st. clement's island

A friend and I spent a Saturday afternoon in August touring the museum and taking the ferry out to the island. The museum has some really interesting exhibits along with a 14 minute movie about the history of St. Clement's Island and the Blackistone Lighthouse. As of 2014, the cost for museum admission and round trip ferry ride was $7 for an adult - very reasonable and a good value. The island itself is beautiful and well maintained. The lighthouse was really interesting with some informative exhibits on its history.But be prepared for several things - first, Colton's Point, where the museum and ferry dock are located, is a quiet, residential community. There are no amenities anywhere nearby and no services at all on the island (which does have a rest room and picnic facilities but no trash receptacle - if you bring it in, you bring it out). Also, the walk from the ferry dock to the Blackistone Lighthouse is about a half mile - it is an easy walk and not what I would call a hike but on a hot summer day, you will need some water.Which brings me back to the fact that unless you have some with you, there is none to be purchased, either on the island or even at the museum gift shop. This is a huge oversight IMHO. The museum should either charge an extra dollar for the ferry ticket and include a bottle of water or at least have some available for purchase prior to boarding. This is never mentioned by anyone - i only happened to have a bottle in my car that i grabbed as an afterthought while waiting for the ferry but it is absolutely a necessity if you are heading out to the island and the museum staff should at least make visitors aware of what to expect.Otherwise,a visit to the museum and island itself make for a very pleasant excursion in Southern Maryland... as long as you have some water with you..

The St Clement's Island Museum is very well done with wonderful exhibits. We especially enjoyed all the information presented on the Ark and Dove and their voyages.

We visited here for the Blessing of the Fleet which is held every October. The fireworks at this event are really amazing. Take a boat over to the island and tour the replica lighthouse. The views of the Potomac River are nice from the top. We did not get to tour the museum on the mainland as we were busy with wine tasting and shopping the vendors that had set up at the event.

If you're in southern Maryland and you've got a boat, or are willing to pay to take a tour boat out to St. Clement's Island, you are in for a treat. This island has a rich history tied to the founding of Maryland as a colony, which I won't get into here. But suffice it to say that if you're looking for a half-day outing that involves sun, water, boats & hiking -- as well as a self-guided tour of a lighthouse -- this is the place to go! Other than a basic restroom facility on one end of the island, and a picnic area, there are no other facilities for visitors. It's fairly rustic, so bring some snacks and water/beverages. If you're coming by pleasure boat, approach the southeast corner of the island and dock for free at the very nice & well-maintained pier & slips. From there it's a short walk to the lighthouse and the picnic/restroom area. You can explore the entire island if you wish, but be prepared for a bit of a hike.

St. Clement's Island Museum is on the mainland and displays the history of the first settlers arriving in Maryland from England. This group of colonist were seeking religious freedom as they could not be Catholics in England. It is an interesting history and made more interesting by a boat ride to the island which is available on weekends. Once you take the boat ride you have quite a long walk to the reconstructed Blackistone Lighthouse and the cross commemorating the 300th anniversary of the founding of Maryland. There are also picnic areas. My complaint is that the website for the place is terrible. If I had known that the walk was about a mile round trip I probably wouldnt have gone all this way with my young kids. The map given to you at the museum explains that. Adding that to the website would have been useful or maybe a sentence of text. It was a hot day with little shade and few benches along the way. I find that the Maryland State Parks have the worst webpages for their parks I have ever seen. Most do not include maps because they want to sell them to you. The information lacks major information like are their bathrooms in the park. I worked for the National Park Service and wrote webpages for my park so I know a little about the subject.

This site is a small museum in a residential community. I found it quaint and interesting. The museum displays are well done and the staff are very friendly. To tour the museum will take about 30-40 minutes.