Live music, cold beers, and waterfront views are essential elements of every dock bar.

The Eastern Shore is a water world in all seasons of the year, but especially summer. Quiet coves are suddenly full of the bright buoys of crab pots and trotlines. Mooring balls are spoken for, tethering sailing and power boats, and families splash at the water’s edge wherever the shoreline turns to beach. But nothing quite captures the life and vibrance of the Chesapeake summer spirit quite like the annual re-opening of the dock bars. These waterfront watering holes are cruising destinations and entertainment venues, luring patrons by water and land with live music, food, and sunny decks all summer long. Each Eastern Shore waterfront community has their own dock bar, but we wanted to share a few of our must-visit favorites in Talbot, Queen Anne’s and Kent Counties.

KENT

The Shanty

Located on the Kent County coast, on the site of the former Tolchester Beach amusement park, The Shanty is a secret local gem. With incredible Chesapeake views, a beautiful beach, and a full slate of live music, the Shanty attracts boaters from Western Shore marinas along Middle River as well as local clientele. Watermen, sailors, and families mingle at the water’s edge, enjoying classic rock covers, refreshing drinks, and the cooling waves of the Bay.

Honorable mentions:

Rock Hall: Waterman’s

Great Oak: Jellyfish Joel’s

Rock Hall: Harbor Shack

TALBOT

Foxy’s

Tucked deep inside St. Michaels harbor, with a view of the iconic boatshop and Hooper’s Strait Lighthouse at the Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum, Foxy’s has an island vibe and an unforgettable orange crush. Named after Foxy’s Tamarind Bar in the BVI’s Jost Van Dyke, Foxy’s feels like a little bit of the Caribbean with a splash of Chesapeake flavor. The seafood-focused fare features Mexican/Caribbean/ pub favorites—looking at you, fish tacos—and the bar is packed with locals, tourists and Yachties throwing back Dark n’ Stormy’s. As a port in a storm or a fair weather excursion, Foxy’s keeps the music going and the waterside drinks flowing, all summer long.

Honorable mentions:

Sherwood: Lowe’s Wharf

Tilghman: Marker 5

Oxford: Capsize

QUEEN ANNE’S

The Crab Deck

Bars and restaurants sit cheek-to-jowl on the Queen Anne’s waterfront at Kent Narrows, overlooking the bridge that whisks tourists to Ocean City or back to Kent Island. But locals, boaters, and seafood lovers know this is the real destination. One venue stands above them all— the venerable Fisherman’s Crab Deck. Those in the know bypass the more sedate Fisherman’s Inn (est 1930) next door for the huge waterfront Crab Deck, where hot steamed blue crabs, live music, and cold beers invite you to wile away a summer afternoon. The boat slips are always full in summertime, greeted by the Deck’s giant neon crab sign and the inevitable classic rock and reggae jams floating out over the Narrows.

Honorable mentions:

Chestertown: The Sandbar at Rolph’s Wharf

Kent Narrows: The Jetty

Kent Narrows: Red Eye’s

Locals have the decided advantage when it comes to enjoying these summertime waterfront haunts—and waterfront properties have the added benefit of giving you an easy launching point to head to your favorite dock bar. Below are a few of our recent listings that would turn a dock bar from a weekend destination into your neighborhood watering hole.