Canal. Watermen's villages and broad bay views give the route its character.

Designated for its cultural and recreational qualities

Plan a drive on Chesapeake Country Scenic Byway → Drive this route in Road SortiesTurn-by-turn on iPhone · App Store

Places to stop along Chesapeake Country Scenic Byway

  1. Chesapeake City

    A Victorian canal town where ocean ships pass close by on the Chesapeake and Delaware Canal, with a small museum in the old pumphouse.

  2. Chestertown Historic District

    A colonial river port with brick 18th-century houses along the Chester River, home of Washington College.

  3. Eastern Neck National Wildlife Refuge

    An island refuge at the mouth of the Chester River where tundra swans and canvasbacks winter on the Atlantic Flyway.

  4. Chesapeake Heritage and Visitor Center

    A Kent Narrows visitor center with exhibits on watermen's lives, beside trails and the Maryland Watermen's Monument.

  5. Old Wye Mill

    A water-powered gristmill dating to the 1680s, one of the oldest in the country, still grinding on demonstration days.

  6. Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum

    An 18-acre waterfront campus in St. Michaels with a screwpile lighthouse, traditional workboats, and a working boatyard.

    Website

Where to Stay along Chesapeake Country Scenic Byway

1 campground or RV park sits within about 5 miles of Chesapeake Country Scenic Byway.

Chestertown, MDDuck Neck CampgroundBook a site →Hotels & motelsNear Church Hill, MDSearch stays →Renting an RV?Near Church Hill, MDSee RV rentals →Harvest Hosts20% offPark free overnight at farms and wineriesSee membership →

Campsite, lodging, RV rental and membership links are affiliate links — booking through them may earn Road Sorties a small commission, at no extra cost to you. Recreation.gov links are not affiliate links.

Photos of Chesapeake Country Scenic Byway

The fishing bridge to Eastern Neck National Wildlife Refuge
The fishing bridge to Eastern Neck National Wildlife RefugePhoto: S. Clyde / America's Byways (FHWA), public domain
Boats in the Kent Narrows channel
Boats in the Kent Narrows channelPhoto: S. Clyde / America's Byways (FHWA), public domain
A restored Victorian house along the byway
A restored Victorian house along the bywayPhoto: America's Byways (FHWA) / Public domain
The churchyard of St. Luke's in Church Hill
The churchyard of St. Luke's in Church HillPhoto: S. Clyde / America's Byways (FHWA), public domain
Downtown Centreville
Downtown CentrevillePhoto: S. Clyde / America's Byways (FHWA), public domain

What is an All-American Road?

All-American Roads are the top tier of America's National Scenic Byways. To earn the title a road has to be a destination in its own right — offering features so exceptional, across several intrinsic qualities (scenic, natural, historic, cultural, archaeological or recreational), that they can't be found anywhere else.

← All scenic roads in Maryland