Ocean CityWorcester County, MD

Visibility is an estimate — wind, rain, tide & water alerts.

Getting in

Shore access, walk in off the sand

Best conditions

The Beach Patrol runs two rotating surf-only beaches that move two blocks south each day, one cycling from 146th to 67th Street and the other from 66th to Caroline, plus a fixed weekday surf beach at the Inlet jetty. Sand open to swimmers one day can be surf-only the next, so check the posted rotation before paddling out.

Getting through the gate

The beach has no gate or entry fee; parking is the only charge on the town's pages. Surf fishing is allowed, though from the Friday of Memorial Day weekend through September 30 it is barred within 50 yards of swimmers between 10 a.m. and 5:30 p.m.

Parking

Street spaces and municipal lots take the ParkMobile or Passport app, roughly $2.50 to $4.50 an hour by block and season, free Monday through Thursday outside the late May to September peak while Fridays price with the weekend. The Inlet lot at the south end meters itself, first 30 minutes free, camera enforced with the bill mailed.

On site

lifeguard on duty, parking lot

Watch for

The Beach Patrol's safety page cites rip currents behind over 80 percent of surf-beach rescues nationally; its advice is to swim near a guard and, if caught, swim parallel to shore, Guards cover the beach from Memorial Day weekend to the third Sunday after Labor Day, 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., and the Patrol's standing reminder is to stay out of the ocean beyond those hours, Jetties are among the structures the safety page names as rip current triggers, and the fixed Inlet surf beach sits by the south jetty, where swimming and wading are barred in the surfing zone

Checked 2026-08-24. Sources: Town of Ocean City: parking, Ocean City Beach Patrol, Ocean City Beach Patrol: surf beaches, Ocean City Beach Patrol: safety and rip currents, Ocean City Beach Patrol: frequently asked questions, Ocean City Beach Patrol: about.