Smith Island is a cluster of marsh islands in the Chesapeake Bay, about 10 miles west of Crisfield, Maryland. It’s the last inhabited offshore island in Maryland with no bridge to the mainland — you can only get there by boat. Three small villages sit on the island’s higher ground: Ewell (the largest), Rhodes Point, and Tylerton. The current population is roughly 200 to 250 year-round residents, down from a peak of about 800 in the early 1900s. The island has been settled since the 17th century by English colonists, primarily from Cornwall, Dorset, and Wales, and many of the same family names — Evans, Tyler, Bradshaw — appear on gravestones and mailboxes today.
Smith Island is also shrinking. The island has lost more than 3,300 acres of wetlands over the past century and a half due to erosion, tidal currents, and sea level rise. A 2008 study by the Maryland Department of Natural Resources warned that Smith Island could be completely eroded by 2100 if no protective action is taken. A large-scale restoration project aims to recover some 2,000 acres of wetland, but the island’s long-term future is uncertain. This is part of what makes a visit feel urgent — you’re seeing something that may not exist in its current form much longer.
1. Walk Through Ewell
Ewell is where the Crisfield ferry docks and where most visitors spend their time. It’s a small village of maybe 100 people, walkable end to end in 15 minutes, and there’s no reason to rush. The harbor is lined with workboats and crab shanties where watermen keep live crabs in holding tanks, monitored every few hours during soft-shell season. Houses sit close to the water, many belonging to active crabbing and oystering families. A few have small front-yard signs selling baked goods or crafts to visitors.
There are almost no cars on Smith Island — most residents and visitors get around by golf cart, bicycle, or on foot. The pace of the village matches: people sit on porches, golf carts idle by the dock, and the loudest sound most of the day is boat engines and birds. If you’re coming from anywhere on the Eastern Seaboard corridor, the contrast is immediate and striking.
2. Visit the Smith Island Cultural Center
The Smith Island Cultural Center sits behind the Bayside Inn near the Ewell dock. It’s a small museum with exhibits on island history, the waterman’s life, crabbing and oystering methods, and the island’s distinctive culture. The center screens a short film featuring island residents that provides a good introduction to the community — worth watching before you explore further. It’s open daily from May through October. Admission is $3 for adults; children are free. Free walking tour maps are available at the desk.
The cultural center is also a good place to learn about the Smith Island dialect, one of the island’s most distinctive features. Due to centuries of isolation, islanders developed a relic accent that preserves speech patterns from the original 17th-century English colonial settlers. Linguists have studied it extensively — Georgetown University professor Natalie Schilling has documented its unique characteristics, including a pattern called “talking backwards” (e.g., “She ain’t purty none” means she IS pretty). The dialect resembles accents from England’s West Country, particularly Cornwall. You’ll hear it more if you stay overnight and interact with residents casually; islanders tend to moderate their speech when talking with visitors.
3. Eat Crab
This is the primary culinary reason to visit Smith Island. The island sits in the middle of some of the Chesapeake Bay’s richest crabbing waters, and most of America’s soft-shell crabs are caught within 50 miles of here. Ewell has two restaurants — the Bayside Inn and the Drum Point Market (offerings have changed over the years; check current status before visiting). Both serve crab cakes, fried soft-shell crab sandwiches, and other Chesapeake staples. The soft-shell crab in particular is exceptional — caught locally, housed in shanties within sight of the kitchen, and cooked the same day.
Be patient with restaurant service. The island has a very small labor pool, and restaurants are typically staffed by just a few people who do everything from cooking to serving. Most day-trippers head straight to a restaurant when the ferry docks, so the first 30 minutes after arrival can be busy. If you’d rather not wait, place an order when you arrive and explore the village while it’s being prepared — some restaurants will package meals to eat on the return ferry.
4. Buy a Smith Island Cake
Smith Island Cake is Maryland’s official state dessert — a round cake with 8 to 15 very thin layers alternating with cooked chocolate fudge frosting. The tradition dates to the 1800s, when island women sent these cakes with watermen heading out on multi-day oyster harvests. The fudge frosting (rather than buttercream) kept the cake moist over several days at sea. The thin layers, soaked through with frosting, create a dense, rich texture unlike any standard layer cake.
Cakes are baked on the island at the Smith Island Baking Company (20926 Caleb Jones Rd, Ewell). You can buy cakes fresh or frozen and packaged for transport. The frozen versions are made with a slightly different recipe optimized for shipping. Restaurants in Ewell also serve slices of locally baked Smith Island cake. If you’re only doing one indulgent thing on this visit, this should be it.
5. Drive or Bike to Rhodes Point
Rhodes Point is the second village on the main island, connected to Ewell by a single narrow road — barely one lane wide — that crosses a broad expanse of salt marsh. The road is one of the most scenic stretches on the island: flat marsh on both sides, with the rooftops of Rhodes Point visible in the distance and open sky in every direction. It’s about 2 miles from Ewell.
Rhodes Point itself is smaller and quieter than Ewell. There are no restaurants or shops — just watermen’s homes, some well-maintained and some abandoned, lining the shoreline out to the island’s tip. The erosion here is more visible than in Ewell, with water encroaching close to structures. It’s a sobering and beautiful place. You can walk or bike there, but golf carts may not have enough battery range for the round trip — check with the rental provider in Ewell before heading out.
6. Take a Boat to Tylerton
Tylerton is the smallest and most isolated of the three villages, located on a separate island from Ewell and Rhodes Point. There is no road connection — you can only reach Tylerton by boat. A daily ferry runs from Crisfield directly to Tylerton (the Captain Jason II from City Dock), or you can arrange a private boat from Ewell. Tylerton has maybe 50 to 60 residents and feels even more removed from the modern world than Ewell.
The Smith Island Crab Co-op is in Tylerton, where women hand-pick crabmeat using traditional methods. When available, you can purchase fresh-picked crabmeat or pay to watch the picking process. The Inn of Silent Music, a small B&B in Tylerton, is one of the few overnight options on the island and is known for its tranquility. Tylerton has no stores or restaurants beyond what the B&B and a few residents offer, so bring anything you’ll need.
7. Watch the Marsh
Smith Island is more than half salt marsh, and the marsh itself — not just the villages — is a reason to visit. The island sits along a major Atlantic flyway, and birdwatching is excellent, particularly during spring and fall migration. Herons, egrets, ospreys, bald eagles, and numerous shorebird species are common. The Martin National Wildlife Refuge occupies the northern portion of the island complex.
You don’t need to go far to experience the marsh landscape. The road between Ewell and Rhodes Point crosses it directly, and the views from Ewell’s waterfront extend across miles of open water and wetland. Sunset over the marsh, with workboats silhouetted against the sky, is one of the most quietly spectacular scenes on the Chesapeake Bay. If you’re staying overnight, the evening light is worth arranging your schedule around.
Getting There
Smith Island is accessible only by boat. Ferries run from Crisfield, Maryland (year-round, about 45 minutes to 1 hour) and seasonally from Point Lookout, Maryland, and Reedville, Virginia. Multiple operators run from Crisfield — some are passenger ferries, others are working mail/supply boats that take passengers. Check seasonal schedules; service is more limited in winter. Ferries typically depart in the late morning and return in the mid to late afternoon, giving day-trippers about 2.5 to 3 hours on the island.
If you want more time, plan to stay overnight at one of the island’s B&Bs or cottages. The day-trip window is tight — enough to eat, walk Ewell, and visit the cultural center, but not enough to also get to Rhodes Point and Tylerton comfortably.
Practical Notes
Smith Island is a “dry” island — no alcohol is sold. Visitors who bring their own are expected to be discreet. Cell phone coverage is spotty to nonexistent; don’t rely on your phone for navigation or communication. There are no ATMs — bring cash. Shops and restaurants operate on island time and may close when the ferry departs or based on the personal schedules of the proprietors. There are no gas stations, grocery stores, or emergency medical facilities on the island. If you have mobility limitations, note that the village roads are flat but unpaved in places, and some areas near the water can be uneven.
Visitors should avoid walking in marsh areas — the mud can trap you. If you do get stuck, islanders advise lying on your back and using your hands and elbows to pull yourself back to solid ground rather than trying to stand and pull your feet out.
Proud owner of https://travelyouman.com/