What's the boardwalk like right now?
The boards right now: lights and fries
Live: the Town of Ocean City's published Boardwalk bike ordinance · computed sun times · 45 mapped strip POIs at season resolution. Refreshed every 5 minutes.
- The boards, tonight
Three miles of lit storefronts, fries and caramel corn — and a beach open till midnight beside it.
The boards' usual rhythm after dark — by the hour, not by a count.
Walk the strip — 45 stops, Inlet to 27th - Bikes
Bikes anytime
Off-season: anytime except springfest and sunfest weekends.
Town ordinance, not a guideline — and it binds e-bikes, boards and skates too.
- Tram
Retired in 2025
After 61 years of running the boards.
Walk it: just under three miles, Inlet to 27th.
Or bike it before the cutoff, or ride the Beach Bus up Coastal Hwy.
- In walking order
Start at Ocean City Inlet & Jetty
Then 44 more heading north, ending at Harrison Hall Hotel. 6 of them are Journey checkpoints.
All open this season. Individual hours aren't published here; the shutters tell you.
- Light
Sunrise 6:42 AM
The boards stay lit; the sand is open till midnight.
Ocean side for the sunrise, bay side for the sunset — the island is four blocks wide.
Strip Mode
The boards, in order
Ten miles of ocean on one side, ten miles of everything else on the other. This is the boards the way you actually walk them — Inlet to 27th St, in order, one storefront at a time. Scroll sideways on a wide screen, straight down on your phone.
45 stops mapped so far, Inlet through Harrison Hall Hotel — the boards keep going north of here in real life; that stretch joins the strip as its POI data is authored.
The Great Fire (1925), the Ash Wednesday Storm (1962), Hurricane Gloria (1985), and Hurricane Sandy (2012) — mapped onto the blocks they hit.
The channel a 1933 hurricane cut in a single night — now the town's southern edge.
450-foot bayside pier into the Inlet — no license needed, 24/7 in season.
Ten miles of free, guarded Atlantic sand — Inlet to the Delaware line.
45 hand-carved animals spinning since 1912 — often called America's oldest continuously operating carousel.
Shops at the boardwalk's southern tip, with Inlet and Assateague views.
OC's only under-21 nightclub — ages 15–20, alcohol-free, nightly summer parties.
No-frills locals' dive near the Inlet since 1964 — 'coldest beer in town.'
Fishing off a 1907 ocean pier — no license needed, rod rentals on site.
Where the big bands played — the pier's lost ballroom era.
Saltwater taffy, caramel corn, and fudge on the boards since 1910.
Homemade ice cream on the boardwalk since 1939.
Pier rides out over the ocean — home of the giant Ferris wheel.
Where Ocean City started — open since July 4, 1875.
The odditorium in the building with a shark crashing through it.
Bucket fries with vinegar and salt since 1929 — don't ask for ketchup.
Downtown bait & tackle shop on Talbot St
Built 1877 — likely the oldest building still standing in Ocean City.
Copper-kettle caramel popcorn at Talbot St since 1937.
The original frozen custard, since 1919 — get the vanilla-orange swirl.
Boardwalk rock-and-roll bar with live bands since 1970.
Renting bikes and surreys off the boards since 1978, with stands up the boardwalk.
The 2000 gateway arch at N Division St — the classic 'we made it' photo.
2006 memorial to local firefighters — with a steel beam from the World Trade Center.
OC's history museum in an 1891 U.S. Life-Saving Service station.
Family-run boardwalk amusements at the Inlet since 1893.
Family-run boardwalk slice joint since 1962.
Baltimore's 1915 chocolatier, on the boards since 1970.
1894 grand hotel built by a Civil War widow who bet on the beach.
Open-pit beef carved off the grill at 2nd St since 1980.
The gloriously chaotic collage-covered art emporium at 2nd St.
Family-run fine jeweler on the boards; nautical & custom pieces
Pizza by night, pancakes by morning — the 3rd St original, since 1980.
Historic boardwalk hotel with an Irish pub — and, legend says, a resident ghost named Betsey.
Anchor recovered from the 1870 wreck of the Star Light.
OC's landmark kite shop since 1976 — the kites flying over the boards are theirs
The souvenir-tee chain (est. 1986); airbrush & custom prints
Three miles of public boards, open at every hour — the reason the town has a shape.
Boardwalk surf institution — rentals, lessons, steps from the break
Boardwalk rentals around 8th–9th St — details unconfirmed, check ahead.
The 1983 original of the beach-store chain; swimwear, towels, souvenirs at volume
Depression-defying 1931 hotel — the town's tallest building for four decades.
Boardwalk bike rentals at 12th St since 1996 — open 6:30am for the morning ride.
French and Middle Eastern baking, oceanfront on the Boardwalk at 14th Street.
Hot, hand-dipped, made-to-order donuts with custom glazes.
The Harrisons' 1951 hotel that helped push the resort north.
🏆 Boardwalk Journey
Walk or bike the full length of the boards, Inlet → 27th St, checking in at every stop below along the way. Land on all of them in one calendar day to earn the badge.
There is a sign at each end that says Touch the Spot. Touch both and you have done the whole length — that is the local rule, and it is a good deal older than this badge. Clear the list below on the same walk and you have earned both.
- Inlet & Pier
- 8th St area
- 15th St (data ends here for now)
This is an honor-system tracker (Phase 1): checkpoints light up from your existing check-ins, not GPS. Real GPS-verified walking/biking — and the ability to log a fresh Journey on every trip — arrives with the mobile app (plan §3.9). Until then, each stop can only be checked in once, so this Journey is effectively a one-time achievement rather than a repeatable counter.
Answers
The Boardwalk questions people actually ask. Town rules govern — check oceancitymd.gov before you go.
When can you bike on the Boardwalk?
In summer 2026 (Memorial Day weekend–Labor Day): midnight until 2:00 PM daily — the cutoff was extended from noon after the tram retired. Off-season: anytime, except Springfest and Sunfest weekends.
Applies to bikes, certain e-bikes, skateboards, and skates. Surreys and rentals follow the same clock. Official rules govern.
How long is the Ocean City Boardwalk?
Just under three miles, from the Inlet at the south end up to 27th Street.
The first planks went down around the turn of the century, and in the early years the whole thing was rolled up each night ahead of the high tide.
Is the Boardwalk Tram still running?
No — the Boardwalk Tram was permanently discontinued in October 2025 after running since 1964. Walk the boards, bike before the 2pm cutoff, or use the Beach Bus on Coastal Highway.
Can you smoke or vape on the Boardwalk?
Beach: only in designated smoking areas, within 15 feet of the marked receptacles. Boardwalk: entirely smoke- and vape-free. Applies to cigarettes, cigars, pipes, and e-cigarettes; public cannabis smoking is illegal statewide.
Can I bring my dog on the Boardwalk?
No — dogs are prohibited on the beach and boardwalk May 1 through September 30. October 1–April 30 they're welcome on both, leashed. Year-round option: the Dog Playground at 94th St bayside.
Town Beach Activities Ordinance Sec. 106-94. Clean-up is required everywhere in town. Official rules govern — check oceancitymd.gov before you go.
Can I drink alcohol on the Boardwalk or beach?
No glass bottles or containers on the beach, boardwalk, or bayside. Alcohol in open containers is also prohibited. Sealed beverages are technically permitted for 21+ adults in some areas off the boardwalk, but open-container law is enforced — best plan is no alcohol in public. Check the signage at entry points.
Town ordinances govern these rules. Violators face fines. There is a second reason nobody puts on a sign: a bottle that breaks is sharp edges in the sand by that afternoon, and the frosted sea glass people hunt for takes decades of surf to make. Keep sea glass rare — bring cans, and pocket what you find instead of leaving more behind.
Can I walk the Boardwalk or beach after dark?
Yes. The beach is open 5am to midnight, so an evening walk on the sand is a perfectly ordinary thing to do — the only closed window is midnight to 5am. What does stop at dark is swimming: Beach Patrol goes off duty at 5:30pm in season, and the water after that is unguarded.
Sleeping on the beach is its own rule — not between 10pm and 6am, which is when the mechanical cleaners work the sand. The Boardwalk itself keeps its own hours and stays lit long after the guards go home.
What are the "Touch the Spot" signs at each end of the Boardwalk?
There is a sign at each end of the Boardwalk that says Touch the Spot. That is the whole rule: touch one, cover the boards, touch the other. Nobody is checking — but the people walking and running the full length all do it, and you will see someone break stride at the rail to reach out and tap it.
Inlet to 27th Street is just under three miles, so spot to spot and back is a shade under six. Go before ten if you want it as a workout — that is the stretch of the day when the boards belong to joggers and bikes rather than strollers.
Do I have to stay off the dunes?
Yes — dunes and their vegetation are protected. Stay on the marked boardwalks and designated beach-access ramps; do not walk on dunes, trample beach grass, or remove plants. Dunes are critical to storm protection and wildlife habitat.
Violators face fines. The dunes literally protect OC from storms — treat them accordingly. Blue Mobi-mats mark accessible crossing points year-round at many street ends.
What is there to see along the Boardwalk?
45 places sit along the strip in this guide, in the order you pass them walking north from the Inlet. 3 of them are Boardwalk Journey checkpoints — waypoints spaced along the length so the walk can be tracked end to end, not a shortlist of the best ones.
Walk it at 7am and it belongs to joggers and bikes; walk it at 10pm and it is lights, crowds, and the smell of fries and caramel corn.