@nomtasticfoods and I spent a day exploring Solomons Island, and the Calvert Marine Museum was one of our favorite stops. It’s a maritime museum right on the water in Solomons, MD, and it packs in way more than you’d expect: a real screwpile lighthouse you can climb, a room full of Calvert Cliffs fossils (megalodon included), live river otters, and Chesapeake Bay aquariums.
There’s plenty more to do on the island too: No Thyme to Cook is a waterfront recreational cooking school in Solomons that’s perfect for date nights and a super fun way to spend an evening in Calvert County. For lunch on the same island, The CD Cafe is a New American spot in Solomons that leans seafood, and the seared scallop app is a strong way to start.
Our favorite part was touring the Drum Point Lighthouse, which is so cool. Tickets run just $6 to $11 depending on age, with discounts for military, vets, and kids, so it’s a genuinely budget-friendly way to spend a couple of hours. If you’re planning a Southern Maryland day trip or you’ve got curious kids to entertain, this one’s an easy yes, Nomsters.
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What Makes the Calvert Marine Museum a Standout Solomons Attraction
What I love about this place is that it’s really three museums in one, so there’s something for everyone. It covers the paleontology of Maryland (all those Miocene fossils eroding out of the nearby Calvert Cliffs), the estuary life of the Patuxent River and Chesapeake Bay, and the maritime history of the region. That means one ticket gets you a megalodon, live otters, indoor aquariums, and a historic lighthouse, which is a lot of value for the price. It’s also right on the Solomons waterfront, so it folds perfectly into a day of wandering the island. For a family outing or a rainy-day-friendly stop, it punches well above its ticket price.
What to See and Do at the Calvert Marine Museum
The Drum Point Lighthouse
This was our favorite, and touring it is included with your admission (no extra fee). It’s one of only a few screwpile cottage lighthouses left on the Chesapeake, and climbing up inside to see how a lighthouse keeper’s family actually lived is such a cool little time capsule. Heads up: the interior has stairs, but there’s a virtual tour at the base if climbing isn’t for you.
The Paleontology Hall
The fossil hall is a big draw, and for good reason. The nearby Calvert Cliffs are famous for Miocene fossils, so you’ll find shark teeth, whale and dolphin remains, and a jaw-dropping megalodon on display, plus a working fossil prep lab. If you’ve got a dinosaur-or-shark-obsessed kid, this is the room that’ll get them.
The Aquariums and River Otters
The estuary aquariums are home to rays, skates, and native Bay critters, but the real scene-stealers are the resident river otters (Bubbles and Squeak). They’re outdoors and visible year-round, and honestly, they steal the show. This is the corner where families with little ones tend to linger the longest.
A couple more things worth knowing:
- From May through mid-October, you can add on a one-hour harbor cruise aboard the Wm. B. Tennison, a historic bugeye boat, for an extra $9 adults / $5 kids. I didn’t get to do it this time, but it sounds like such a fun way to see Solomons from the water.
- The museum also runs the J.C. Lore Oyster House, a 1934 seafood packing house down the road, and the Cove Point Lighthouse (the grounds are free but only open seasonally on limited days, which is why we missed it and want to go back).
What Is the Drum Point Lighthouse?
It’s a piece of Chesapeake history you can actually walk inside. The lighthouse is a screwpile, cottage-style structure first lit in 1883, one of just three of its kind left of the 45 that once dotted the Bay. It was decommissioned in 1962 and moved to the museum’s waterfront in 1975, then restored to look the way it did in the early 1900s. Touring it is the thing I’d tell you not to skip, and it’s the part I’m most excited to cover in a separate post soon.
The Vibe and Who It’s For
This is a comfortable, easy-to-navigate museum where you can spend two to three hours without feeling rushed, and easily half a day if you’ve got kids in tow. It’s a great pick for families, for history and nature buffs, and for anyone looking for a low-key, budget-friendly thing to do on the island. It slots perfectly into a full Solomons day, and if you want to keep the fun going after dark, the Spooky Solomons ghost tour is a great add-on.
Good to Know
- Location: 📍 14200 Solomons Island Rd S, Solomons, MD 20688, right on the waterfront.
- Hours: 10AM to 5PM daily.
- Tickets: $11 adults, $9 seniors/military/veterans, $6 kids ages 5 to 12, free for kids under 5 and members. They also do free admission for up to 4 with a SNAP EBT card through Museums for All.
- Parking: free on-site, with accessible spaces near the main building.
- Food: there’s a gift shop but no restaurant on site, so plan to eat elsewhere. On our way back we brunched at Bulrushes Cafe in Prince Frederick, which is an easy stop.
- Add-ons: the Wm. B. Tennison harbor cruise runs May 1 to October 15 for an extra fee, and there’s a ticketed summer Waterside Music Series on the waterfront.
- Accessibility: the buildings are wheelchair accessible with free loaner wheelchairs; the lighthouse interior is not, but there’s a virtual tour at the base.
- More info: check the museum website for current cruise times and event dates before you go.
For $6 to $11, you get a lighthouse, a megalodon, live otters, and a genuinely nice waterfront, which is fantastic bang for your buck and an easy win with kids. It’s exactly the kind of low-key, budget-friendly outing that makes Solomons such a fun little getaway. If you’re building out a Southern Maryland day, a spot like Blue Wind Gourmet in Lexington Park is a great food stop to pair with it.
Have you guys been to the Calvert Marine Museum yet? Let me know your favorite Solomons Island spots in the comments, Nomsters. I’m planning to do a whole separate post on the Drum Point Lighthouse tour because it was so cool, so keep an eye out for that, and save this one for your next day trip down south.