Things to Do in Chesapeake Beach: A Railway Museum, a Boardwalk, and “Little Nevada” Gaming
Chesapeake Beach's real estate market and practical-living details are covered elsewhere on this site's hub for the town; this page covers what's actually here to do, and it starts with a story most nearby beach towns can't tell: this small Calvert County town at the mouth of Fishing Creek earned the nickname “Little Nevada” in the early 1900s for offering slot machines to railroad-resort visitors, and it still hosts real, currently operating electronic gaming today. From there, the original 1898 railway station -- now a National Register-listed museum -- the town's boardwalk, pier, and water park, and the dramatic sandstone Randle Cliffs round out a visit. Where a specific detail -- an hour, a fee, a current machine count -- couldn't be confirmed this pass, that's stated plainly rather than assumed.
“Little Nevada”: Real, Current Electronic Gaming at the Rod ’N’ Reel Resort
Chesapeake Beach's most distinctive feature isn't a beach at all -- it's a real, current, unresolved local gaming story. During the town's early-1900s railroad-resort boom, it earned the nickname “Little Nevada” for offering slot machines to day-trippers arriving by train from Washington, D.C. That gaming heritage never fully disappeared: per the Rod ’N’ Reel Resort's own site, the resort currently operates over 270 video pull tab machines, open 24 hours daily, plus bingo, and two other local venues -- Traders Restaurant and Abner's Crabhouse -- also host electronic pull-tab game rooms. Per casino.org's reporting, a 2001 court ruling enabled electronic gaming machines locally, and Maryland's later statewide restriction of such machines grandfathered counties like Calvert County where machines already operated -- a different mechanism entirely from the six full commercial casinos the state authorized in 2012. The story is still actively being decided at the ballot box: on November 7, 2024, Chesapeake Beach voters decisively rejected a measure to permit expanded gaming (additional electronic bingo machines, casino slots, table gaming) in town, roughly 76 percent opposed (1,285 of 1,684 votes) -- the second such rejection in four years after a similar 2020 vote (roughly 72 percent opposed). This page doesn't state a current exact machine count beyond the resort's own “over 270” figure, current gaming revenue, or the outcome of any future referendum -- confirm current details directly with the resort.
The Chesapeake Beach Railway Museum: A National Register-Listed 1898 Station
The gaming story traces back to a genuinely dramatic railroad-resort history, confirmed via full-text fetch of Wikipedia's own Chesapeake Beach Railway entry and the town's own official history page. The Washington & Chesapeake Beach Railway was organized in 1891 by Baltimore lawyer Edwin Warfield, failed into receivership in 1895, was reorganized in 1896, and came under the control of Colorado railroad builder Otto Mears in 1897; its franchise was granted April 7, 1898, and its first train arrived June 9, 1900. The 27.6-mile “Honeysuckle Route” connected Washington, D.C. to an elaborate planned resort with hotels, bathhouses, a 1,600-foot boardwalk, a racetrack, a band shell, a carousel, a dance pavilion, and a roller coaster -- yet the railway never paid interest on its original $1 million mortgage, ridership peaked at 352,000 passengers in 1921, the Belvedere Hotel burned down in March 1923, a 1933 hurricane caused irreparable damage, and the last train ran on April 15, 1935. The original 1898 railway station survived all of it and has served as the Chesapeake Beach Railway Museum since 1979, listed on the National Register of Historic Places. This page doesn't state current museum hours, admission fees, or specific exhibit contents beyond this history, since none of those were confirmed this research pass -- check directly with the museum before planning a visit.
The Town's Boardwalk, Pier, and Water Park
Today's Chesapeake Beach waterfront still carries an echo of that original 1,600-foot resort boardwalk: the town maintains a public boardwalk, a pier, and a water park along the Chesapeake Bay, confirmed as real, current town features via Wikipedia's own entry. Together they make the waterfront a walkable, family-oriented stretch distinct from the gaming floor a few blocks away -- a place to watch the water, fish off the pier, or cool off at the water park rather than a place built around games of chance. This page doesn't state current water park ticket prices, specific pier fishing rules, or seasonal operating hours, since none of those were confirmed this research pass -- check directly with the Town of Chesapeake Beach before planning a visit.
The Randle Cliffs: A Real, Dramatic Sandstone Landform
Beyond the boardwalk and the gaming floor, the town's southern edge holds a genuine natural landmark: the sandstone Randle Cliffs, reaching up to 110 feet high, confirmed via Wikipedia's own entry, with shallow sand bars complicating nearby navigation. The Naval Research Laboratory's Chesapeake Bay Detachment, which conducts radar and fire-suppression research, is also located in the area. This page doesn't state a specific current cliff-erosion rate, public access point, or trail details for viewing the cliffs, nor any current Naval Research Laboratory program details beyond the general fact of its presence, since none of those were confirmed this research pass -- treat the cliffs as a real, scenic feature best viewed from a safe distance or from the water, and direct any research-facility questions to the Naval Research Laboratory's own public affairs office.
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Get a Free Agent Referral →Independent research. No ads. No sponsored listings. The “Little Nevada” gaming nickname, the Rod ’N’ Reel Resort's current gaming operations (over 270 video pull tab machines, 24 hours daily, plus bingo), the 2001 court ruling and grandfathering mechanism, and the November 7, 2024 gaming referendum results (roughly 76 percent opposed, 1,285 of 1,684 votes, following a similar 2020 vote roughly 72 percent opposed) are drawn from a full-text fetch of the Rod ’N’ Reel Resort's own gaming page and casino.org's own reporting. The Chesapeake Beach Railway's 1891-1935 history, the Belvedere Hotel fire, the 1933 hurricane, and the original 1898 railway station's service as a National Register-listed museum since 1979 are drawn from a full-text fetch of Wikipedia's own Chesapeake Beach Railway entry and the town's own official history page. The town's boardwalk, pier, and water park, and the Randle Cliffs (up to 110 feet high) and the Naval Research Laboratory's Chesapeake Bay Detachment, are drawn from a full-text fetch of Wikipedia's own Chesapeake Beach, Maryland entry. Current museum hours and admission, water park ticket prices, exact current gaming-machine counts, and cliff-erosion or research-facility program details were not confirmed this research pass and are not stated here -- confirm current details directly with the relevant organization before planning a visit. Nothing on this page is legal, financial, or real estate advice.