Start from 20 curated places around Easton, MD, then choose the recommendations that fit your guests.
Restaurants & cafés
Out of the Fire
The consistently top-ranked restaurant in Easton, operating a wood-fired kitchen in a converted downtown space where the open hearth defines the menu — everything from brick-oven flatbreads to wood-roasted proteins. The kitchen sources locally and changes dishes with the season, giving regulars a reason to return frequently. Ranked #1 of 70 restaurants in Easton on Tripadvisor with over 450 reviews to back it up.
Bas Rouge
A modern European fine-dining room on Federal Street that operates at a level genuinely comparable to the best restaurants in Annapolis or D.C. — precise technique, a cellar-deep wine program, and service that's knowledgeable without being formal. The chef has drawn James Beard attention, and the kitchen's approach to local Chesapeake ingredients within a European framework is distinctive.
Trails & outdoors
Pickering Creek Audubon Center Trails
A 450-acre wildlife sanctuary four miles from downtown Easton with over four miles of free, open-access trails through tidal marsh, meadow, forest, and creekside habitat. The bird diversity here — bald eagles, herons, dozens of warbler species during migration — is remarkable for a site so close to a small city. Trail conditions stay accessible through most of the year, and the boardwalk sections protect sensitive habitat.
Wye Island Ferry Landing Trail
A 1.4-mile out-and-back trail on the tip of Wye Island that ends at the site of an old ferry crossing on the Wye East River, passing through hardwood forest and shoreline habitat. The island is accessible only by road through a working farm, giving it a genuinely off-the-beaten-path feel despite its modest distance. Water views from the ferry landing are expansive in three directions.
Things to do
Avalon Theatre Live Performances
The Avalon Theatre's year-round performing arts calendar spans nationally touring folk and jazz acts, chamber music, comedy, film, and community theater in a venue that seats under 400 people — putting the audience genuinely close to the performers. The intimate Stoltz Listening Room upstairs takes this further with cabaret-style shows where the performer is feet away. Few towns of Easton's size have this quality of live performance infrastructure.
Oxford Village
A colonial-era port town 12 miles from Easton at the tip of a peninsula on the Tred Avon River, reachable by the Oxford-Bellevue Ferry or a scenic drive through farm country. The handful of streets hold historic homes, a small waterfront park, a good brewery, and one of the better views on the Eastern Shore — with almost no commerce to interrupt it. This is one of those rare places that's genuinely unchanged.
Landmarks & sights
Avalon Theatre
A 1921 Art Deco cinema restored into the Eastern Shore's premier performing arts venue, hosting national touring acts, chamber music, film screenings, and community theater across two performance spaces. The intimate 60-seat Stoltz Listening Room upstairs is reserved for acoustic and cabaret-style programming that works better at close range. Both the building and the calendar punch well above what you'd expect from a town this size.
Academy Art Museum
The only accredited art museum on the Eastern Shore, housed in a former 1820s schoolhouse in the heart of Easton's historic district, welcoming over 50,000 visitors annually with rotating exhibitions and a permanent collection that leans toward American and regional work. The museum also runs studio classes, lectures, and film programs that make it a genuine community institution rather than just a gallery.