Chesapeake Bay

Annapolis Sailing Cruises: Schooner Woodwind offers two-hour public sailing experiences aboard classic schooners on the Chesapeake Bay. Visitors help raise sails, steer, and learn about maritime history, wildlife, water quality, and regional heritage through interactive storytelling.

Explore Annapolis on a self-guided walking tour that highlights centuries of history along the Chesapeake Bay. Visit the Maryland State House, the U.S. Naval Academy’s John Barry Gate, historic churches, homes of free and enslaved African Americans, and the Banneker-Douglass-Tubman Museum. This walk offers a meaningful way to connect with the city’s political, cultural, and maritime heritage.

Paddle approximately 12 miles from Leonardtown to Colton's Point via kayak or canoe, stopping at Newtowne Neck State Park. The trip is mostly on Breton Bay, but joins the Potomac and the mouth of St. Clement's Bay near Colton's Point.

Discover the natural abundance of the Anacostia River as it threads through the heart of Washington, DC. Watch birds on Kingman Island or dock at the National Arboretum and roam the forest. The Anacostia River corridor has lots of options for outdoor fun and the Anacostia Water Trail can help you find them.

Choose from 30 miles of trails in the Inner Harbor, Outer Harbor, Middle Branch, and Patapsco River. Imagine yourself gliding alongside historic ships, seeing the skyline from the water, and paddling around Fort McHenry. Take a selfie with Mr. Trash Wheel or immerse yourself in nature surrounded by wetlands and wildlife. Nowhere else in the Chesapeake Bay can you find such a diverse range of awe-inspiring paddling experiences within a 3-mile radius.

The Patuxent River Water Trail offers visitors the opportunity to paddle the river, camp along its banks and visit its numerous parks, historic sites, sanctuaries and wildlife areas. The 110 mile-long river is unique in that it is the longest river that flows entirely within the state of Maryland.

Beginning at Jennings Randolph Lake to the mouth of the Potomac, you may choose to paddle the 355 miles to the Chesapeake Bay or take a single or multi-day trip; all will give you a different view of the ways that previous residents used the river and its banks for their livelihood, transportation and recreation.

The Sassafras River Water Trail is a 22 mile-long route located in the Upper region of the Chesapeake Bay. The river trail offers several options for paddle trips in beautiful landscapes that are rich in history.

The Susquehanna River is the longest river in the Eastern United States and the 16th longest in the country at 444 miles long. The Susquehanna forms from two branches that meet in Sunbury, Pennsylvania. The North Branch comes from Cooperstown, New York and the West Branch that rises from the borough of Carrolltown, Pennsylvania.