8 One-of-a-Kind Small Towns in Maryland

In one Maryland town, the whole downtown sits on billions of crushed oyster shells. In another, racers push homemade bathtubs down Main Street. Hyattsville has an art house locals call the "suburban Burning Man." Chesapeake City serves lunch while ocean freighters slide past the window. Frostburg spends one December Saturday as an elf-run North Pole. These eight small towns each hold a quirk found nowhere else in America.

Crisfield

Crisfield is considered the Seafood Capital of the World (famous for its Maryland blue crabs), and what makes this town even more unique is the fact that half of its downtown is literally built on top of oyster shells. The town was incorporated in 1872, and much of the surrounding land was marsh. Around the turn of the 20th century, residents crushed billions of oyster shells to form a firmer foundation, which according to the Crisfield history site makes the ground as firm as the Rock of Gibraltar. Visit the J. Millard Tawes Historical Museum to learn about the town's oystering and crabbing history. And you'll want to be sure to enjoy the famous local seafood, maybe at an all-you-care-to-eat crab feast. There's a waterfront spot, the Crab & Cruise, where you can enjoy 2 hours of feasting followed by a party cruise around Tangier Sound.

Hyattsville

Hyattsville is home to the Vanadu Art House, a highly eccentric art house, created by former museum conservator Clarke Bedford, that's often described as the "suburban Burning Man." The house, yard, and vehicles surrounding Vanadu (a riff on Xanadu), are entirely covered in thousands of salvaged antiques, recycled metals, found objects, and even invented histories. You can continue along the path (literally) of Hyattsville art on the Historic Hyattsville Public Art Walking Tour. This tour begins at the Pyramid Atlantic Art Center, a hub for book arts and unconventional artistry. This is just one of the major art centers in The Gateway Arts District, a 3 mile stretch that's home to incredible artists, restaurants, coffee houses, theatre, galleries, and of course all kinds of art supply stores to keep the new and unorthodox artwork coming from fascinating Hyattsville.

Havre de Grace

Resting at the head of the Chesapeake Bay is the historic river town of Havre de Grace, home to the Concord Point Lighthouse, the oldest continuously operated lighthouse in Maryland. Both the lighthouse and original keeper's dwelling have been fully restored to their 1884 version.

Havre de Grace is also known as the "Decoy Capital of the World." Visit the Decoy Museum to discover the art of decoy making, and learn how local waterfowl migration patterns combined with community artistry to shape the entire landscape of Chesapeake Bay's Susquehanna Flats.

And to continue your exploration of the waters and watersheds around this town, visit the Havre de Grace Maritime Museum, which is situated right where the Susquehanna River meets the Chesapeake Bay. You'll see firsthand why this environment, rich with flora and fauna, has been so desirable to generations of inhabitants around Havre de Grace.

Berlin

Only in Berlin can you see "one of the greatest spectator sports on Earth," the annual Bathtub Races. The Visit Maryland site claims that it's like bobsledding for people who hate snow, and in all honesty, speeds over 6 miles per hour.

The Bathtub Races run in summer, and if you miss them, try taking to the skies in the open cockpit of a biplane (like Snoopy and the Red Baron). Your Ocean City Plane Ride will take you over the Atlantic, over the wild ponies of Assateague Island, over the party people on the Ocean City Boardwalk, and back again.

Then head over to the funky downtown of Berlin to get dinner and a show at the Globe Restaurant and Bar. For more than 100 years this place has been hosting entertainments of all kinds with a full bar and a highly praised "twist on fine dining."

Chesapeake City

Chesapeake City is the only town in Maryland where you can watch a massive ocean going cargo ship glide by you as you sit having lunch in a downtown restaurant. This town grew up around a commercial canal first completed in 1824, and many of the 19th century buildings still remain in the thriving Chesapeake City Historic District. Book a Chesapeake Water Tour for a daily sightseeing tour or a sunset cruise of the area (each ride runs roughly 60 to 90 minutes). Or if you'd rather stay on land, relax in Pell Gardens located right along the canal. Against the waterfront backdrop you'll often get to watch public concerts here in the summer and be able to picnic under a pavilion any time.

Frostburg

Perched high in the Allegheny Mountains, Frostburg is locally famous for its wonderfully over the top "Storybook Holiday." Only in Frostburg does an entire downtown turn into the North Pole. There are elf olympics, snowball tosses, horse drawn carriage rides, storybook readings, hot cocoa, and even a Christmas parade, all held on the first Saturday of December.

This town also serves as a major hub for the Western Maryland Scenic Railroad. You can book a 3 hour Frostburg Flyer excursion and enjoy a 3 course meal while riding in a vintage dining car. Or if you're ready to get a more up close and personal view of the railroad, check out Tracks and Yaks, the only "rail bike" adventure in Maryland. Pedal along the tracks that take you through the Allegheny Passage (a great view especially in the fall).

Only in Maryland

Nowhere else in America can you find a town built on billions of oyster shells, or an art house considered to be "the suburban Burning Man," or watch bathtubs race down the streets, or meet the living experts on wildfowl decoys, or have lunch while a cargo freighter cruises past the window, or watch an "elf olympic" competition in a town transformed into a winter wonderland. Each of these towns in Maryland is truly one of a kind.