Dogs are allowed on the beach and the boardwalk in Ocean City, Maryland only between October 1 and April 30. We drove out on April 18, twelve days before that gate closed for the summer, and got a foggy, three quarters empty town where the dog was allowed to go almost everywhere we were. If you want to do Ocean City with a dog, this is the window, and it is also the nicest the place gets.

Key takeaways

• The dog window is October 1 to April 30. Outside those dates pets are off the beach and off the boardwalk entirely. Leashes are required, and you clean up after them.
• Off season parking is cheap or free. From April 1 to May 21 the Inlet lot and street parking are free Monday through Thursday, and $2.50 to $3.50 an hour Friday through Sunday on the ocean block.
• There are no meters or kiosks anymore. You pay through the ParkMobile or Passport app, with a 30 minute grace period before the clock starts.
• The Orange Crush is not a soda. It was invented at Harborside in West Ocean City in 1995 and became Maryland’s official state cocktail on June 1, 2025.
• April is foggy and cold. The fog is the reason to come, not the thing to plan around.

What’s in this guide

• The dog window, and why it decides your trip
• What is the beach actually like in April?
• The boardwalk with nobody on it
• Can you take a dog into Ripley’s?
• What to eat and drink
• Practical details: parking, fees, where to stay
• Common questions

The dog window, and why it decides your trip

Ocean City has a hard rule about dogs, and it is worth knowing before you book anything. Pets are only allowed on the beach and the boardwalk between October 1 and April 30. Not “discouraged” in summer. Not allowed.

That single line decides the whole shape of a trip. If you are traveling with a dog, you are going in the cold half of the year, which means you are going when the water is too cold to swim in, half the businesses have not opened yet, and the forecast is a coin flip. It sounds like a compromise. It is the opposite.

We went on the third weekend of April, which put us twelve days from the cutoff. Sori got the beach, the boardwalk, a restaurant patio and, as it turned out, a museum. In July she would not have been allowed on the sand at all.

If you are stuck coming in summer, the year round option is the Ocean City Dog Playground at 94th Street on the bayside, which is off leash and needs a pass. Assateague Island, just south of town, allows leashed dogs in certain sections and is a better day out than it sounds.

What is the beach actually like in April?

Cold, wide, loud, and almost entirely yours. The fog sat on the water both days we were there and never fully lifted, so the ocean arrived as noise before it arrived as a view. You could stand at the waterline and not see the horizon.

The sand here is wide, and in April with nobody standing on it that width reads as strange rather than generous. We walked a long stretch and passed almost nobody. The few people out were mostly walking dogs too, and everybody nods. It is that kind of month.

Bring more layers than the forecast suggests. The number you read at home is not the number on the sand, because the wind is coming off water that has not warmed up yet. A hoodie was the right idea and not quite enough of one.

The boardwalk with nobody on it

The Ocean City boardwalk in April is a strange and good place. The shops that are open are half open. The rides are still wrapped. You can see the whole length of it without a single person blocking the view, which never happens between June and Labor Day.

It helps to know that the boardwalk has always been a seasonal, temporary sort of thing. The first wooden walkway went down in 1900, and in 1902 a group of oceanfront hotel owners built one that was rolled up at high tide and stored on the hotels’ porches. It was not a structure so much as a rug. The permanent promenade came around 1910, running about five blocks, and got pushed north to 15th Street through the 1920s.

So walking it empty in April is closer to the original idea than walking it packed in July. It was built to be put away.

At the far south end, past the shops, you hit the inlet and the Ocean City Life-Saving Station Museum. The building went up in 1891, which makes it one of the oldest in town, and it originally sat up at Caroline Street before being moved down here in 1977. The inlet it now looks out over is not natural either: a hurricane cut it through in 1933 and the Army Corps of Engineers decided to keep it.

Almost everything in Ocean City that looks permanent turns out to have been an accident or a decision. I like that about it.

Can you take a dog into Ripley’s?

Sara’s dog Sori came in with us. I am going to describe what happened rather than quote a policy, because Ripley’s does not publish one that I could find, and the answer you get may well depend on the day and who is at the desk. Call them before you go if this is the thing your trip hinges on.

Ripley’s Believe It or Not! Ocean City is at 401 S. Atlantic Avenue, in the Pier building at the south end of the boardwalk, and it stays open until midnight. In April, at lunchtime, it was close to empty.

What I did not expect was how much a dog changes a museum like this. Sori went nose to nose with a taxidermy crocodile and lost the argument. She climbed onto the Throne of Love. She stood underneath the eight legged buffalo, which is exactly what it sounds like, and looked deeply unbothered by it.

The exhibit that got me was a Mini Cooper covered panel to panel in gold coins. There is no reason for it. That is the entire point of the building.

What to eat and drink

Start with the drink, because Maryland has made it official. The Orange Crush was invented at Harborside Bar and Grill in West Ocean City in 1995, reportedly by co-owner Chris Wall along with Jerry Wood and Kelly Flynn on a slow winter night. It is vodka, fresh squeezed orange, triple sec and a splash of lemon lime soda, and it tastes like it should not be as strong as it is.

It became Delaware’s official state cocktail in August 2024, which Maryland appears to have taken personally, because Maryland made it the official state cocktail here effective June 1, 2025. The bill acknowledged it started at Harborside.

For food, this is a boardwalk town in the off season, so your options are the places that stayed open, and they are mostly fried. We had a seafood platter on a paper placemat outdoors with the dog under the table, which is the entire reason to come in April.

Breakfast is where Maryland shows up properly. Order the scrapple. If you have not had it, it is a pork loaf that is sliced and fried until the outside goes crisp, and it is a Delmarva thing rather than a tourist thing. It comes with eggs and, on our plate, a small pile of jelly, and it is better than the description deserves.

Then buy fudge on the way out. Everyone does. There is no argument to be made against it.

Practical details: parking, fees, where to stay

• Parking, April 1 to May 21: free Monday through Thursday. Friday through Sunday it runs $2.50 to $3.50 an hour on the ocean block. We were there on a Saturday and Sunday, so we paid.
• How you pay: the meters and kiosks are gone. It is app only now, through ParkMobile or Passport. You enter the zone number, your plate and how long you want. There is a 30 minute grace period, including for accessible parking.
• The Inlet lot at the south end is the one to aim for if you want the boardwalk, the museum and Ripley’s in one walk.
• Staying: a lot of the oceanfront hotels take dogs in the off season specifically because that is when they need the business. We stayed at the Commander, which is on the boardwalk, so the dog went from the room to the sand in about ninety seconds.
• What to pack: more layers than you think, a towel for the dog, and something waterproof. The fog is wet even when it is not raining.
• Leashes: required everywhere in town, and you carry out what your dog leaves behind.

Common questions

When are dogs allowed on the beach in Ocean City, MD?

Between October 1 and April 30 only. Pets are not permitted on the beach or the boardwalk from May 1 through September 30. Dogs must be leashed, and owners are required to remove waste from public and private property. The Ocean City Dog Playground at 94th Street bayside is the year round off leash alternative and requires a pass.

How much does parking cost in Ocean City in April?

From April 1 to May 21 parking is free Monday through Thursday, and $2.50 to $3.50 per hour Friday through Sunday on the ocean block. Payment is by app only, using ParkMobile or Passport, since the town removed its meters and kiosks. There is a 30 minute grace period for all vehicles.

Is the Ocean City boardwalk open in the off season?

The boardwalk itself is open year round and you can walk the full length of it. Individual shops, rides and restaurants keep reduced hours or close entirely between roughly November and March, with more reopening through April ahead of the summer season.

Where is Ripley’s Believe It or Not in Ocean City?

At 401 S. Atlantic Avenue, in the Pier building at the southern end of the boardwalk near the inlet. It is open until midnight. It sits within walking distance of the Ocean City Life-Saving Station Museum, so the two work well as one afternoon.

What is an Orange Crush and where did it come from?

It is a cocktail of vodka, fresh squeezed orange juice, triple sec and lemon lime soda, created at Harborside Bar and Grill in West Ocean City in 1995. Delaware named it their official state cocktail in August 2024, and Maryland followed, making it the official state cocktail effective June 1, 2025.

Is Ocean City worth visiting in April?

If you have a dog, April is the only practical time to go, since the beach and boardwalk close to pets on May 1. Expect fog, cold water and reduced hours, and expect to have long stretches of sand entirely to yourself.

More Maryland in the quiet months: North Beach, Maryland in the Off Season and The St Mary’s Lake Loop Trail