How many guests does The Bayside Escape sleep?

Up to 24 guests across 6 bedrooms and 5 queen sleeper sofas. Sleeping breakdown: 1 King, 4 Queens, 4 Twins, and 5 Queen sofa sleepers (all in the main house).

Is The Bayside Escape pet-friendly?

Up to 2 dogs, $150 per stay. No cats.

What are the check-in and check-out times?

Check-in is at 4 PM and check-out is at 10 AM. Early check-in and late check-out are not available — back-to-back bookings require full turnaround time.

How do I book The Bayside Escape directly?

Book direct at thebaysideescape.com: there's no platform service fee, you earn 8% back in Bayside Rewards credit on every stay, and you deal with the owner directly.

What is the cancellation policy?

Full refund if you cancel 14 or more days before check-in. For a stay 14 or more days away, a 30% deposit is charged at booking and the remaining 70% balance is auto-charged 3 days before check-in; closer in, the stay is paid in full at booking. Inside the 14-day window, the booking is non-refundable.

Is parking available at The Bayside Escape?

Yes — the driveway accommodates 10 cars, including space for boat trailers.

What is the Flex Barn at The Bayside Escape?

The Flex Barn is a 1,600 sqft multi-use space included free with every booking. It features 16-ft ceilings, a 16-ft sliding barn door (drive-in capable), and rubber flooring. Perfect for yoga, corporate workshops, indoor games, movie nights, or gear storage. It is not a sleeping space — all sleeping is in the main house.

Blog/Maryland's Sweet Side: Snowballs, Berger Cookies & Smith Island Cake

Local Guide6 min read· July 2026

Maryland's Sweet Side: Snowballs, Berger Cookies & Smith Island Cake

Everybody knows Maryland for crabs, but the state has a serious sweet tooth too — and a summer trip with a houseful of people is the perfect excuse to go chasing it. Three treats in particular are worth putting on the list: the Baltimore snowball, the fudgy Berger cookie, and the legendary many-layered Smith Island cake. Here's what each one is, and how to track them down for a fun dessert run on an Eastern Shore vacation.

The backyard with a playset at The Bayside Escape

The snowball (with marshmallow, obviously)

First, a Maryland clarification: this is a snowball, not a "snow cone." The difference matters. A snowball is finely shaved ice — soft and fluffy, closer to fresh snow than to crushed cubes — drenched in flavored syrup. The signature local move is a scoop of marshmallow topping (fluffy marshmallow crème) melting over the top or hidden in the middle. It is the quintessential Baltimore-and-Maryland summer treat, sold from little stands and windows once the weather turns hot. Flavors run the rainbow, from egg custard (a beloved classic) to skylite blue to whatever the stand dreams up. If you spot a seasonal snowball stand anywhere on your travels around the Shore, stop — the kids (and, honestly, the adults) will remember it.

Berger cookies

A Berger cookie is a Baltimore institution: a soft, cakey vanilla cookie base almost entirely buried under a thick, dense slab of rich chocolate fudge icing. The ratio is gloriously lopsided — it's really a fudge delivery device with a bit of cookie underneath. They're sold packaged in many Maryland grocery stores, which makes them the easy grab of the three: keep an eye out in the bakery or cookie aisle on your Cambridge supply run, and bring a box back to the house. Fair warning — they disappear fast around a table of 24.

The playset in the backyard at The Bayside Escape

Smith Island cake — the state dessert

The showstopper is Smith Island cake, Maryland's official state dessert. It's a tall, striking cake of many thin layers — traditionally around eight to twelve — with fudgy icing spread between each one, so a cross-section looks like beautiful sedimentary stripes. It comes from Smith Island, the remote crabbing community out in the Bay reached by ferry from Crisfield, where island bakers perfected it. You don't have to make the ferry trip to get one, though: Smith Island cake is sold at various Eastern Shore bakeries and shops, and it's a spectacular centerpiece for a birthday or a big group dinner. If you're marking any kind of occasion on your trip, this is the cake to order ahead. Because whole cakes and bakery hours vary, call around and reserve one in advance rather than assuming you'll find it on the day.

Get $100 toward your first booking

The Bayside Escape sleeps 24 on the Chesapeake Bay in Fishing Creek, MD — a big table and a full house to share a Smith Island cake and a box of Bergers. Create a free account and get $100 toward your first direct booking.

Create account and claim $100 Check your dates

Plan a treat run

Half the joy is making it an outing. A simple plan for the group:

Bergers on the big shop. Add a box (or three) to the cart on your Cambridge Walmart run — they keep well.
Reserve the cake ahead. If a Smith Island cake is the goal, call an Eastern Shore bakery and order before your trip or early in the week.
Chase snowballs when it's hot. These are seasonal and stand-based — grab one whenever you pass a stand on a day trip.
Serve it back at the house. Dessert on the pergola after a crab feast, with the kids on the playset and the light going gold, is hard to beat.

The sweet ending to a Bay day

None of these are fancy — they're honest, regional, a little nostalgic, and exactly right for a group vacation. Line them up over the course of a week and you'll have given everyone a taste of Maryland beyond the crab pot. Best of all, they travel: bring the treats home to the house and enjoy them out back where there's room for the whole crew, no reservation and no rush.