Baltimore, Maryland – The Clever Boater

Location

Region: Chesapeake Bay
Latitude: 39.2903° N
Longitude: -76.6121° W
Waterway Guide: Baltimore, MD

Destination: Baltimore

Baltimore is a major stop in the Chesapeake Bay and a great place to spend a week. There are several large marinas, and getting around is easy. We have visited Baltimore three times and look forward to going back!

As we enter Baltimore, we always look for the Red, White, and Blue Flag Buoy, the Francis Scott Key Buoy. It is located on the North side of the channel, just past the (now former) Francis Scott Key Bridge. It marks the location where Francis Scott Key witnessed the bombardment of Fort McHenry. This event inspired him to write the Star-Spangled Banner, our National Anthem.

During our first visit, we stayed at the Harbor East Marina in the Inner Harbor, a modern marina close to all downtown activities. On our second and third visits, we stayed in the Fells Point area, once at Henderson’s Wharf and once at Anchorage Marina. Of the three, Anchorage was our favorite. More Looper boats are there, creating a more vibrant social scene for boaters. There is music at the end of the face dock in the evenings and always docktail gatherings. The marina staff at Anchorage were extremely helpful. On the other hand, Henderson’s Wharf is a bit run down and is managed by a hotel with friendly staff but lacks real services or a social scene. However, it does have better availability during peak seasons and is a bit closer to the restaurants and nightlife of Fells Point.

If you need to travel home, BWI Airport is nearby, and car rental options abound.

Where To Eat

There are so many options! Use Google Maps to see what is near you. Here are a few special places we came across.

The Horse You Came In On is in the Fells Point Area, this is a famous bar with seats in the shape of saddles. The food is just okay, but it’s worth a visit for the ambiance. The only downside is that the music (usually live) is quite loud.

Slainte Irish Pub is in the Fells Point Area, a great Irish Pub with good Irish Pub fare.

Penny Black Bar & Restaurant is in the Fells Point Area. It’s not much to look at from the outside, but we had several very good meals here. The food is mostly traditional bar food.

Pitango Bakery & Cafe is in the Fells Point Area. A great bakery and breakfast location.

Captain James Seafood & Crabhouse is right on the Waterfront Promenade near both the Anchorage and Henderson’s marina.

&pi z za is across the street from the Anchorage Marina they offer a great long/skinny pizza.

Mahaffey’s Pub is behind the Safeway Supermarket near the Anchorage Marina. A great local pub with excellent pub fare.

Lighthouse Canton is down the street from the Anchorage Marina near West Marine. It’s primarily a Liquor, Wine, and Beer store, with one of the largest selections of beer we have ever seen! They also have a small sandwich bar inside that makes excellent sandwiches. It’s a great lunch spot with both inside and outside seating.

The Choptank is located in the large building at the end of Broadway Market in Fells Point. It’s a combination store, farmer’s market, and restaurant. It has great seafood!

Tagliata is in the Little Italy section closer to the main Inner Harbor area. Excellent upscale Italian food. Reservations are recommended.

Mother’s Federal Hill Grille is a Baltimore landmark in the Federal Hill area (close to Camden Yards). It’s a fast-paced eatery popular with locals and people going to a Baltimore Orioles game (they offer a shuttle bus service to the park on game days).

Those are our favorites near the marinas. Again, there are 100s of choices in the greater Inner Harbor area.

Shopping Therapy

The area around the inner harbor is filled with small boutiques, up-scale chain stores, and souvenir shops selling Old Bay-branded kitsch that you could visit in a lifetime! Baltimore is the home of Under Armour clothing, and its flagship store is near the Harbor East Marina and Whole Foods.

Speaking of Whole Foods, there are two supermarkets easily accessible from the marinas. Whole Foods is just up the street from Harbor East Marina, and Safeway Supermarket is just across the street from the Anchorage Marina. There is also a Target and Harris Teeter supermarket just under a mile from the Anchorage Marina down Boston Street.

On Saturdays, you should visit the Fells Point Farmers Market, a large market in Broadway Square, right on the waterfront near the Water Taxi stop.

Three other shopping stops for boaters worth mentioning are West Marine, just down the street from the Anchorage Marina, and a large Ace Hardware behind the Safeway Supermarket. Within sight of the Anchorage Marina across the harbor, but about a 2-mile hike, is Crowley Marine Services, at 2000 S Clinton Street, a huge chandlery shop that caters to the large vessels in the harbor located on one of the old piers. Great stops if you have boat projects!

Getting Around On Shore

Getting around in Baltimore is pretty easy, with rental scooters, bikes, bus service, and ride-share all available. The Fells Point/Inner Harbor area is very walkable as well, with a nice paved Promenade that extends for most of the way around the harbor.

The Bus Service is an excellent way to make hops. The Charm City Circulator is a FREE bus service that travels five routes covering the central business district. We used it extensively during all our visits.

The Baltimore Water Taxi is a great way to make big hops around the harbor on the weekends, including a visit to Fort McHenry.

Keeping Entertained

There are many, many activity options in Baltimore. Here are a few of our favorites:

Camden Yards – Twice, we’ve gone to a Baltimore Orioles baseball game at Camden Yards. Camden Yards is two miles from the Anchorage Marina. Tickets during the regular season are very available and compared with some parks, are reasonably priced around $65-$85.

B&O Railroad Museum – If you are a railroad fan, the B&O Museum is a must-see. It has a very large collection of lovingly restored steam locomotives displayed in a huge roundhouse. Outside they also have a large collection of rolling stock and diesel locomotives. They offer a two-mile train ride on an old section of the B&O railroad line. We’ve gone on every visit!

The Baltimore Museum of Industry, located across the harbor from the marinas, is an interesting stop with displays from Baltimore’s industrial past, including oyster canning. While you are on the harbor’s south side, another place to check out is the American Visionary Art Museum, which has a collection of unusual sculptures and works of art, including a giant weathervane. The building itself is unique. You can see quite a bit just by walking around the grounds, even if you don’t go inside.

Just across the street from the museum is Federal Hill, a large park with a large hill! It offers great views of the entire inner harbor area. The Federal Hill area is another restaurant and shopping district worth visiting if you spend time in Baltimore.

Fort McHenry is just across the harbor from the Canton Neighborhood on the harbor’s South Side. You will pass within an easy cannon shot of it as you enter Baltimore Harbor. The best way to visit is the Water Taxi service from the North side at Lighthouse Point or the Fells. It drops you off right on the grounds. There is a museum with a spectacular video introduction, and you can take a walking tour of the Fort. There are amazing views of Baltimore Harbor from the top of the earthworks. Watch for the frequent flag raising. You can request that a US Flag be raised and flown over Fort McHenry. It’s popular with military personnel who are retiring. They make a ceremony of it.

Baltimore is the home of Johns Hopkins University, one of the top medical schools in the country. The Charm City Circulator free bus will bring you from downtown to the campus. It’s a beautiful campus to walk around. While there, visit the Homewood Museum, the house where the University got its start. Also, just a short walk from the campus is the Baltimore Museum of Art, a large and beautiful museum with extensive art exhibits to suit all tastes. Allow yourself at least a couple of hours to wander the exhibits.

The Inner Harbor area also offers the National Aquarium, Historic Ships, USS Torsk Submarine, Hard Rock Cafe, Top of the World Observation Level, and the Edgar Allen Poe House and Museum. Oh… And don’t forget to look for Mr. Trash Wheel and the Trash Eater barges that cruise all around the harbor!

Getting There

Baltimore’s Inner Harbor can be reached either from the main channel under the Chesapeake Bay Bridge from Solomons, Deale, and Annapolis. Or, if you are on the Maryland side of the bay, you can come through the Kent Narrows from St. Michaels. From Baltimore, it is 50 miles from the entrance to the C&D canal.

Location	To Baltimote
Solomons	75 miles
Deale	45 miles
Anapolis	30 miles
Kent Narrows Bridge	30 miles
St. Michaels	42 miles

Marinas and Anchorages

Several marinas in Baltimore are popular with cruisers. We’ll list them in order of popularity for each area.

Northwest Harbor in the Canton & Fells Point Neighborhoods

Anchorage Marina is in the Canton Neighborhood. This is one of the most popular marinas with Great Loopers. A large marina with a great social atmosphere and excellent facilities. Onsite Laundry, Mail Service, and at slip Pumpout. It is across the street from the Safeway Supermarket and near West Marine. The Waterside Prommanade walk/bike path is right off the docks and gives you easy access to the rest of Baltimore. There is no fuel at Anchorage.
Lighthouse Point Marina is just east of Anchorage Marina. It has recently reopened and features over 400 slips with in-slip Pumpout. It also has full amenities, including a pool! There is no fuel at Anchorage.
Henderson’s Warf is just west of Anchorage Marina in the Fells Point Neighborhood, closer to downtown and the Fells Point restaurant district. Henderson’s is an older marina with few amenities, but as they say, location is everything. For extended stays, Henderson’s may be less expensive.
Clinton Street Boatel is also in Northwest Harbor near the above marinas. While not a residential marina, it’s worth mentioning as it offers a travel lift, repair service, storage, and Gas, Diesel, and Pumpout services.

Inner Harbor

Harbor East Marina is on the North side of the Inner Harbor. It offers easy access to all the attractions and restaurants. It has nice amenities and in-slip pumpout. There is no fuel at Harbor East.
Inner Harbor Marina is on the south side of the Inner Harbor and is also a popular stop with Loopers. It offers the best protection from wind and waves and is just a short walk from Camden Yards. Uniquely placed, it’s close enough to all of the Inner Harbor activities to be just a short walk, but it is tucked into a corner, so there is not a huge amount of tourist traffic and noise. Inner Harbor offers Gas, Diesel, and Pumpout services.