What's New in Ocean City MD This Summer: A Resident's 2026 Guide
July 23, 2026
July 23, 2026
If you live here year-round, you already know the boardwalk. You know which blocks fill first, where the crowd thins after Labor Day, and which restaurants have quietly changed hands since last Memorial Day. The interesting question for a resident this summer is not what to do in Ocean City. It is where the center of gravity has shifted, and why so much of what is new sits west of Coastal Highway rather than east of it.
The short version: the boardwalk still draws the visitors, but the openings, the concert nights, and even the way people physically move through town have changed enough that a local's summer routine looks different in 2026 than it did in 2024. Here is what that shift looks like on the ground.
The most concrete change is transportation. Beginning Memorial Day weekend, pedicabs debuted on the boardwalk to replace the discontinued tram service. If you took the tram home from a late dinner or used it to shuttle grandparents from 27th Street to the Inlet, that option is gone. In its place is a rickshaw model with fixed price bands rather than a flat ticket.
The cycle rickshaws run 2 p.m. to midnight daily, with pricing from $10 for a half-mile to $30 for the 2.2-mile length of the boardwalk. Twenty-five pedicabs should be operating by July 1, with 20 in service and five on standby.
| Distance | Cost |
|---|---|
| Half-mile hop | $10 |
| Full 2.2-mile boardwalk | $30 |
| Fleet size at peak | 25 pedicabs |
| Operating hours | 2 p.m. to midnight |
For a family of four coming off the beach, the math is different than the old tram. A short lift is cheap and quick. A full-length ride costs more than dinner appetizers. Locals planning boardwalk nights with visiting family should build the ride into the plan the way you would an Uber, not the way you thought about the tram.
Look at where the interesting new places have landed and a pattern shows up. The boardwalk added one gallery, the interactive "Waterbird" installation at Ripley's Believe It or Not! with ocean-inspired oddities and a secret room, and a boardwalk bakery. Almost everything else worth walking into is on the bay side or the western half of a cross street.
Start with the anchors. Oyster and Scales, which opened in September 2025 and is now in its first full Ocean City summer, is a bayside seafood restaurant inspired by Cape Cod oyster houses, created by local restaurateur Peter Elias of Spain Wine Bar, with a raw bar, craft cocktails, small plates, steaks, and scallops. Elias also opened Bai-Tee Bakery & Cafe, a boardwalk bakery with Middle Eastern and French influences, at the end of last summer. Two openings from the same operator, one bay, one boardwalk, is a signal about where a serious local restaurateur is placing his bets.
Next, the replacements. Brasa, a restaurant inspired by the cuisines and cooking philosophies of Argentina and Italy, is taking shape on 33rd Street in the former Guido's Burritos space. Surfin' Betty's Burger Bar has a third location at 127th Street and Coastal Highway in the former Tony Luke's spot, with pasture-raised beef burgers, hand-spun milkshakes, beer, and outdoor seating. Saltwater 75, on 75th Street where BJ's on the Water used to be, offers seafood, sandwiches, and a rooftop bar with panoramic sunset views over the bay.
Then the wellness pivot. The Core Club Studio X the Juice Club Cafe, a new wellness concept on 81st Street downtown, combines a heated sculpt and barre studio with a health-conscious cafe and juice bar. That is the sort of business that opens in a place where enough people live year-round to justify a 6 a.m. class. It is a residential signal, not a tourist one.
The takeaway for a resident is straightforward. If your habit was to default east toward the boardwalk when someone visits, this is the summer to flip it. The bayside is where the newer menus, the sunset seats, and the operator ambition are concentrated.
The paid summer calendar gets all the press. The free one is arguably better if you live here, and it repeats weekly.
Every Thursday in July and August, Sunset Park Party Nights runs 7 to 9 p.m. with free concerts overlooking the bay. Bring a chair.
That is free concerts in Ocean City every Thursday in July and August from 7 to 9 p.m., in Sunset Park's outdoor setting overlooking the bay, chair-friendly. If your Thursday routine has been grocery run and TV, the trade is obvious.
Mornings have their own calendar. From July 6 through August 29, the Ocean City Life-Saving Station Museum on the boardwalk runs free daily programs at 10 a.m. The Monday history session on the Surfmen, Tuesday semaphore and beach patrol safety, and Wednesday knot-tying with the U.S. Coast Guard Auxiliary all rotate through the summer. If you have visiting kids or grandkids, that is a half-hour handled, at no cost, on the boardwalk.
For anyone in a first-responder household, note that First Call Wednesdays at Aloft Ocean City honor first responders every first Wednesday from 4 to 7 p.m. with drink specials, complimentary appetizers, live music, and bay views.
The stretch from mid-July through late August is denser than most people realize once you list it out. Working chronologically:
The White Marlin Open still anchors early August. The world's largest billfish tournament runs from Harbour Island Marina, with free public weigh-ins daily and multimillion-dollar payouts. If you have never gone to a weigh-in as a spectator, the crowd energy at Harbour Island around 4 to 9 p.m. is one of the more distinctive local experiences the summer offers, and it costs nothing.
One item from the summer news deserves a paragraph on its own, because it says something about where the market is heading rather than just what is on the menu. The Ashore Oceanfront Hotel is finishing an extensive renovation of 250 guest rooms and suites, event spaces, fitness center, and cafe, and the beachfront resort has joined the Marriott Bonvoy portfolio, meaning guests can now earn and redeem points. The hotel also added free monthly fitness socials in partnership with The Stoke, an expanded nightly Summer Series of live entertainment, and a low- and no-alcohol cocktail menu.
A locally owned oceanfront property affiliating with a national loyalty program is a repositioning move, not a cosmetic one. It brings a Marriott booking channel to a stretch of oceanfront that previously drew mostly regional repeat visitors. For neighbors, the visible effect is a busier stretch of beach and a renovated cafe worth stopping into. For anyone thinking about the long arc of Ocean City property values, it is worth noticing which oceanfront operators are professionalizing and which are not.
Put the pieces together and a full week without much effort looks like this. Thursday evening at Sunset Park with a chair. Friday at a bayside table at Oyster and Scales or Saltwater 75, watching the sun drop. Saturday at the Huk Big Fish Classic weigh-ins. Sunday morning at the Life-Saving Station with visiting family, and back to the boardwalk on foot rather than by tram, or by pedicab if the youngest ones fade. Weeknight concert at Seacrets if the lineup fits your taste. Coffee at Bai-Tee before the boardwalk gets crowded.
None of it requires driving to Rehoboth for something new. That is the quiet story of this summer.
Living in Ocean City year-round changes how you read a summer like this one. The openings tell you where money is being placed. The Ashore's Marriott move tells you which operators are investing. The pedicab pricing tells you how the town is willing to reshape its own daily flow. All of it is information that eventually shows up in what a property here is worth, who wants to buy one, and how a home is best positioned when it comes time to sell.
If you own here and are starting to think about the next step, whether that is a year-round primary, a right-sized condo, or an eventual sale of a property you have held through several summers, Michelle L Blanchard and the Dobson Blanchard Team bring central Maryland and Chesapeake-region experience to Ocean City conversations with the same attention to pricing, presentation, and negotiation. Let's Connect.
Citations tracked for the metadata submission:
Stay up to date on the latest real estate trends.
Backed by award-winning performance and deep local expertise, Michelle delivers knowledgeable guidance, strong negotiation, and a seamless experience for buyers and sellers across the Baltimore region.