Updated August 2026
Best beaches in Maryland by water quality
Maryland has 80 public beaches in the EPA monitoring dataset, 66 of them with enough bacteria samples to grade. 25 earn an A for consistently clean water, while 1 grade an F for frequently exceeding the safe-swimming limit. Full ranking below.
| Grade | Beach | County | % over limit | Samples | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| A | Elm's Beach - Public Beach | St. Mary's | 0% | 315 | Excellent |
| A | Hart Miller Island | Baltimore | 0% | 185 | Excellent |
| A | Chesapeake Station | Calvert | 0% | 80 | Excellent |
| A | Janes Island State Park | Somerset | 0% | 57 | Excellent |
| A | Rocky Point Park | Baltimore | 0.3% | 386 | Excellent |
| A | North Beach Site #1 (State Park Boundary) | Worcester | 0.4% | 446 | Excellent |
| A | Oceanside #3 | Worcester | 0.7% | 447 | Excellent |
| A | Ocean City Beach 6 | Worcester | 0.7% | 414 | Excellent |
| A | Ocean City Beach 1 | Worcester | 0.7% | 411 | Excellent |
| A | Ocean City Beach 2 | Worcester | 1% | 1,233 | Excellent |
| A | Ocean City Beach 3 | Worcester | 1% | 411 | Excellent |
| A | Ocean City Beach 4 | Worcester | 1.1% | 825 | Excellent |
| A | Cedar Cove Community Beach | St. Mary's | 1.4% | 210 | Excellent |
| A | Bay Ridge At Bay Dr. | Anne Arundel | 1.7% | 235 | Excellent |
| A | Mountain Point At Gibson Island | Anne Arundel | 1.8% | 285 | Excellent |
| A | Assateague State Park | Worcester | 1.8% | 225 | Excellent |
| A | Highland Beach | Anne Arundel | 2.1% | 96 | Excellent |
| A | Fort Smallwood Park | Anne Arundel | 2.2% | 270 | Excellent |
| A | Flag Harbor | Calvert | 2.4% | 211 | Excellent |
| A | Bay Ridge At River Dr. | Anne Arundel | 2.7% | 333 | Excellent |
| A | Gunpowder State Park - Hammerman | Baltimore | 2.7% | 185 | Excellent |
| A | Point Lookout State Park | St. Mary's | 2.8% | 212 | Excellent |
| A | Cape St. Claire At Persimmon Point | Anne Arundel | 2.8% | 211 | Excellent |
| A | Hunters Harbor | Anne Arundel | 3% | 267 | Excellent |
| A | Fort Smallwood At Pond Drive | Anne Arundel | 3% | 202 | Excellent |
| B | Annapolis Sailing | Anne Arundel | 3.2% | 347 | Good |
| B | Seahorse | Calvert | 3.3% | 641 | Good |
| B | Matapeake | Queen Anne's | 3.6% | 224 | Good |
| B | West View Shores | Cecil | 3.8% | 78 | Good |
| B | Chesapeake Bay Foundation | Anne Arundel | 4% | 99 | Good |
| B | Breezy Point | Calvert | 4.4% | 409 | Good |
| B | Beverly Beach | Anne Arundel | 4.4% | 203 | Good |
| B | Round Bay Main Beach | Anne Arundel | 4.5% | 3,580 | Good |
| B | Wellington | Somerset | 4.8% | 63 | Good |
| B | River Club Estates | Anne Arundel | 4.9% | 1,431 | Good |
| B | Sandy Point State Park Middle Beach | Anne Arundel | 5.1% | 471 | Good |
| B | Turkey Point At Cloud Beach | Anne Arundel | 5.6% | 411 | Good |
| B | Sandy Point State Park South Beach | Anne Arundel | 5.8% | 240 | Good |
| B | Mayo Beach Park | Anne Arundel | 5.9% | 237 | Good |
| B | North Point State Park | Baltimore | 6% | 133 | Good |
| B | Venice On The Bay | Anne Arundel | 6.1% | 114 | Good |
| B | Beverly Triton | Anne Arundel | 6.3% | 63 | Good |
| B | Cape Anne | Anne Arundel | 7% | 143 | Good |
| C | Cedarhurst | Anne Arundel | 7.2% | 457 | Fair |
| C | Scientists Cliffs | Calvert | 7.2% | 83 | Fair |
| C | Brownie's Beach | Calvert | 7.4% | 405 | Fair |
| C | Crystal Beach Manor | Cecil | 8% | 326 | Fair |
| C | Oyster Harbor | Anne Arundel | 8.3% | 108 | Fair |
| C | Camp Wright | Queen Anne's | 8.6% | 432 | Fair |
| C | Saunders Point | Anne Arundel | 8.8% | 114 | Fair |
| C | Tolchester Marina And Beach | Kent | 8.9% | 135 | Fair |
| C | Flag Ponds | Calvert | 9.5% | 232 | Fair |
| C | Bayside Beach | Anne Arundel | 9.8% | 123 | Fair |
| C | Atlantic Marina Resort | Anne Arundel | 10.3% | 117 | Fair |
| C | Fairhaven | Anne Arundel | 10.4% | 144 | Fair |
| C | North Beach | Calvert | 10.7% | 402 | Fair |
| C | Echo Hill Camp (Youth Camp) | Kent | 11% | 399 | Fair |
| C | Driftwood | Calvert | 11.4% | 236 | Fair |
| D | Grove Point Camp | Cecil | 12.2% | 599 | Poor |
| D | Ymca Camp Tockwogh (Youth Camp) | Kent | 12.3% | 408 | Poor |
| D | Arundel On The Bay | Anne Arundel | 12.5% | 104 | Poor |
| D | Elk Neck State Park North East River | Cecil | 13.8% | 369 | Poor |
| D | Rose Haven | Anne Arundel | 14% | 150 | Poor |
| D | Ferry Park | Kent | 23% | 165 | Poor |
| D | Tolchester Estates Beach | Kent | 23.9% | 213 | Poor |
| F | Red Point Beach | Cecil | 34.8% | 264 | Failing |
Download the full Maryland beach safety ranking
All 66 graded Maryland beaches with their Beach Safety Grade, exceedance rate, sample counts, and program status — from EPA monitoring data. Enter your email to download; you'll also get swim-advisory alerts. A grade is a multi-year classification, not a same-day safety clearance.
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