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/A Seafood Lover's Weekend on Maryland's Eastern Shore

Local Guide7 min read· June 2026

A Seafood Lover's Weekend on Maryland's Eastern Shore

There are few better places to eat your way through a weekend than Hooper's Island. You're in the middle of working crab and oyster country, minutes from the boats and markets that supply it, with a kitchen big enough to cook for a crowd. Here's how to plan a proper Chesapeake seafood weekend — what to eat, what's in season, and how to do it right.

The front deck at The Bayside Escape, looking across the road to the marsh and the bay

What's in season, and when

Timing shapes the menu on the Eastern Shore. A quick guide:

Blue crabs: recreational crab season runs April 1 through December 15, with summer (July–September) the peak — prime time for a steamed-crab feast.
Soft-shell crabs: a late-spring-to-summer delicacy, peaking in May and June when the crabs molt.
Oysters: the cold-weather star — Maryland's recreational oyster season runs October 1 through March 31, when wild oysters are at their plumpest.
Rockfish (striped bass): spring and fall harvest seasons on the Chesapeake; the fall run is the one anglers plan around.
White perch, croaker & spot: easy, abundant summer panfish — great for a casual fish fry.

The upshot: there's something worth eating in every season, so plan the weekend's meals around whatever's running when you visit.

Buy fresh, cook at the house

The single best move is to buy local and cook in. You're about two miles from Rippons Brothers Seafood and surrounded by working waters, so you can get crabs, oysters, and fish about as fresh as it comes. The full kitchen and big table make group cooking the main event: steam a bushel of crabs one night, shuck oysters on ice another, and pan-fry a soft-shell or a crab cake for lunch. Half the fun is the doing — everyone gathered around a newspaper-covered table, working through the pile.

The Chesapeake Bay near Hooper's Island, source of the weekend's seafood

A sample seafood weekend

Friday night — the crab feast. Pick up live crabs, steam them with Old Bay, and settle in for a long, messy, perfect dinner with the sunset over the water.
Saturday — catch your own. Spend the morning crabbing off a dock or out on a charter, then cook the catch. If oysters are in season, add a dozen on the half shell.
Saturday night — dinner out. Give the kitchen a night off and head to Old Salty's in Fishing Creek for crab cakes and local seafood.
Sunday — a leisurely finish. A soft-shell sandwich or a last batch of crab cakes before you head home.

Eat your way through the Bay

The Bayside Escape sleeps 24 on the Chesapeake Bay in Fishing Creek, MD — a full kitchen, a big table, and fresh seafood a couple of miles away. Create a free account and get $100 toward your first direct booking.

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Eating out: the local trail

When you want someone else to do the cooking, the island and the wider Middle Eastern Shore deliver. Old Salty's is the local institution; beyond it, Cambridge (about 29 miles north) and the surrounding towns are dotted with crab houses and raw bars, many of them stops on the Maryland Crab & Oyster Trail. Build a day around it — a drive up the shore, a long seafood lunch, and home by sunset.

Dig deeper

Each part of this weekend has its own full guide — from how to run a crab feast to what makes a real Maryland crab cake. Start with the links below to plan the menu.