Ocean Pines, Maryland is more than just a neighborhood near Ocean City – it’s a unique resort community where everyday is like a vacation! If you’re considering moving to Ocean Pines or buying a second home to rent or share with family and friends, check out this list!
#5: NEARBY CONVENIENCES AND AMENITIES
Both inside and just beyond the Ocean Pines entrances, there are many stores, banks, restaurants, and medical facilities! Grab lunch, pick up groceries and prescriptions, get your hair cut and your oil changed, and go to the post office and library all within a quarter mile of the South Gate entrance. Depending on where your home is located, you may be able to run all of the errands with a quick bike ride – no need for a car! The Manklin shopping center is located inside Ocean Pines’ South Gate entrance and has several restaurants and stores, an ice cream shop, a hardware store, a fitness center, and dentist.
If you’re hungry, there are plenty of options from delivery and carry-out to casual and formal restaurants. Just outside the South Gate entrance, there are several drive-thru options, several casual and semi-formal restaurants, and Chinese, Mexican, and Italian delicacies.
#4: LIVE ENTERTAINMENT VENUES
When the weather is warm, you can enjoy live music at the Ocean Pines Yacht Club on weekend evenings – listening to music while looking across the bay to the skyline of Ocean City as the sun sets behind you. The nearby Windmill Creek Winery and several local restaurants also feature live entertainment. Ocean Downs Casino is just a few miles south on Racetrack Road – you can play slots and table games 7 days per week, enjoy live entertainment, weekly trivia night, and live horse racing along with special events including everything ostrich and camel races. Nearby Ocean City has many live entertainment venues from bars, clubs, and restaurants, to the Convention Center and events at the inlet and along the boardwalk.
#3: SOCIAL ACTIVITIES FOR ALL AGES AND LIFESTYLES
There are many service organizations and social clubs in and around Ocean Pines for all ages and interests. There are groups organized by individuals, the Ocean Pines Recreations and Parks association, as well as local chapters of regional and national organizations. There are social clubs for everything including reading, quilting, fishing, Bridge, Pinochle, swimming, dancing, chorus, gardening, theater, photography, bowling, fitness, painting, and crafting. Ocean Pines offers workshops, activities, and events for all ages that are free or available for a small fee – there are athletic and fitness programs, seminars on healthcare and finances, and family-friendly activities. There are special events scheduled year-round including family holiday activities, services at the Veterans Memorial, car shows, Farmers and Artisans markets, and bus trips.
#2: YEAR-ROUND OUTDOOR ACTIVITIES
Ocean Pines has 12 parks and 6 walking trails including a dog park, a skate park, a mountain bike trail, playgrounds, and sports fields. With 4 Ocean Pines pools, including 1 indoor option, you can always enjoy a dip in the pool whether you prefer swimming laps, a kids’ slide, water aerobics, swim team, or just playing in or by the pool. Ocean Pines is home to the only Robert Trent Jones Championship Golf Course on Maryland’s Eastern Shore.
With a Yacht Club, two marinas, a public boat ramp, and many homes with water access to the Isle of Wight Bay and St. Martin’s River via canals and docks, boating and watersports as well as fishing are enjoyed by residents and visitors year-round. Those who enjoy fishing will enjoy either watching or joining in the many fishing tournaments including the world-renowned White Marlin Open. In nearby Ocean City, you can play miniature golf, walk the famed boardwalk, fish from the shore or public piers, go out on a fishing charter or sunset cruise, or just enjoy a swim or walk by the Atlantic Ocean.
#1: LOCATION, LOCATION, LOCATION!
Although there are so many nearby amenities and activities both in and around Ocean Pines, the proximity to the Atlantic Ocean and the famous resort town of Ocean City, Maryland and Assateague Island State and National parks cannot be overlooked. With hundreds of nearby restaurants and bars, amusement parks and arcades, charter boats and cruises – you could visit a new place every day for a year and still have a long to-do list! Ocean City is just 8 miles across the Isle of Wight Bay from Ocean Pines and is accessible by car, boat, jetski or you can even take a relaxing ride across the water via the OC Bay Hopper water taxi that picks up and drops off patrons from the Yacht Club. Ocean Pines sits conveniently between the two bridges used to access Ocean City – Route 50 or Ocean Gateway lies just down the road to the South of Ocean Pines and Route 90 actually runs between the North and South sections of Ocean Pines. The Ocean Pines Beach Club is easily accessed via 90 while Route 50 is the quickest route to the inlet and boardwalk. The proximity to the famous Ocean City boardwalk and beaches alone makes Ocean Pines a desirable neighborhood but with so many activities and amenities right outside your front door, you will never be bored or looking for something to do in Ocean Pines, Maryland!
I’d be happy to share with you all the reasons I love Ocean Pines and I’d love to help you find a home you’ll love here as much as we love ours! If you have information to share about Ocean Pines, please comment below!
Ocean Pines, Maryland is more than just a neighborhood near Ocean City – it’s a unique resort community where everyday is like a vacation!
