Bay Stays
Opened in June 2023 with a half-mile bayfront promenade, Sun Outdoors Chincoteague Bay is a family-friendly haven of outdoor fun complete with a pool, a playground, pickleball courts and a private fishing pier (no fishing license needed). Choose a glamping tent, cottage or RV site to set up your home away from home.
Each of the 28 khaki-colored, wood-framed glamping tents has air conditioning and heating, a full bathroom, kitchenette (with mini-fridge, microwave and stovetop), bunk beds sleeping area, private bedroom with a queen bed, and covered porch with a picnic table. Community firepits with Adirondack chairs are scattered around the tent area. All glamping tents are nonsmoking and inaccessible by car; however, golf cart rentals are available. There are no locks on the tents, and pets are not permitted.
The 24 waterfront and 16 waterview cottages, painted sailor blue, are pet-friendly. Each has a kitchen, full bathroom, set of bunk beds and separate queen-bed bedroom, plus a screened porch, patio and picnic table. Waterview cottage bonus: a rooftop sundeck.
Sun Outdoors’ 149 pet-friendly RV sites are closest to the bathhouses, pool and camp store. Full hookup back-in RV sites offer 20-, 30- and 50-amp electric service. Site amenities include Wi-Fi, a picnic table and a fire ring.
Check the events schedule for live music on the pool deck and wine tasting nights. Off property, explore nearby Assateague Island National Seashore, Assateague Lighthouse and Maui Jack’s Waterpark (discounted tickets are available at Sun Outdoors’ welcome center). Rent an open-air “Moke” road vehicle—they look like a cross between a jeep and a golf cart—to make cruising the attractions part of your fun; rentals are available on-site for $195 per day.
Nightly rates begin at $80 for an RV site, $300 for a cottage, and $200 for a glamping tent.
Sun Outdoors Chincoteague Bay, 2272 Main St., Chincoteague, Virginia, 855-462-3423, sunoutdoors.com/virginia/sun-outdoors-chincoteague-bay
Beachside Bliss
Located a short walk from Bethany Beach’s oceanfront shops and bandstand, the Bethany Beach Ocean Suites Residence Inn by Marriott is not your average chain. Fully renovated in 2023, the Delaware hotel is akin to a coastal inn, boasting 112 spacious suites (each with a private balcony or terrace to enjoy the sound of the sea), a heated indoor/outdoor saltwater pool, and Via Sophia by the Sea, a restaurant and bar that’s a sibling of D.C.’s Via Sophia. The menu features pasta specialties and seafood dishes, including a delicious salmon entree with wild mushrooms and walnut gremolata. Dine indoors, at the bar, or alfresco on the ocean-facing covered porch. The hotel’s living room-style lobby, adjacent to Via Sophia, is dotted with several cozy seating areas where you can relax, dine with your dog on food ordered at Via Sophia’s bar, or chat with fellow guests.
Hints of balsam and juniper berry waft through guest suite hallways (thanks to scent dispensers). The one-bedroom and studio suites include a king or two queen beds—each with a comfortable mattress and duvet—sofa bed, bathroom with a walk-in shower (some rooms have tubs), and kitchenette with a full-size refrigerator, small cooktop, microwave and dishwasher (note there is no oven). A handful of first-floor suites have walk-out terraces just a few steps above Bethany’s boardwalk, making it easy to dash past the dunes to catch the sunrise from the beach.
Summer activities for kids include a mermaid swim, face painting, a magician and movies. Bike rentals are available on-site. Suite rates begin at $709 per night and include coffee and tea all day and a full breakfast buffet.
Bethany Beach Ocean Suites Residence Inn by Marriott, 99 Hollywood St., Bethany Beach, Delaware, 302-539-3200, marriott.com/en-us/hotels/rehri-bethany-beach-ocean-suites-residence-inn/overview
Yak It Up on the Tracks
Chat up friends, family or your date as you pedal alongside the Great Allegheny Passage on a tandem or quad railbike from Tracks and Yaks. Opened in Frostburg, Maryland, in May 2021, Tracks and Yaks tours depart from the historic Frostburg Depot and run along Western Maryland Scenic Railroad’s smooth steel tracks, offering gorgeous mountain views and a fun pedal through the 914-foot Brush Tunnel. The rides, which are all guided, are leisurely paced and the bikes are easy to handle, making the tours accessible for people of all ages. A variety of tours are available, including the popular Helmstetter Hotshot, a 10-mile, two-hour pedal through the most scenic part of the railway, with a shuttle bus return (from $99 for a tandem bike). Or try the Track and Yak Express, a three-hour tour that pairs a 10-mile railbike ride with a shuttle bus to the North Branch of the Potomac River for a 3-mile kayak or tube float (from $139). Additional tours are available, including one that combines railbiking with a return trip aboard the Western Maryland Scenic Railroad’s Frostburg Flyer.
A second Tracks and Yaks location in Berlin, Maryland, about a 30-minute drive from Bethany Beach, opened in July 2023 and offers a 6-mile, 1½-hour tour, or a 13-mile, 2½-hour tour on straight and level tracks. Both traverse farmland, wetland and coastal forests of pine. The longer excursion includes a stop at the historic Queponco train depot, which now serves as a museum dedicated to the history of the railroad and its importance on the Eastern Shore. Be sure to pack water, sunscreen, snacks and closed-toe shoes. Open six days a week (closed on Tuesdays) throughout the summer. Visit the website for tour schedules and prices. —C.K.F.
Tracks and Yaks, 19 Depot St., Frostburg, Maryland, 301-349-3699; 115 Broad St., Berlin, Maryland, 443-856-3309, tracksandyaks.com
This story appears in the July/August edition of Bethesda Magazine.